Offered from the Patrick Motors Collection
1978 Mini 1275 GT Competition Saloon

Built in period by Richard Longman for Patrick Motors
Replica of his 1978/1979 British Saloon Car Championship-winning Mini 1275 GT
Used for promotional purposes and never raced
Requires recommissioning before use

Patrick Motors sponsored - and was very successful with – saloon car racing, winning the British Saloon Car Championship twice in the late 1970s with well known Mini exponent Richard Longman. This Mini 1275 GT was purchased by Richard Longman and built for Patrick Motors as an exact replica of his 1978 British Saloon Car Championship-winning car. In fact, Longman also won the Championship in 1979 driving the same Mini 1275 GT for Patrick Motor Sport, which ran the British Leyland-supported works team. Longman was completely dominant in his class, winning nearly every race two years running in the PMS Mini.

Longman had worked for the factory-approved tuning firm Downton Engineering in the 1960s, tuning and preparing countless Minis, before setting up his own company, Longman Engineering, in 1971. Not merely a tuner, Longman was also a talented racer and thus ideally suited to spearhead British Leyland's campaign in the British Saloon Car Championship, with sponsorship from Patrick Motors Ltd. Longman's team managed to extract 120bhp from the 1.3-litre A-Series engine but that still left the Mini at a marked disadvantage when facing larger-engined rivals. However, the Mini was far more agile, running rings around the competition in corners. In 1978, Longman took 11 class wins out of 12 races (retiring once) to win the championship in imperious style. The '78 car was retained for the following season, which would prove equally successful, with 10 wins out of 12 races resulting in another Championship victory.

This replica has been built with a racing engine, slick tyres, roll cage, bucket seat, competition exhaust, etc, etc. The Mini has been used for exhibition purposes, touring Patrick Motors branches and attending events, etc. It has no actual competition history but could be restored/rebuilt to full modern Historic competition specification making it eligible for racing at the Goodwood Members' Meeting etc. But it will need going through from front to back. Offered with an old-style V5C document.