Advertising Last completed movie pages 1999 Rover Mini Cooper Red Bull convertible by R&R Fahrzeugtechnik MkVII [ADO20]Class: Cars, Convertible — Model origin: 
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![1999 Rover Mini Cooper Red Bull convertible by R&R Fahrzeugtechnik MkVII [ADO20]](/i001843003.jpg)
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◊ 2023-11-19 17:26 |
Reg. no T577FGT Make & Model ROVER MINI 1000 CITY E (by cartell.ie - Oh, really???) Date of first registration May 1999 Year of manufacture 1999 Cylinder capacity 1275 cc (probably genuine, no info about swap) Export marker Yes (exported 29 April 2004) Vehicle colour BLUE/SILVER -- Last edit: 2023-11-19 17:42:50 |
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◊ 2023-11-19 19:17 |
Apparently there were 12 T5xx FGT registered Red Bull UK Minis with consecutive plates and all 12 were used in the 1999 London to Brighton Mini run, the only time the full set appeared together. 2 more 1999/2000 V plates were added and the fleet of 14 used at events throughout UK and Ireland. Red Bull then went over to similarly converted fleets of the new MINI, and exported most of the old ones, T580 and the two V-plate cars were exported to clubbing capitals and cut into bits and turned into DJ decks, and some went to the Dominican Republic. 5 were left in UK (T569,570,572,575,579), decommissioned and then sold on with RB insisting they were repainted otherwise they'd send in the copyright lawyers. Possibly now only 3 left, all being simple Mini convertibles with various ordinary colours and without the giant tin cans, but they still have the fridges in the back. Plate-checking the numbers gives a mix of results - more City 1000E, Cooper, Cooper 1.3i - which is surprising - why not give the same descriptor across the full batch?? No clue who built them, but looks like a Crayford-ish cabrio (although nothing to suggest it was Crayford) which then got added bits and pieces. They seem to have the 1275 MPi engine (but all 1999 Minis had it) and Cooper seems most likely base (1.3i suffix was dropped in 96). |
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◊ 2023-11-20 15:08 |
Different story from a book reference. It claims R&R KFZ Gmbh from Maiser-Uberacker in Germany built 90 promo Mini Cabriolets in 1996, illustrated with a photo of a pristine display example with LHD and no plates. If RB commissioned a huge fleet for use across Europe and further, it kind of makes sense, but I've seen similar figures also used for the Red Bull fleet of 2001+ new MINI conversions around the world, along with another claim that some were created in US. So I guess there's a full story out there waiting to be found, but I can only find part glimpses. |
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◊ 2023-11-20 16:27 |
R & R KFZ Reparatur GmbH of Maisach-Überacker, trading as "R & R Fahrzeugtechnik" built built about 2300 convertibles of that kind from 1988 until 1998 on various chassis. Regardless of the registration info, the one above looks like one of them to me. ![[Image: sonderfahrzeuge2.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/3946/23/sonderfahrzeuge2.jpg) Source (translated)Hope this helps, @dsl! .gif ":)") |
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◊ 2023-11-20 17:44 |
 That pretty well solves it as far as I can tell. The pics of the 14 UK cars I've seen look 1999-ish for the Mini details and the reg dates are consistent with 1999, so if R&R built that batch the production run of 90 wasn't a single commission in 96 only. Other wise the info looks solid.Some other snippets in the link are interesting, partic the Corsa [B] info: "Opel advertised the Corsa "B" in the R & R Cabriolet version since 1994, initially under the name "Sun + Fun Car", later it was given the name "Sunny Side". It was also delivered to England and Australia under this name. However, it was not until 1995 that R & R managed to export the Corsa “Sunny Side” to Switzerland. The Opel Corsa was finally sold in England in 1998 in collaboration with Vauxhall, where it was officially part of the sales programme". ![[Image: sonderfahrzeuge1.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/10314/23/sonderfahrzeuge1.jpg) Glass's lists it from Aug 94 as 1.4 GLS only - no other dates. Some other comments online show a mixed story with most examples found being 88-89, although a couple of 96-ers with P plates.: - "These were available in Australia as Holdens. From November 1997 until late 2000, Holden sold the Barina Cabrio soft top convertible. Based on the Barina City three-door hatchback, the soft top version was built in Spain like the rest of the SB series lineup. However, once imported into Australia, Holden organised for the conversion into cabriolets at Clayton, Victoria through its performance vehicle partner, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). As a result, there was no Opel-branded equivalent for the unique-to-Australia cabriolet. I do wonder if the UK models were part the same Australian conversion?" - "I'm pretty sure these were converted in Germany or were just rebadged Holden Barinas, which were converted in Australia. Both look identical." - "Corsa 1.4i Special Edition Cabriolet, a joint venture between Vauxhall and several of its larger UK dealers introduced in 1998. Based on the standard three-door hatchback, its ingenious two-piece roof comprised a detachable targa panel above the front passengers and a foldable hood from the B-post back. A proper four-seater, the Cabriolet was equipped with power steering, central locking, five-speed manual transmission and a 1.4i Hi-Torq engine as standard. Options included alloy wheels and black or metallic paint. It had a padded roll cage, lockable glove box, electronic engine immobiliser, seatbelt pretensioners and side-impact door bars. ..... Keenly priced at £11,845, the 1.4i was capable of 93 mph, 0-60 mph in 14 seconds and a combined 38.2 mpg. Yet for all its advantages it proved to be such a slow seller that Vauxhall pulled the plug on it in 1999. Hence, according to Ron Goddard of the Vauxhall Convertible Car Club, 'only 100 or so were ever offered in the UK'." - "1998 Vauxhall Corsa Cabriolet in metallic green. This is one of only 60 manufactured for the UK market. Only 20 each of green, red and black were made." - "Available new from March 1998 - January 1999" (Parker's Guide) |
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◊ 2023-11-21 00:14 |
T570FGT ![[Image: vlcsnap-2023-11-13-22h20m55s824.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/23898/23/vlcsnap-2023-11-13-22h20m55s824.jpg) -- Last edit: 2023-11-21 00:16:10 |
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