TOP>Stock List>1990 model MINI MOKE Hard-Top
1990 model
MINI MOKE Hard-Top
The detailed condition of the vehicle is described in each photo.
On the top slide, there are 50 attractive photos of the vehicle.
Click on a photo to see it with a description.
The original SUV with a rare development history... With a one-of-a-kind look you'll never find anywhere else. It's a one-of-a-kind look that you'll never find anywhere else, and it's a lot of fun to drive. I'm so excited...!
I’m not going to write about the history of the car this time, as I always do… but I will!
Under the dazzling blue sky of summer sunshine, if not the blue sky and blue sea of the tropics, I was confronted with a rare hardtop with racing tires (CR65) on the fanny that made it look like a “spring-loaded toy car. It was the last red Leyland Mini Mork of the lot!
The unique chassis layout with tires on all four corners of the body, just like the Mini, makes you imagine the cart-like driving experience that was unique to the Mini. The body of the Mork, which is lighter than the Mini, is so light that it moves forward easily when pushed by hand.
Just looking at it makes me happy…! The one-of-a-kind appearance is full of charm! The custom made FRP hard top and the canvas top are just like a fanny look…! This final Leyland Mini-Moak, with its basic British design sublimated with the essence of individuality, is truly “fun to drive…! It’s a wonderful car that will make you fantasize about this and that!
Please check out the detailed video!
The owner, a very friendly classic car collector, told us, “Since you’re writing this article for us, please take your time to drive it…! I’m very happy to hear that. He gave me a taste of his car, and I had a wonderful drive full of a sense of freedom… Yes, I had a blissful time!
First of all, I want to tell you how thrilled I am! I want to tell you about it first…. So I’ll leave the details for later! Let’s immediately enjoy the crimson final Mini Mork with its fanny hardtop look in front of us!
I'm going to try to get into Mork, Faneelook first!
We open the unique door, which opens wide in front of us, and get in through the large opening…. The first thing you’ll notice when you get into the car, straddling the boxy and wide side sills, is how much roomier it is than the Mini.
The 990cc engine, which is managed by a single SU carburetor, has been well maintained by the owner and starts up very easily, waking up with energy after just a little cranking and producing the same exhaust as the Mini. The hardtop comes with a canvas top…! This unique feeling of freedom is outstanding…! The simple door can be easily removed, so you can leave it open and enjoy the feeling of freedom that only Mork can give you!
I never knew driving a car could be so much fun!
This car is the most fun to drive, with a four-speed manual transmission that goes in quickly and smoothly, giving you a great sense of freedom! “I never knew that driving a car could be so much fun! I never knew driving a car could be so much fun!” This feeling reminds me of the “slightly faint feeling I had in my late teens” when I first drove a manual car…!
While feeling the overwhelming presence of the Dunlop SP Sport 10-inch wheels stepping on all four corners, shifting up and down in time with the engine’s RPM, it was a completely different experience from the one we are used to with modern automatic transmissions. As you drive, you will naturally feel a completely unintelligible smile creeping into your face (laughs), and you will know that your right brain and body are demanding that you “enjoy it more! I can feel my right brain and my body asking me to have more fun!
No wonder this car has exploded in popularity in the world’s famous resorts on the French Riviera, the Australian Coast, and the Caribbean, and no wonder James Bond and Brigitte Bardot were captivated by it! Even if you drive it on the main road in your neighborhood, you will naturally notice that it has a unique presence that gives you a resort-like feeling of freedom and makes people on the road look back.
Sir Alec Issigonis, the genius behind the Mini Cooper. The forgotten relic of Sir Alec Issigonis, the genius behind the Mini Cooper, whose marketing magic changed the value of existence. Mini Mork, the famous car
No matter how good the quality of the product is, it may not sell at all if the target is not defined or the name is not catchy enough. The Mini-Moak is truly a famous car that was created by the marketing magic of changing its location and image to become a huge success….
So even today, when the production is over, the Mork is still indispensable in famous resorts around the world….
This final Leyland Mini Mork is the final 1990 model of the original Mini Mork, of which more than 50,000 were produced in the UK, Australia and Portugal since 1964, just before BMC sold the Mork design to Italy’s Casiva….
Mini Cooper developer Sir Alec Issigonis had designed several military vehicles prior to developing the Mini, primarily during World War II, when BMC (British Motor Corporation) commissioned him to create an ultra-light vehicle suitable for military deployment by helicopter. The engine, transmission, suspension, brakes, etc. were adapted from the Mini to reduce development costs for military purposes.
However, there were some obvious drawbacks to using this car for military purposes….
The most obvious were the minimum ground clearance and the fact that it was not 4WD. Unfortunately, the project failed and the American Jeep version of the Mini Cooper never saw the light of day as a military vehicle.
However, BMC did not give up, and performed what we would call “marketing magic”. They gave the vehicle the universally loved name “Donkey-Moke” and began manufacturing it for resorts in the Caribbean, California, and Australia.
This marketing magic of changing places, changing names was a huge success…! The Mork, the first SUV in the history of mankind, became so popular as a leisure vehicle that in 1990, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Cagiva bought the production rights and equipment and produced the Mork under the Cagiva name for the last three years until 1993. Since then, they have been used in countless resorts and tropical islands as car rentals, hotel pickups, and cabs, attracting people with their liberating atmosphere….
postscript
The owner, who collects a wide range of art from modern art to classical paintings and truly enjoys art in his daily life, has a very beautiful classic saloon such as a Rolls-Royce and a pre-war Mercedes-Benz in his clean garage. He loves his classic saloons so much that he keeps them in excellent condition by entrusting the spare key for each car from the duplicate key in the garage to his doctor, whom he has known for many years, to take care of any problems before they occur.
The owner said to me, “Mr. Horikawa… Here! This is a very fun looking car with a spring…! This is the last Mini Mork that I was asked to sell. The owner is also a fun guy… “I love the look and the taste of the car…! He loves it so much….
“I love it so much that I need to get rid of it…”
This is the reason why the owner wants to sell it…. The final Mini Mork is a very funny looking, one-of-a-kind car that is sure to bring a smile to the face of any new owner who reads this article and becomes interested….
The reason why I wrote my impressions of the car first, instead of writing about this and that, is that it is, without a doubt, a really fun car! That’s all I have to say!
“The original SUV with a rare development history… I’m very excited about the final lot of Leyland Mini-Moak, which has a one-of-a-kind appearance that you’ll never see anywhere else, and is great fun to drive…! I’m sure I’m not the only one.
This very fun and wonderful 1990 Mini Mork with hardtop is currently located in Gunma Prefecture.
The car is currently being temporarily erased, so please pay for the recycling fee. Please contact the owner’s doctor if you would like to have the car inspected. Please consult with us for details. In addition, the buyer is responsible for land transportation.
The vehicles listed here are privately owned, and are listed as FOR SALE after being interviewed at the request of the owner.
The content of the article is made based on the owner’s comment and what I saw and heard during the interview time of about one hour, so it may not be 100% accurate description of the actual condition of the car, and the content of the article is not all backed up. Please be aware that comments on the condition of the vehicle are based on the conditions at the time of the interview and the subjective view of the person in charge of the interview, and may differ from the photos and articles after a period of time has passed.
Please contact us if you have any questions about the vehicle or if you would like to check the vehicle. Please note that this is a private transaction, so in order to prevent people from getting cold feet, we only allow people who are considering buying to check out the car.
The above article is based on the owner’s comments. We have not verified the maintenance history, restoration history, etc. on this site.