Extremely rare Mini de Ville Hatchback Cooper Mk2 “RADFORD”!
A little history ?
Harold Radford was the greatest Mini preparer in the 60s and 70s, a true precursor. He quickly understood that the Mini was the trendy car of the moment and that the stars would snap it up.
Thus, he offered a customization and modernization service to make them even more luxurious.
All Radfords were painted with colors from the Rolls Royce catalogue. Inside, we found a dashboard worthy of the most beautiful English cars, very cozy seats, a central armrest, descending electric windows (originally, the windows were sliding!), a Webasto sunroof, a wool carpet, a Benelite grille with a fog light and a high beam light, Marchal parking lights, chrome strips from Riley, and a whole bunch of little details.
The Hatchback version is the rarest that has existed, with the particularity of a trunk that transforms into a tailgate, including the rear window when opened!
Peter Sellers was the first to order one, then all the Beatles followed (but only Ringo Starr had a Hatchback to store his drums).
A Radford Hatchback cost more than a new Aston Martin DB5 and could rival the highs of a Lamborghini Miura.
Real madness!
Our model:
Our model is a Cooper Mk2, one of the last Minis to come out of the Radford workshops, shortly before their final closure.
This Hatchback version is one of the rarest in the world, with only 18 made. It thus belongs to the very closed circle of the most exclusive Minis.
In 1987, it was entrusted to the workshops of Wood & Pickett, another big name in the world of Mini preparers.
Little anecdote: at the time of her visit, she was in the workshop at the same time as Paul McCartney's Mini.
Wood & Pickett carried out renovation work, including the installation of the famous wooden dashboard, signature of the house.
Since this work in 1987, the car has remained unchanged, preserved in its original condition. It has been pampered by its successive owners (only 3 owners in total) and is today in perfect state of conservation.
This Mini is an absolutely rare museum piece!
