Steve Burch, the owner of this rare Italian take on the muchloved BMC classic, started his Mini career at a very young age and subsequently pushed the limits. “I had an 850 when I was 17. I passed my test and put it in a ditch three weeks later but a local garage put it on a jig and straightened it out for me,” he recalls.
His next acquisition was the much-sought-after 1071 Cooper S but it was in bits when he bought it which, as you’ll see, started a pattern. Though clearly a fan of the mechanical he knows his own limits. Thankfully his brother Philip was a mechanic and able to help. “My brother put it all together but that kept overheating, so that made way for a Cooper S in black, with 6x10 Cosmics. It was a lovely car. Then I met Sandra, my wife-to-be, and we needed to buy a flat so I sold
