Meani: Now the Mini is Swiss
The original Mini has been resurrected. However, the legendary little Brit now behaves as an uncompromising sports car. It goes by the name of Meanie and is made by Emil Frey Classics through and through. In other words, a genuine Swiss. Where there is usually the back seat, a turbocharged two-liter mid-engine now does its work. The unit delivers 220 hp to the [...]
Where the rear seat would otherwise be, a turbocharged two-liter mid-engine now does its work. The unit delivers 220 hp to the rear axle. This allows the car to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in less than four seconds, and the speedometer needle doesn't stop until 200 km/h. This will amaze sports drivers. This will amaze sports drivers. That's why it's called Meanie (mean equals nasty).
The basis is the original Mini in classic green
The story of the little Boldiden seems like a fairy tale: It all began in 2013 with a term paper by mechanical engineering student Raffael Heierli at the Rapperswil University of Applied Sciences. Title: Structural analysis for the design of a mid-engine sports car with a classic car look, approvable and feasible in small series. His vehicle of choice was a classic Mini in a late 1990s version.
Support from entrepreneur Walter Frey
However, there was a catch: the car only existed on paper. Raffael Heierli, now 28, asked entrepreneur Walter Frey for support. He was open to the idea - after all, his Emil Frey Group had been importing the original Mini for decades; he himself had raced a Cooper S.
Externally no differences from the original
with his two fellow students Marc Bernhard and Adrian Spinnler, Heierli set to work in a backyard workshop. The new-old bodyshell was purchased from British Motor Heritage. Externally, the Meanie was not to differ from the original, but underneath the sheet metal, a different vehicle was created. The engine, transmission, tubular frame, brakes, cooling system, exhaust system and two bucket seats with racing harnesses were specially developed or sourced from around the world.
Type approval with many hurdles
Five copies are to be built. A prototype is already on the road. Completely legal, street-legal in Europe and thus also in Switzerland. Initiator and project manager Lorenz Frey: "This is by no means a matter of course: Anyone who wants to obtain EU small-series type approval has to overcome some very high hurdles."
