There are rare MINIs. There are bespoke MINIs. And then there is this: one of just three right hand drive David Brown Mini eMastered examples ever built, now quietly listed for sale.

When we first covered the launch of the all-electric Mini eMastered by David Brown Automotive, it felt like an audacious footnote in the MINI story, a modern coachbuilder taking the Issigonis blueprint and rewriting it with electrons instead of SU carbs. Now, one of those three cars has surfaced on Pistonheads. And it might be one of the most compelling electric MINIs ever built.

At its core, the eMastered starts with an original classic Mini shell. But to call it restored would be like calling a Savile Row suit “tailored.” Every panel is reworked. Every seam is considered. Tolerances are tightened. Paint finishes feel deep enough to swim in.

David Brown Automotive, best known for its Speedback GT, applies the same philosophy here: honor the past, then quietly perfect it. The chrome is jewelry-grade. The stance is subtly modernized. The details, from flush lighting to bespoke trim, elevate the familiar shape without distorting it.


A Coachbuilt Electric Classic Mini

The eMastered begins life as an original classic Mini shell, but from there it becomes something closer to automotive haute couture. Panels are reworked. Gaps are tightened. Paint is layered and polished to a depth that would shame most modern luxury cars.

David Brown Automotive, known for its meticulous, low-volume builds, treats the Mini not as a nostalgic toy but as a design object worthy of reinvention. The result is familiar yet elevated. Chrome is crisp. Lighting is subtly modernized. The cabin feels tailored rather than restored.

Crucially, it still reads instantly as a Mini. No exaggerated flares. No visual gimmicks. Just a cleaner, sharper evolution of an icon.

72 kW, Instant Torque, Zero Drama

Beneath the classic silhouette sits a 72 kW electric motor. On paper that number sounds modest. In a lightweight Mini, it transforms the car.

The experience shifts from mechanical chatter to smooth, immediate torque. It is brisk rather than brutal, which feels entirely appropriate. This is not a drag-strip novelty. It is a usable, daily-friendly electric classic Mini that retains the car’s compact agility while eliminating the quirks that once defined ownership.

Where It Sits in the MINI Universe

The original 1959 Mini democratized clever engineering. Modern BMW-era MINIs premiumized it. The eMastered takes a third path: electrified craftsmanship.

It is not factory. It is not officially MINI. But it captures a question the brand itself is wrestling with as it moves deeper into EVs: how do you carry heritage forward without becoming trapped by it? The David Brown Mini eMastered answers that with leather, lacquer, and lithium-ion cells.

This is not for the concours purist or the dyno-sheet hero. It is for someone who loves the mythology of the Mini but wants modern drivability, total opulence and ultra exclusivity.

Happy bidding (PistonHeads)