2013 Mini Inspired by Goodwood

First things first – this car is in fabulous condition.

It has just 11,644 miles under its various belts and has spent its life in heated, dehumidified garages, only venturing out under blue skies and warm sunlight.

The vendor, who curates his own collection of future and current classics, only buys the best examples of any model, and he bought this one on the spot as soon as he clapped eyes upon it.

Originally bought new by the previous owner for his wife, circumstances decreed that RR63 XXX wasn’t driven very much and the car effectively spent a decade in storage.

Only 1000 ‘Inspired by Goodwood’ models were ever built. Just 119 of those were built for the UK market.

Of those, 19 came optioned with the manual gearbox you’ll find in this one.

Which is odd, really, because underneath all the Rolls-Royce finery, this is a Cooper S.

We have driven it and can report that it delivers as much fun, thrills and grin-inducing engagement as any Cooper S should and must.

It starts on the button, strains at the leash like a Jack Russell in sight of a rabbit, and presses on with all the enthusiasm and gusto you could hope for.

The gear change is swift, positive and notchy, the handling is sublime, and the engine note ranges from guttural and eager to angry and rasping, especially if you’ve pressed the sport button.

And all the while you’re being cossetted and pampered in an environment that has all the comforts of a First Class airport lounge and the classic wood and leather ambience of a gentlemen’s club.

Here’s what the manufacturers themselves have to say about the model.

“Drawing on materials utilised in the craftsmanship of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the MINI inspired by Goodwood makes extensive use of leather, cashmere, lambswool and walnut veneer.

Due to the precise craftsmanship and attention to detail it is largely assembled by hand at the MINI factory in Oxford.

This unique MINI is in Rolls-Royce Diamond Black metallic paintwork which makes a striking contrast with the lighter tones of the interior in Rolls-Royce Cornsilk Beige.”

So, there you go.

Options fitted to this particular example include the following.

• MINI Navigation System
• Goodwood Multispoke Alloy Wheels
• Park Distance Control (PDC)
• Enhanced Bluetooth with USB Audio
• Harman Kardon Loudspeaker System
• Heated Front Seats
• Front Sports Seats
• Front Centre Armrest
• Sport Multifunction Steering Wheel
• Sport Button
• Comfort Access
• Adaptive Headlights
• White Indicator Lenses
• Electric Folding Exterior Mirrors

Well, by any meaningful measure, this car is in pretty much time-warp condition and you’d be forgiven for thinking that it left the production line last week (probably to a round of enthusiastic applause) not 12 years ago.

The bodywork is untroubled by any dinks, dents, warps or creases that we can see anywhere.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are as crisp and even as anything Good King Wenceslas might have looked out upon.

The Rolls-Royce Diamond Black Metallic finish is deep, shiny and full of residual lustre. The embedded flake really pops and sings in the sunshine.

The wheels are in fine fettle and the tyres, being pretty new, look to have a decent amount of tread left in them.

All lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are in excellent condition.

It’s all thoroughly impressive.

We noticed a couple of very light scratches on the tail-gate, some paint rubbed away from the edge of the driver’s door below the handle, one or two stone chips around the front valance, the ‘nose’ of the car and the wing mirror cowlings, and a little looseness at the offside end of the chromed trim around the bonnet grille.

The interior of this car is unlike that of lesser Minis.

It harks back to an era when prestige cars were hand-built by people called Claude and Godfrey, chaps with micrometres and pens poking out of their top pockets and the stems of briar pipes firmly clenched between their teeth.

Forget man-made fibres, fabrics that crackle with electrical static, faux-carbon-fibre plastic inserts, and rubber mats.

Think, instead, of acres of leather (we’ve seen fewer hides on display at a point-to-point meeting), over-rugs thick enough for you to lose sight of your feet, and more highly polished wood than you’d find on a Sheraton sideboard.

The walnut burr veneer is sourced from sustainable forests in North America and the lambswool for the over-rugs from California. Even the headlining is 90% percent pure wool from Australia and 10% percent cashmere from North China.

Mini’s chosen Rolls-Royce saddler has really gone to town on this interior and several sizeable oxen must have made the ultimate sacrifice as a consequence.

Not only are the seats, front and back, covered in thick, supple cream-coloured leather, the hides extend to the door cards, dashboard, centre console and even the padded leather mat covering the floor of the luggage bay.

The upholstery on the supportive and comfortable seats has yet to earn much more than the odd crease, let alone any sort of ingrained patina.

There are really no meaningful signs of wear anywhere.

The door cards, headlining, carpets and mats are all good, save for one or two very small scuffs and nicks to the leather atop the driver’s door capping.

The instruments, dials and controls all look good, and we’ve heard nothing to suggest that anything is currently not working.

Certainly, every button we pressed, toggle we tweaked and lever we flicked responded in a timely, accurate and uncomplaining fashion.

The boot, needless to say, is every bit as good as the rest of it.

The engine bay, you really shouldn’t be surprised to learn, looks clean, dry and as untroubled by the passage of time as you might expect to find in a car that has yet to pass the 12,000-mile mark.

The undersides of the car look equally sound, solid and possessed of structural integrity.

Very wisely, in our opinion, the vendor swapped the original run-flat tyres for a set of Michelin Primacy 3 non-run-flat items. The result is a far better ride quality, he tells us, and we believe him.

He also acted upon advice he’d heard on the Mini grapevine and in various forums and changed the water pump, a known Achilles-heel on Cooper S variants.

He didn’t need to do that, but he did it anyway. That should tell you quite a lot, we think.

It has an MoT (with no advisories) that’s valid until 14th November 2025.

Since 2019 the car has been SORN’d on three occasions, totalling almost a year.

The car has been serviced promptly throughout its life and always by main dealers.

The car comes with a splendid tailored black dust cover with Rolls-Royce insignia, original lambswool and black winter mats, all the relevant books, guides and manuals, and full sets of keys.

The history file contains the stubs from the packaging for replacement remote key-fob batteries, along with a note stating ‘New batteries fitted to remote keys – 1.3.22.’

That says as much about the vendor’s assiduous and meticulous curation of this car as it does about the car’s irreproachable condition.

Some Minis are destined to live a life of uncomplaining, stoic duty, endlessly scuttling from supermarket car parks to school gates and back again.

Others are race-bred, honed to the bone, committed to flexing their Cooper S Works Plus Extreme Max Pro muscles at any opportunity.

One or two far older items, such as those crafted by Wood & Pickett or Radford, went down the bespoke luxury route and embraced the haptic pleasures of fine leather, glossy veneers and ankle-deep carpets.

Uniquely, the Mini ‘Inspired by Goodwood’ edition ticks all of these boxes and quite a few others.

As rare as spots on a zebra, these cars are the best of all possible Mini worlds.

And this is the finest low-mileage example we’ve seen yet.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £20,000 - £25,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.