Talking to Rowan, it was very clear to me that he knew a great deal about this car -- his dad owns one too.
The car is far from a showroom piece, with cracks and blemishes around the car showing clues to its history. This particular Mini apparently blew its engine 3 times, usually due to something catastrophic. This would usually be the sort of thing that would deter someone from classic car ownership, but apparently not Rowan -- this is actually his daily driver, and he even plans on taking this on long road trips.
It's very easy to see why though. Simply talking about the car, he just lights up with excitement, eager to show the (now formed) crowd of its many mechanical quirks, including the valve cover which apparently is only held on with two bolts, because of the necessary valve adjustment at every oil change -- a simple 2 minute process -- take note, BMW.
Looking inside, the first impression you get is that it is surprisingly roomy. The engineers really tried their hardest to create more room in the interior, like mounting the engine sideways for a transverse layout, "like a Lamborghini Miura", said Rowan.
This BL Mini makes a paltry 90-ish horsepower (by his estimation), but at only 1300 lbs, the power-to-weight ratio for this car is better than some modern cars today. Rowan also reckons that he can squeeze another 20-30 horses from this motor, which would bring it firmly in modern hot-hatch territory.
At the meet, the car blew a fuse a couple times even, and every time it happened, Rowan just went to the back to look through his parts bin, fiddled under the bonnet, and tried again. It seems that, when it comes to this car, he's already seen it all.
This is an excellent sample of fine British engineering!" exclaimed an onlooker.
"Yeah, not really." He replied, to thunderous laughter all around.
He would know after all, but then again, a car's greatness should not be diminished by its worst flaws -- especially one as fun as this. He's the perfect guy to own this Mini.
Seems appropriate then, that there's another Rowan in this world, also famous for driving Minis.
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