Thieves take Mini ‘in broad daylight’
A Mini enthusiast has praised the classic car community for its part in making his stolen Mini 35 too hot to handle.
When Noah’s modified Mini, known affectionately as Mia, disappeared from an East London street in the afternoon of Wednesday, 25 July, the thieves who drove it away did so without realising they had been caught on CCTV.
Within hours, Mia’s disappearance had been shared thousands of times on social media – and the CCTV had been handed to the police. ‘We just hope it’s enough for somebody to spot her,’ said Noah. ‘We want to get her back and we want to get these guys caught so that they can’t do it to anybody else as well,’ he added.
For Noah, Mia was a labour of love – a car that he restored from a rusty shell into a customised track day toy and daily driver. Over a six-year period, before he could even drive, and on a student budget, Noah eventually installed a 1293cc Supercharged VMax Scart engine, Corbeau Clubsport seats, a MOMO Prototipo steering wheel, Yokohama A032Rs tyres and Swiftune rose petal alloys. He had Mia resprayed its original Pearlescent Nevada Red, a Mini 35 limited edition shade.
Noah added: ‘I am devastated and really angry by what’s happened. It is more than a car; it is something I have poured my heart and soul into. Anybody who knows me also knows how much it means to me and the fact that two guys think that it’s okay to simply come and steal it away really annoys me.’
Metropolitan Police, 101