FOR those who struggle to associate a classic Mini with a limousine, it’s time to meet the ‘Mini Limo’. Chris Wain, from Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom has created the perfect blend of vintage and luxury with his unique conversion of two classic cars. The revamped ride travels smoother than a standard Mini and is able to cruise at about 85MPH. Initially built as a wedding car and costing around $19,000 to build, Chris’s ‘Mini Limo’ was a true labour of love. Chris told us: “The thing I love most about my car is the reaction it gets from other people.” After meeting his future wife at ‘Notts About Minis’, a Nottinghamshire-based Mini enthusiast club, the pair decided a mini-limousine conversion would be the perfect car for their special day. Venora said: “It was my idea, I thought it would be a nice wedding car as the mini brought us together.” However, finding such unique wheels proved to be a struggle and the pair decided to build their dream ride instead. Whilst Chris assembled the majority of the car, Venora concentrated on the lining and interior. Under the bonnet, the car has a slightly modified 1275GF engine and a longer gearbox to ensure it can cruise nicely at a higher speed. Chris explained: “We were working very late at night and on weekends – it was a lot of stress and expense.” The car has since served the couple well as their family has expanded, providing the perfect vehicle for family days out. However, it’s not always the easiest to navigate. The car struggles to fit into smaller spaces and has a lack of power steering. But all of this is worth it, and it seems it’s not just the family that feel this way. “The car gets a lot of attention wherever you go, people love the car.”
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MotorTranscript
00:00The thing I love the most about the car really is the reaction I get from other people, people love the car.
00:09My name's Chris and this is my classic MINI LEMO.
00:15For me the word LEMO conjures up images of luxury which isn't really what you get when you own a MINI.
00:23But Chris has managed to create a vehicle where the words MINI and LEMO come together.
00:27This is the MINI LEMO.
00:30You'll see that we have an extra door. This door is exactly the same size door as this one.
00:37Inside we've got two rear facing seats. These were donated from a Land Rover Discovery.
00:42They're the seats out the back that fold down.
00:45The rear seat has actually been extended by four inches to make it four inches deeper.
00:53Right, let's take it for a spin.
00:58Come on.
01:00Yeah.
01:22Because it's got a longer wheelbase, it rides bumps more smoothly and it's got a bit more stability.
01:29Top speed, it'll cruise at about 85 kmph.
01:34It costs approximately £13,000 to £14,000 to build a MINI LEMO, including the parts that we used at the time.
01:42We have a slightly modified 1275 GT engine.
01:47This has been bored out to 1293 and then it's got a long gearbox in it so that it cruises at a high speed quite nicely.
01:54With a few extra trip bits on it just to give it a bit more power.
01:57And what was the reason for building such a unique MINI conversion?
02:02For love, of course.
02:05I had a classic MINI and I joined a MINI club, met Chris and then you asked me out.
02:12And the rest is history.
02:18I'd say it was my idea. I thought it would be a nice wedding car for us seeing as the MINIs brought us together.
02:24But we struggled to find one, didn't we?
02:27So Chris thought he would just build one. Easy.
02:34I did a lot of the assembly of the car.
02:37She built the one-piece headlining that's in it and she recovered all the interior.
02:42Working very late at night, working weekends on it, there was a lot of stress and a lot of expense.
02:49It was ready three days before the wedding.
02:54It made the wedding.
02:56It did make the wedding, yeah.
02:58It made it very personal to us, didn't it?
03:00After all the effort building this car, it's served the couple well as their family has expanded.
03:05It provides the perfect vehicle for family days out.
03:10Albeit with the occasional difficulty.
03:13You don't really want to do a three-point turn in it.
03:17It's really heavy on the steering.
03:22There is no power steering and it's long.
03:26You really just want to back it up until you find somewhere where there's a space to back it into.
03:38And it's not just Chris and his wife.
03:40And it's not just Chris and his family that love the car.
03:43It picks up new fans at every turn.
03:47It gets a lot of attention wherever you go.
03:50People love the car.
03:52My kids love it, my wife loves it.
03:54This car is part of my life now.