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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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Motor
Transcript
00:00The thing I love the most about the car really is the reaction they get from other people.
00:05People love the car.
00:08My name's Chris and this is my classic Mini Limo.
00:14For me the word limo conjures up images of luxury which isn't really what you get when you own a
00:21Mini. But Chris has managed to create a vehicle where the words mini and limo come together.
00:27This is the Mini Limo.
00:30You'll see that we have an extra door. This door is exactly the same size door as this one.
00:38Inside 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. The rear seat has actually been extended by four
00:47inches to make it four inches deeper. Right let's take it for a spin.
01:21It's got a longer wheelbase.
01:24It rides bumps more smoothly.
01:26It's got a bit more stability. Top speed. It'll cruise at about 85cc speed.
01:33It costs approximately £13-14,000 to build a Mini Limo including the parts that we used at the time.
01:41We have a slightly modified 1275 GT engine. This has been bought out to 1293 and then it's got a
01:49long
01:50gearbox in it so that it cruises at a high speed quite nicely with a few extra trip bits on
01:54it just
01:54to give it a bit more power.
01:58And what was the reason for building such a unique Mini conversion? For love of course.
02:05I had a classic Mini and I joined a Mini Club. I met Chris and then then you asked me
02:10out.
02:11I shot on a date. And 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
02:22Minis brought
02:23us together. But we struggled to find one, didn't we? So Chris thought he would just build one. Easy.
02:34I did a lot of the assembly of the car. She built the one-piece headlining that's in it and
02:39she
02:39recovered all the interior. Working very late at night, working weekends on it, there was a lot of
02:46stress and a lot of expense. It was ready three days before the wedding. It made the wedding. It did
02:55make the wedding. It made it very personal to us, didn't it? Yeah. After all the effort building this
03:01car, it's served the couple well as their family has expanded. It provides the perfect vehicle for
03:07family days out. Albeit with the occasional difficulty. You don't really want to do a
03:19three-point turn in it. It's really heavy on the steering. There is no power steering and it's long.
03:29You really just want to back it up until you find somewhere where there's a space to back it into.
03:40And it's not just Chris and his family that love the car. It picks up new fans at every turn.
03:47It gets a lot of attention wherever you go. People love the car. My kids love it,
03:53my wife loves it. This car is part of my life now.
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