Often the world of the small hand built British manufacturer has a familiar story to it. Ambitious company forms with ideas of bringing back the glory days of British car making, makes a nostalgic single model that promises a lot, fails, company goes bust. It’s a sad but all too familiar look into today’s current financial rollercoaster and the ruthless world of car manufacturing when taking on established companies. Many new companies have tried and failed, some have tried to resurrect once great historic marques, and also failed, but very rarely someone manages to slip through the doom and gloom net.
When David Brown Automotive teased at the idea of creating a GT car hand-built in Britain and styled to appear like the cars of yesteryear many thought it would be the victim of the same old story. Ambitious ideas backed by someone looking to follow their dream yet ending up a disaster and financial nightmare. But three years on the company shows no sign of following the dismal trend of disappearing as a nostalgic attempt and recreating the fairytale of British hand crafted manufacturing.
The idea from founder David Brown was simple; create a reliable version of a classic motor that has the essence of vintage styling yet isn’t going to break down or overheat when you decide you might want to something as outrageous as take it for a drive. In 2014 they unveiled their first model; the Speedback GT. The design may look like an attempt to recreate the lines of an Aston Martin DB5/DB6 but when those vintage curves are underpinned with modern technology, performance and proven mechanics from Jaguar’s XK, the car already gets off to a promising start. The styling may have drawn criticism from a few stating that the inspiration is a bit too familiar to Aston Martin fans, but surely that’s the point of vintage looks contrasting the modern convenience.
The approach of David Brown Automotive to the British car manufacturing industry is one from someone not willing to take any chances, other than of course starting your own car company in the first place. The proven Jaguar engine, chassis, running gear and electrics form the basis of the car and make sure ride, handling, performance and reliability are taken care of. Design of the hand crafted aluminium body was handed over to Alan Mobberley, with nearly 20 years of Jaguar Land Rover design experience that ensured design was taken care of. Building the car would be down to Envisage, a team of expert engineers used to building hand crafted prototypes using the latest technology and advanced techniques.
The Speedback GT may have been vastly expensive compared to other luxury cars, but with no direct comparison or rival it would be difficult to gauge what price a handcrafted British modern interpretation of a vintage classic should be priced at. It may look vaguely like the DB5 or DB6 but even Aston Martin would marvel at the Speedback GT’s astonishing attention to detail. Every switch, lever, handle, dial or tiny styling detail has been meticulously designed and engineered so no part is run of the mill or inserted with a ‘that’ll do’ attitude. Whether you study the interior or exterior of the car the amount of design detail that has gone into each and every part of the car is astounding. As special as the details are to the car, bespoke doesn’t even come close to describing the amount of customisation David Brown Automotive offer for the cars. Any imaginable number of paint colours, interior materials and finishes can be tailored just the way you like them, the way luxury made to order car building should be.
After three years and understandably low volume sales, David Brown Automotive will only ever make 100 of the Speedback GT, most small British car manufacturers would trickle along selling maybe a couple of cars a year and call their venture a nostalgic success. A return to the great era of handcrafted motoring before declaring themselves bankrupt when their orders dry up after a few short years; not this manufacturer. The company has ambition and not only are they here to stay, they’re most definitely on the up. They have a brand new purpose built headquarters and manufacturing operations at the home of motorsport; Silverstone no less. Not only has the Speedback GT got a new home but it has been given a whole raft of updates to the styling, technology on offer and ways to customise your car. The first model has been a marketing and sales success for the company and rather than rest on their impressive debut they’re on the up.
Enter the difficult second album and second model to the David Brown Automotive line up; the ‘Mini Remastered’. The ethos behind the new model remains true to the ideals that gave birth to the Speedabck GT, classic styling with modern and luxurious underpinnings and technology.
At first glance the car looks just identical to the original Alex Issigonis classic, rather than a modern interpretation that many saw the Speedback GT was compared to the DB5/DB6. That concept has already been done with BMW’s MINI and why attempt to recreate another version when the original British icon still retains all of its unique appeal and following. The Mini Remastered maintains the company’s British roots and reintroduces the style icon bringing the car bang up to date in typical David Brown Automotive fashion.
At closer inspection, the Mini Remastered has all the attention to detail that the Speedback GT offers and then some. It may appear to be an original Mini body but the car is built by hand from the ground up with new panels to create new and accurate smooth bodywork and perfectly formed shut lines. The exterior shape is familiar yet refined with cleaner ‘de-seamed’ panels and custom made aluminium grilles. The iconic rear light clusters have been replaced with up to date LED lighting featuring the same detailing as the Speedback GT, and there’s even puddle lighting to the underside of the vintage bullet style wing mirrors. The single piece enamel Union Jack badges of the David Brown Automotive logo sit perfectly amongst the British icon styling, adding a touch of patriotism to the exterior.
If the exterior detailing shows that the car has been brought right up to date then the interior takes it far in to the future in terms of the original Mini’s offering. A lot of engineering has gone into soundproofing and stiffening the Mini Remastered offering levels of passenger comfort of a modern car twice, three times or four times its size. As well as passenger comfort the interior has been upgraded to suit any technology fan. The Mini Remastered offers as standard a built-in infotainment and navigation system, as well as offering Apple Car Play (Or Android Auto depending on your allegiance), keyless go, remote central locking, push button start, USB connectivity and a four speaker sound system. Not many superminis can offer those levels of technology, especially in such a small well designed package. The luggage compartment is of course leather lined to match the exquisite finish of the rest of the car.
Under the bonnet lives an overhauled and rebuilt classic Mini engine coupled with a fully reconditioned four-speed gearbox, offering up to 50% more power than the original motor. The brakes, suspension and handling have also undergone substantial upgrades to ensure this Mini goes, stops and turns like no other.
The 1,000 man hours it takes to build each car means the attention to detail doesn’t stop there. The paint application is a four week process ensuring that the finish matches that of the Speedback GT and, if your pockets are deep enough, is available in literally any colour combination you can dream up. The bespoke options are seemingly endless and of course include the interior trim, materials, wheels or anything else you feel needs customising. Not only that but even the petrol tank gets a finish matching that of your contrasting roof colour, or your chosen unique colour option of course. The car may be smaller and likely to be cheaper than the Speedback GT but that doesn’t mean the fastidious attention to detail is any less obsessive or impressive.
Befitting for a style icon, the Mini Remastered was launched at the fashionable Behind the Bikeshed in trendy Shoreditch, London, with a showcase of three editions of the car. The ‘standard’ model, if there is such a thing, was joined by a ‘Inspired by Monte Carlo’ and ‘Inspired by Café Racers’ editions, each showcasing the unique custom options and capabilities of the reworked icon.
Starting with such a legendary motoring figure is a clever move by David Brown Automotive, and despite the fact that prices are yet to be announced, there’s sure to be a huge amount of interest of all ages, enthusiasts and bank balances for their latest model. The capability of the craftsmanship and engineering has already been proven with the Speedback GT, and with the latest Mini Remastered, the marque sure is building on their strengths. With the opening of their new premises at the home of British motorsport in Silverstone and the introduction of the reworked British motoring icon, it seems that the future of British hand-built luxury car manufacturing is looking very bright indeed.
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