Bluette

Bluette is a more than exceptional find, a car with nearly every upgrade you could wish for, without saying goodbye to its heritage. This Mini was discovered in the far south of Italy, where you can see the Albanian Mountains across the sea. We bought the car from Francesco, a true classic car enthusiast working for the “Regia Marina” — the Italian Navy — which explains the blue(tte) colour of the Mini.

Aside from being a Marine, Francesco is also the referee of the national Italian boxing championships and owns a stylish coffee bar called Noir, perched on the hill of Massafra. His sense of style and appreciation for good service and proper maintenance, likely influenced by his background in the Navy, clearly carried through into his Mini Classic, more on that later!

To begin with: this MINI originally comes from the Emilia-Romagna region and was sold on the 19th of June 1974 by Emiliana Motors in the city of Ferrara. The original papers list the colour as “Bluette” with a “Nero” interior. Her first free service is also recorded, with just 1,504 km on the clock, on 2 December 1974. Since then, a lot of time (and presumably a lot of fun drives) passed before Francesco took ownership of the car, and he didn’t let her go until everything was just right.

He had the car transported to ZAMBON Autofficina, a friendly garage we know well in northern Italy. No expense was spared here. A full engine-out overhaul was performed, including the head, twin carbs, clutch, axles, brakes, suspension arms, shocks, HiLo suspension, exhaust, KAD shifter, steering rack, magnesium rims with slicks, and all-new rubbers — the list goes on. It’s quite a bit, so let’s break it down:

Technical Highlights

Engine:

• 998cc COOPER engine (same as the English Mk2 Cooper 998)
• Innocenti vs Cooper specs
• Legendary 12G295 cylinder head (also referred to as 28G222 in production manuals)
• D-topped pistons, giving a 9.0:1 compression ratio
• Crankshaft 8G2733 (forging number 12A595)
• 3.44:1 final drive — a perfect balance of acceleration and drivability
• AEA 630 camshaft (also found in 1098cc models)
• Twin HS2 carbs (fully renewed set) with new fuel hoses, filters, etc.
• New ignition system: housing, spark plugs, cables, coil, and rotor
• Full new exhaust system (from manifold to tip)
• New thermostat housing, heater valve, black brackets, and more
• ZAMBON invoices included

Underneath:

• All brakes revised + new brake hoses
• New shock absorbers all around
• HiLo suspension all around
• Adjustable camber & toe (rear)
• Heavy-duty tie rods (front)
• Adjustable lower control arms (front)
• Fully renewed steering rack and ball joints
• New driveshafts and axle seals
• KAD quick shift — racing-style short shifter (very good!)
• All new rubbers
• Completely realigned (2022 alignment report available)

Functional:

• RAID steering wheel with matching boss
• Classic-style front skid plate
• Mayfrini 10” magnesium Mille Miglia wheels (first edition, 5” wide)
• Yokohama A032R slick tyres
• Bonnet insulation
• New steering column switches (indicators, lights, wipers)
• Rev counter mounted on dash
• Aluminium gear stick

Purely cosmetic:

• New fuel cap
• New rear number plate light (chrome)
• Custom rear light lenses
• New chrome bumpers

Were all those things necessary? Probably not. But they make this car an absolute joy to drive. We’ve built and driven quite a few Minis over the years, and we can confidently say this one comes very close to perfection. The engine feels sporty, yet surprisingly relaxed and smooth on the highway. The sound is just right: on twisty roads, with the carbs fully open, you can hear them gasping for air — and when off-throttle, the exhaust gives that perfectly satisfying rumble. It makes you wanna slam the throttle, search for the next corner, and toss it in — which you can do with confidence thanks to fresh rubbers, a tight steering rack, and semi-slick tyres. Everything feels aligned properly, no vibrations, no slack, just pure fun.

Interior & Details

The car has been resprayed in its original “Bluette” and retains the original “Nero” Innocenti 1001 interior. Although the carpet has been mostly covered with extra carpets, she still wears her high plush original carpet with the big Innocenti logo on the rubber proudly. The interior of these Innocentis always reflects Italian fine craftsmanship and luxury. Did you know the Italian ashtrays were bigger than the English ones? Or that the front quarter windows were there specifically to let cigarette smoke out while driving?

The original MOMO steering wheel has been swapped for a sportier RAID one. The indicator and light stalks — often known to break — have been replaced with heavy-duty versions. The original wooden gear knob has been replaced by a tight aluminium one, and right in front of you, a small rev counter has been installed.

Mille Miglia Rims

The MINI comes equipped with some seriously cool magnesium Mille Miglia rims. Brands like 1000Miglia and OZ, now known for supplying wheels to Ferrari or Lamborghini, once started by making lightweight wheels for the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper. Most were made from aluminium, but these are magnesium, incredibly light and strong. In the same era, full F1 cars were built from magnesium. It was the carbon fibre of its day. As we got to find this Mini in Italy the Mille Miglia event was also running through Italy, and to be honest, watching the Mille Miglia with your Mini on rims of the same name just hits differently.

More about Mille Miglia wheels

A lot of information about a truly great car. We’ve already had quite some fun with it, as could be seen on our Italy trip on Instagram and the photo session aboard a boat in the Biesbosch nature reserve near our garage. We always aim to put some kilometres on the clock, both for testing and enjoyment. We personally drove 725 km in this car. The total mileage since the rebuild (including ours) is around 1,900 km — that’s all the new carbs, suspension, and all the other components have been driven.

Original booklet, invoices, and alignment reports are available upon request — either online or at our garage.
Please don’t wait too long — this might be one of those cars that flies out the door quickly.