Ian Callum’s Design Team Is Behind This Reimagined Red-Hot Mini
Famed British car designer Ian Callum revealed his design house’s newest creation: a rowdy reimagination of the Mk5 Mini Sportspack.
It’s built in collaboration with the coachbuilder Wood and Pickett, and overhauls the hatchback with a new suspension and stronger brakes.
The overhauled Mini features a rebuilt 1310 cc rally engine with a new cylinder head, two-point fuel injection, and a custom twin-pipe exhaust.
Throughout his career, Ian Callum has designed a lot of cars. He penned both the Aston Martin DB7 and the Vanquish. His back catalog includes the Jaguar XK, the F-type, and even a road-going version of the C-X75 concept car. Callum’s newest design is a collaboration between his eponymous design house and the coachbuilder Wood & Pickett.
It’s aptly named the Wood and Pickett Mini by Callum, and it looks downright rambunctious. Based on the Mk5 Mini Sportsback, the Wood and Pickett Mini by Callum reimagines the pint-sized commuter as a modern hot hatch packed to the gills with character.
The original engine is gone, with a 1310 cc rally engine in its place. The mill now makes 110 brake horsepower. It has a new cylinder head, two-point fuel injection, a custom twin-pipe exhaust, and a reinforced gearbox to handle the extra power.
The handling has been retuned to feel like it was engineered by someone who has heard the word “rizz” used in a sentence before, rather than feeling like it came straight from 1990. The original wheels are gone in favor of a four-spoke set of Callum’s own design, which measures in at the same 13 inches in diameter. A set of grooved and ventilated 8.4-inch disc brakes hides behind the wheels.
The styling inside looks like what you’d expect from a firm called “Wood and Pickett.” The dashboard features a wooden fascia inspired by walnut panels found in the company’s Margrave Mini, built in the 1960s. There are metal fog-light and heater switches, along with metal cupholders and metal instrument gauges. A small touchscreen with Apple CarPlay compatibility brings a more modern feel to the cabin.
Each Wood and Pickett Mini by Callum will be built to the owner’s specifications, with pricing for the reimaginations starting just north of $100,000.