00:00 The thing I love the most about the car really is the reaction I get from other people.
00:05 People love the car.
00:07 My name's Chris and this is my classic Mini Limo.
00:12 For me the word 'limo' conjures up images of luxury, which isn't really what you get when you own a Mini.
00:22 But Chris has managed to create a vehicle where the words 'Mini' and 'Limo' come together.
00:27 This is the Mini Limo.
00:30 You'll see that we have an extra door.
00:33 This door is exactly the same size door as this one.
00:37 Inside we've got two rear-facing seats. These were donated from Alain Drobot Discovery.
00:42 They're the seats out the back that fold down.
00:44 The rear seat has actually been extended by four inches to make it four inches deeper.
00:49 Right, let's take it for a spin.
00:55 [MUSIC]
01:21 Because it's got a longer wheelbase, it rides bumps more smoothly and it's got a bit more stability.
01:28 Top speed, it'll cruise at about 85 kilometres per hour.
01:33 It costs approximately £13,000 to £14,000 to build a Mini Limo, including the parts that we used at the time.
01:41 We have a slightly modified 1275 GT engine.
01:46 This 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.
01:53 With a few extra trick bits on it just to give it a bit more power.
01:56 And what was the reason for building such a unique Mini conversion?
02:02 For love, of course.
02:04 I had a classic Mini and I joined a Mini club.
02:08 I met Chris and then you asked me out.
02:11 I showed her the date.
02:12 And the rest is history.
02:14 [MUSIC]
02:19 I'd say it was my idea. I thought it would be a nice wedding car for us seeing as the Mini's brought us together.
02:24 But we struggled to find one, didn't we?
02:26 We did.
02:27 So Chris thought he would just build one.
02:29 Easy.
02:31 [MUSIC]
02:34 I did a lot of the assembly of the car.
02:37 She built the one-piece headlining that's in it and she recovered all the interior.
02:42 Working very late at night, working weekends on it.
02:46 There was a lot of stress and a lot of expense.
02:49 It was ready three days before the wedding.
02:53 It made the wedding.
02:55 It did make the wedding, yeah.
02:56 It made it very personal to us, didn't it?
02:58 Yeah.
02:59 After all the effort building this car, it's served the couple well as their family has expanded.
03:04 It provides the perfect vehicle for family days out.
03:10 Albeit with the occasional difficulty.
03:13 [MUSIC]
03:17 You don't really want to do a three-point turn in it.
03:20 It's really heavy on the steering.
03:22 There is no power steering and it's long.
03:29 You really just want to back it up until you find somewhere where there's a space to back it into.
03:33 [MUSIC]
03:37 [MUSIC]
03:40 And it's not just Chris and his family that love the car.
03:43 It picks up new fans at every turn.
03:46 It gets a lot of attention wherever you go.
03:50 People love the car.
03:52 My kids love it, my wife loves it.
03:54 This car is part of my life now.
03:56 [MUSIC]
04:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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