Our exciting new tooling for the Mini Clubman sees Corgi respond to collector demand for this historically important British car and fittingly our first model is the very car that was used to create the tooling.

As BMC became BL, Ford stylist Roy Haynes was employed to modernise the group’s products. Management were keen to make more profit on the, by this time, 10-year old Mini which, although it had substantially revolutionised the entire world of small cars, had not been as successful economically as it was technically. Haynes’ team developed a Cortina Mk2 style nose, which added 4 inches to the Mini’s length, a driver’s instrument binnacle, wind-up windows and perforated-Ambla seats.

Although these changes were relatively cheap to implement, they did improve the Mini’s refinement and enabled BL to charge considerably more for the Clubman models. Surprisingly the Clubman was aerodynamically inferior to the standard Mini so consequently both maximum speed and motorway fuel economy were worse. However, the range was praised after its 1969 Motor Show launch for addressing many of the Mini’s shortcomings and sold very well before being withdrawn in 1980 just prior to the Metro’s announcement.

‘Trevor’ (so called because of his TFR registration) was bought from ‘Queens and Brighton’, an Austin main dealer in Blackpool, by Mr Stanley Onslow for his wife Joan on the 1st February 1971. Despite living in Prestbury, Manchester, Trevor returned to Blackpool for servicing for the first 3 years, as a relative owned the dealership. The Onslows kept Trevor for 31 years. He is now owned by Oxford-based enthusiasts Tanya and Jason Field who have eight Minis! Trevor was built on the 13th April 1970 and is one of the earliest known surviving 1275 GTs. He has retained all his unusual early period features including the lower 3.65:1 final drive and consequently a tachometer red-lined at 6,500rpm. Because of the Mini’s propensity to rust and popularity in motorsport original examples are rare. However, ‘Trevor’ is so original that he was used as the template for Corgi’s new Clubman tooling.

• Engine: 1,275cc 4IL OHV
• Power: 59bhp@5,300rpm
• Torque: 65lb.ft@2,550rpm
• Maximum speed: 86mph
• 0–60mph: 14.7secs