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The Definitive List of MINI Special Editions.

MINI has a long and storied history of special editions. Starting from 1976 there has been rarely a year where we didn’t present a special version of a MINI. These cars sometimes introduced features that would become a mainstay in regular production cars soon after, and always made our fans’ hearts beat a little faster. Check out our extensive list – featuring the cars that were available worldwide and were built by MINI – below.

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The Mini Racing Green, Mini Checkmate and Mini Flame Red, which were produced in 1990.
The Mini Racing Green, Mini Checkmate and Mini Flame Red, which were produced in 1990.
1976-1990

''The first Editions.''

The very first special edition MINI was the Mini Limited Edition 1000, also known as „Stripey”. At the time, special editions were not common, but that would quickly change, with 16 further special editions produced in the next thirteen years.The Mini Limited Edition 1000 wasn’t just a special car because it got the ball rolling, but also because it served an important function: most of its unique features – it was the first round-nosed Mini with eye-ball air vents, twin chrome door mirrors and reclining front seats – were quickly adopted for standard car production. 

Many special edition cars would follow – usually in unique and head-turning paint jobs – such as the successful Mini 25, celebrating the brands 25th anniversary, the beautiful sparkling silver Mini Ritz, or the golden Mini Piccadilly. The latter two, along with the Mini Chelsea, were named after areas of London and became affectionately known as “Posh Minis”. 

As we approached the brand’s 30th anniversary we released the Mini Sky, Flame, Racing and Rose, which were the first production Minis with contrast roofs since the 1960s. This helped influence car design for Mini in the 1990s, as well as the new MINIs at the turn of the millenium.

The legendary John Cooper sitting in the Mini John Cooper LE, sold in 1999, commemorated Mini’s 40th anniversary and Cooper's first F1 World Championship win.
The legendary John Cooper sitting in the Mini John Cooper LE, sold in 1999, commemorated Mini’s 40th anniversary and Cooper's first F1 World Championship win.