Dakar Mini
Dakar Mini
Dakar Mini
Dakar Mini
Raw power in a MK1 shell, prepped for the dirt
Raw power in a MK1 shell, prepped for the dirt
Meet DAKAR Mini. Inspired by the golden age of desert rallies like the DAKAR and the CAMEL Trophy Land Rovers, this Mini was never meant to be cute. She was meant to go, and go anywhere. Speed, dust, details. Nothing subtle.
A 60s Mk1-style body, built up as if she rallied through the 70s, when the proper tuning parts finally arrived. Her rally yellow is matched to the CAMEL Trophy cars and finished with CAMEL stickers and Shell graphics. Under the bonnet we find the Innocenti Cooper 1300 twin-carb engine, the most powerful setup ever factory-fitted to a Mini. We stayed with the A-series, as you would have back then, and gave it 1.5 forged rockers, bigger trumpets on the twin carbs and a reworked intake. 0 to 100 in about ten seconds. In a car this low and this light, that feels a lot quicker.
A 60s Mk1-style body, built up as if she rallied through the 70s, when the proper tuning parts finally arrived. Her rally yellow is matched to the CAMEL Trophy cars and finished with CAMEL stickers and Shell graphics. Under the bonnet we find the Innocenti Cooper 1300 twin-carb engine, the most powerful setup ever factory-fitted to a Mini. We stayed with the A-series, as you would have back then, and gave it 1.5 forged rockers, bigger trumpets on the twin carbs and a reworked intake. 0 to 100 in about ten seconds. In a car this low and this light, that feels a lot quicker.
This isn't a tribute car. She's built with intent, and she has a job: she lives on a farm in eastern Germany and works the land, winter included. Red Dot suspension, Hi-Lo adjusters, adjustable shocks, adjustable rear radius arms and front disc brakes form the foundation. She rolls on magnesium wheels with knobby tyres and carries a roof rack. Gravel, grass, mud and hard sand, no problem. Deep, soft sand is where she gives up; two-wheel drive and limited ground clearance, honestly. Heavy-duty tow eyes, mudflaps and Lucas SLR700 spot lamps aren't accessories. They're tools.
This isn't a tribute car. She's built with intent, and she has a job: she lives on a farm in eastern Germany and works the land, winter included. Red Dot suspension, Hi-Lo adjusters, adjustable shocks, adjustable rear radius arms and front disc brakes form the foundation. She rolls on magnesium wheels with knobby tyres and carries a roof rack. Gravel, grass, mud and hard sand, no problem. Deep, soft sand is where she gives up; two-wheel drive and limited ground clearance, honestly. Heavy-duty tow eyes, mudflaps and Lucas SLR700 spot lamps aren't accessories. They're tools.
Inside, a full rally dashboard, bucket seats, a roll cage and dark brown high-pile carpet that somehow works in a car that otherwise feels like a rolling toolkit. Behind the dash runs a second wiring loom of our own, working alongside the original for the extra functions in the doors and the side lamps, switched through classic Bosch relays and fully documented so she can be fixed for decades to come. Because she's registered in Germany, every upgrade had to be homologated or approved for the period: steering wheel, wheels, roll cage, seats and disc brakes included. A cleanly integrated reverse light finishes her off.
Inside, a full rally dashboard, bucket seats, a roll cage and dark brown high-pile carpet that somehow works in a car that otherwise feels like a rolling toolkit. Behind the dash runs a second wiring loom of our own, working alongside the original for the extra functions in the doors and the side lamps, switched through classic Bosch relays and fully documented so she can be fixed for decades to come. Because she's registered in Germany, every upgrade had to be homologated or approved for the period: steering wheel, wheels, roll cage, seats and disc brakes included. A cleanly integrated reverse light finishes her off.