A MINI Cooper Pick-Up? Absolutely!

You’d never expect to find a MINI Cooper item on Motor Trend’s TRUCK TREND (“The Pickup & SUV Authority), but that’s exactly where this one was posted.

Evidently, Mike Syfritt, the proud owner of this 1980 Mini pickup says the truck has won two awards for Best of Show plus one runner up finish.

And you didn’t even know such a creature existed!

Mike explains: "It's a 1980 Leyland Mini95 Pickup. This truck is all original and a rare find! They only made a grand total of 58,000 from 61 to 83. Now these Mini pickups are more sought after that the MK1 Cooper S from the 60's. What makes them rare is that they were never imported to the US, and secondly; they were used as utility vehicles. That means they were used well and then when they rusted out they where junked. As far as I know there are maybe a few dozen in the US but are even hard to find in the UK because of their history. I don't really know all the history of this pickup but I find out more every day.

From what I can put together so far is this: It was built in Oxnard UK just like all the rest. At some point it was shipped to New Zealand where it spent a good part of its life (hence the small amount of rust), then brought to the US. Somewhere in the middle it was changed over to a left hand drive car. In some countries you have to change the drive train over to match with their driving specs in order to register it there. Not sure if that is the case for this truck or not.

It could have just been swapped over when it reached the US now since my business is primarily MINI and MINI Coopers. I bought this truck as a unique way to market my company."

Fair enough, Mike. Mike’s shop – Aesthetic Creations – does custom exterior graphic applications. Hope this helps!