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► The latest Hot Wheels Legends UK winner announced
► Small car, big power
► It could become a die-cast Hot Wheels toy
The Mini ‘Mentley’, a custom-built 1983 Austin Mini built to evoke vintage Bentley racers, has won the Hot Wheels Legends UK tour, meaning it has a chance of becoming a Hot Wheels die-cast toy.
The Mini Mentley, owned by Dominic Whittle, was chosen from 180 entrants before being handed the UK trophy at the Gravity Show, held at the NEC Birmingham on August 24th and 25th.
Whittle’s entrant wasn’t just for this show, either. The project first began life as a track day car before gradually becoming the show-winning piece you see today. The old BMC A-Series engine was retired in favour of a TVR V8 developing 320bhp, and to handle the extra burst of power, it’s mated to a gearbox from an old Range Rover.
According to early test trails, it can hit 0-60 in just three seconds. This is when assisted by nitrous through straight-through exhausts however.
As hinted by the name, the British Racing Green finish and the subtle ‘8’ on the grille, the Mini Mentley was built as a nod to the iconic racing Bentleys of the late 1920s, consisting of the 4.5 Litre Blower and the Speed Six.
Don’t think it only served as a track or show vehicle either. As a trio of musicians, Whittle and a couple of friends used the Mini Mentley to travel across Europe, performing throughout France, Germany, and Italy to raise funds for the charity, Save the Children. How did they carry their instruments, you might ask? They simply strapped them to the rear luggage rack, of course.
Previous winners of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour included a Volvo P1800 ‘Gasser’, a hot-rodded Nash Metropolitan, and a monster truck version of the Mazda Autozam Scrum kei pickup. On the UK leg, last year’s winner was a late MGB GT, nicknamed the MG B-EAST.
From now on, the Mini Mentley will compete against cars from around the world to be declared the overall winner. The semi-finals will be held on November 2nd, and the Grand Finale decider will be held on November 11th.
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour winner has yet to be decided, so you can’t buy a die-cast of the Mentley yet. However, in the meantime, we’re obsessed with this Playmobil Mini Cooper, complete with model Dalmation.
Playmobil Classic Cars Mini Cooper
