Mini Remastered Oselli Edition review
October 4, 2021Finally, something small and quick! The mini remastered oselli edition.
If you’re anything like us here at Top Gear, you’ll be sick of modern cars getting bigger, blunter, fatter, and more detached from the driving experience. You’re probably looking for something small, raucous, and chuckable, something that doesn’t require a lot of power to propel you along, grinning like an idiot. This striped little rascal is known as the Mini Remastered Oselli Edition, and it’s here to restore our faith in fast cars. One of the best classic cars ever made!
The Mini Remastered Oselli Edition
There is no need to feel pressed. Who creates it? It’s the work of Silverstone-based David Brown Automotive, who’ve been producing high-end Restomod minis under the Mini Remastered banner for a few years now, but this is something entirely different – this is the high-performance version built in collaboration with Mini engine tuning specialists Oselli, and limited to a production run of only 60.
So go ahead and give us the juicy upgrades… Let’s start with the A-Series engine. It’s been enlarged to 1450cc, receives twin SU carburetors, and now produces 125bhp at 6,200rpm and 113ft-lb of torque at 4,500rpm… that may not sound like much, but I drove a BMW X7 the other day and the glovebox was bigger than this. As a result, the acceleration time from 0 to 62 mph in 7.8 seconds. Again, nothing spectacular, but when you’re this close to the ground, this is involved in the process, and so accustomed to modern cars that isolate you from the outside world… It actually feels a lot faster than that. It’s not just the engine that’s been improved. A limited-slip differential, AP Racing brakes, 13-inch wheels with wider tires, adjustable Bilstein suspension, a rortier, freer-flowing sports exhaust system, and a five-speed manual gearbox are all standard.
Customization possibilities of Mini Remastered Oselli Edition
On the outside, choose a base color – grey or white – and then add accents in red, blue, or green. The cast alloy engine cover is color-matched to your exterior stripe and features a one-of-a-kind build plate. The ‘60′ in the grille commemorates 60 years since the first Mini was built (in fact, that was back in 2019, when this model was first announced), and you’ll notice a blacked-out theme, with black chrome generously applied on the wing mirrors, fuel filler cap, and headlight surrounds. For the record, I’m still not convinced by those rear lights.
What about the inside of Mini Remastered Oselli Edition?
The big choice is whether you want a four-seater or a two-seater like this. If you’re brave enough, you’ll get bucket seats, four-point harnesses, and a leather-trimmed roll cage in the back – I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to appreciate that as you barrel roll off into the undergrowth. There are some inconsistencies here as well, such as a central screen with Apple CarPlay compatibility… as well as a manual choke, However, you can’t fault David Brown’s efforts. Every opportunity to use Alcantara, knurled metal, and color-matched paneling is seized.
Enough with the trinkets; how does it feel to drive?
The outcomes are… mixed. It shows up to the party in the rain, handbrake turning for the sake of it, sliding in then deploying the diff to claw its way out of corners and making one hell of a racket everywhere. However, in the dry, it feels soft in comparison to the promise of its spec sheet, and the delay between steering input and front-end reaction is too long.
Those are the broad strokes, but the details are overwhelmingly positive. The gearshift snicks around beautifully, and the driving position is classic Mini, with your knees somewhere around your ears and the wonderful sensation that you’re wearing the car rather than just sitting in it.
It teeters on the brink of brilliant fun and a missed opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: it’s refreshing, cheeky fun. However, while it feels raw and mechanical in some ways, it is overly soft in others. It’s torn between being a luxury vehicle and a track terrier. And that isn’t the only issue…
Cost of Mini Remastered Oselli Edition
Is this the part where you tell us how much it costs?
Correct. The four-seater starts at £118,000, while the two-seater starts at £130,000… And, no, it is not April 1st. We knew David Brown’s Minis weren’t cheap, but £130k? That takes the cake, and once you know it, you can’t forget it, so you start judging the car based on a completely different set of criteria. The retrimmed, off-the-shelf parts, such as the steering wheel, suddenly don’t seem adequate. For that kind of money, I’d have mine carved from solid gold billet.
