Sporty Oselli Edition special
Oxfordshire firm introduces sporty version of its charming classic Mini restomod
David Brown Automotive’s re-engineering of the classic Mini is a thing of loveliness, if as well as some cost. But it’s more at home in Knightsbridge than it is on a twisting B-road, which is a balance that this new limited-to-60 Oselli Edition, named for the famed tuner that supplies its tweaked 1450cc A-series engine, is meant to shift.
The basics are the same as with other ‘remastered’ Minis, in that a donor car is given a new shell (which comes supplied to original specification and is then deseamed, coated and basically sorted out) before having the 125bhp motor installed, to drive via a five-speed gearbox and limited-slip differential.
The Oselli Edition runs on 13in wheels, its front track is about 5mm wider than its rear track and its suspension receives non-adjustable Bilstein dampers and a few bushing changes – although fewer than originally planned, because DBA wanted to retain some compliance. Which it has.
The interior is pleasingly finished, with fixed-back bucket seats and a half roll-cage (plus harness options), although none of that changes the Mini-ish driving position, nor the fact that, despite this being a truly tiny car, you don’t feel cramped.
It’s only 3.05m long and 1.47m wide, yet the windscreen is a distance away from you, while there’s a shortlegged, long-armed driving position with a heavily angled wheel that you get used to very quickly. Likewise the offset but deftly weighted pedals, which lend themselves to the heeland-toeing you need to do, given that this twin-su-carburettored engine doesn’t want to rev cleanly under heavy loads below around 3000rpm but after that mark rorts impeccably cleanly up to a 6500rpm redline.
The unassisted steering darts around but always lets you know what it’s up to, and because there’s some compliance and roll in the chassis (even though this is a sub800kg car), the steering’s weight, feel and feedback build linearly.
On track, that translates to a car that’s all about its front end (as I’m told racing Minis often were). When you first turn, on a trailed throttle or the brakes, the Oselli Edition is very mobile; and from the apex onwards under power, the steering gets a bit stickier and the front hangs on extremely gamely, while the back hangs out behind it, drifting foursquare like it’s a trailer or on castors.
That kind of hyper-agility and lack of stability is evident on the road, too, with it hunting, sniffing and moving about in a way that no new hot hatch would be allowed to. But because it’s so superbly telegraphed and the car is so small, it’s entirely appropriate and actually thoroughly good fun.
Eventually it runs out of travel and shows the body’s lightness, but it has give like that of the Toyota GR Yaris rather than the Porsche 911 GT3. It’s less finessed, you might argue, than something like the Alfaholics GTA-R, but it’s not much less entertaining and a fair amount cheaper.
My drive was relatively short, but the Mini doesn’t feel overtly wearing either, especially given its high-grade cabin and level of initial compliance.
We’re suckers for the regular Mini Remastered, and the Oselli Edition is no exception. Sure, if you took an old Mini and spent the 1200 hours that DBA’S technicians do, you could have a car to your specification that might be as good. But few have the time, skill and energy, and if you’re looking for a really lovely turnkey car to win over even really cynical old codgers like me, look no further.
Put it this way: yesterday I had a Porsche and a 15-mile back-road trip to take, but if I had had an Oselli Edition too, I would have driven that.