Hi everyone
On a slightly different note; I read that when mg-rover was formed BMW went off with the "new" Mini leaving Rover the rights to sell the remaining "old" minis.
If this is the case and with the administrators of MG-Rover selling off the company bit by bit, is it feasible that someone may buy the rights of the old mini and restart production, at least as a kit car?
Just a thought - please don't shout at me if I'm way off track!
Clive
I believe that part of the agreement with BMW was that production of the old Mini had to stop. The "rights" to build the Mini are therefore non-existent.
Besides, one of the reasons for killing off the Mini was new European standards on emissions and safety. The Mini simply couldn't compete with other cars in EuroNCAP crash tests. Non-compliance would make it illegal to sell these cars in the EU, which would restrict the market to much to make it commercially viable. The kit car market is essentially UK only.
All the tooling is now in the hands of BMH Ltd, who has been producing all body panels and complete bodyshells as spare parts for several years now.
BMH was officially sold off as part of Land Rover, so that means that effectively, the Mini tooling now belongs to Ford.
D'oh!
Clive
Not necessarily, no. Any car which can be registered in one European company is legal in others, although some countries - notably France - ignore this. There are a number of test cases at the moment to overturn the intransigence of the French authorities with regard to kit cars. Certainly there is a kit car market in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain that I am aware of. Limited production and component cars are being sold into the new demoncracies of Eastern Europe as well.
Also, EuroNCAP tests are advisory for consumers and not directly related to what is legal or not. It is true that the Mini was going to have difficulties passing the next round of European over-regulation on safety and emissions, but that can certainly be overcome in limited production or component form. No reason why we shouldn't go on building Minis for ever, really.
Regards, David Betts snipped-for-privacy@minilist.org The Mini Gallery:
Well this would be good news. Here in France, if you admit to changing your oil yourself, you're generally regarded as a dangerous terrorist. Legally, you are not even allowed to fit an aftermarket steering wheel, although obviously there is some tolerance. Fitting a 1275 into a Mini
100O is a complete no-no, even if everybody knows that there are no technical differences.Currently, if your name isn't Peugeot or Renault, you have absolutely no chance of going through the paperwork and inspections that are required to get a homebuilt car registered.
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