Innocenti Mini De Tomaso - hot on curves
Summary
Around 50 years ago, just under 70 hp was still enough for maximum driving pleasure, at least when it was packaged as compactly as in the Innocenti Mini De Tomaso. However, the indirect descendant of the Mini Cooper S also had some tangible advantages to offer and was certainly a practical car. But it certainly wasn't quiet and velvety. This driving report tells the story of the Innocenti Mini De Tomaso and shows it in current and historical images.
This article contains the following chapters
- Bertone's Mini
- Fast version in Turin 1976
- Extraverted
- Delayed export
- Not for wimps
- From four-cylinder to three-cylinder
Estimated reading time: 7min
Preview (beginning of the article)
Anyone changing from a BMW X3 or a VW ID5 into the Innocenti Mini De Tomaso is in for a huge culture shock. If you were previously sitting high up and looking down at other road users, your backside is now only around 30 cm above the ground. The car ends just one meter in front of you, and there are only a good two meters to the rear. The entire Mini has a footprint of 4.77 square meters, which is just over half the space required by the aforementioned X3 or ID5 models. The Italian Mini variant also undercuts the modern SUVs in terms of height by 15 percent or more. You can hardly transport four (or even five) people in much less space. But not with much less comfort either. But who cares about that with the Innocenti?
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