Stimson Mini Bug

I own a Kit Car called a Stimson Mini Bug. When it was bought (back in 1990), it was partly built so over a period of 6 months, the car was taken apart and re-built from scratch. The car is based on a Mini and the gear box, petrol tank, wheels and dashboard instruments are all taken from a Mini. It has a 997cc Mini engine which may not seem much but because it is very light, it does have a quick acceleration, although a top speed of just 80mph.

Originally yellow in colour, it was re-sprayed in ‘Aston Martin Amethyst’ (or purple as some people might call it!). There are only a handful of these cars left in the country and this site, dedicated to Mini-based Kit Cars, showcases a few more.

My Bug now comes out each summer for a few months while the weather is nice because, as you may notice, there is no roof. Although that didn’t stop me driving it in the rain when I was younger. Unfortunately over the years I have grown a bit so it’s not as comfortable to drive as it used to be.

There is a new Stimson design called the Stimson Buggy, a kind of updated version of what you see here but based on a Ford Fiesta. Take a look here for an account of Barry and his son driving two of these to the most northern point of Europe, Nordkapp in Norway

The light green patch on the front of the bonnet in the top picture is untreated fibreglass used to patch up the bonnet after an accident.