1977 Leyland Mini 1000

This little British icon was originally built to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. Only 25 were produced in this unique silver-over-blue specification.

Back in 1977, a school teacher entered a competition run by St Cuthbert’s Co-op and Colgate toothpaste. The prize was this Mini, specially finished to mark the Queen’s 25 years on the throne. The teacher in question, Margaret Irvine, ended up winning the competition and became the car’s new owner. However, she didn’t have a driving licence at this point in time.

As a result, the Mini was tucked away in a garage in Buckstone, Edinburgh. It stayed there for three years until Margaret finally passed her driving test, and even then, it was only taken out occasionally. By the time it was sold in 2008, it had covered just 2,500 miles.

Over the years, the Mini stayed local and remained in the same family. It was well cared for and only driven on rare occasions, averaging around 200 miles a year.

Now, with just over 5,500 miles on the clock, this very original Mini has made its way to Suffolk and into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

Complete with a substantial collection of paperwork for its very interesting history, including MOTs, service records, and the original telegram congratulating Margaret on winning the competition. The documentation even includes a letter from the organisers explaining how Margaret had also won a Raleigh Chopper in the same competition. However, she declined the bike so someone else could have a chance at winning.

In something of a full-circle moment, our 1977 Leyland Mini will, once again, be won in a competition!

• 5500 miles
• 998cc engine
• 4-speed manual gearbox
• 1 of only 25 examples made
• Unique history
• Extensive history file
• Bridge Classic Cars pre-delivery inspection

This car can be run on synthetic fuel as well as traditional petrol.

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we run all of our competition cars on synthetic fuel. This is a like-for-like fossil-free alternative to petrol that reduces emissions by up to 80%. This can be mixed with traditional petrol and no modifications to the car are required. You can fuel this car with traditional petrol – we simply use synthetic fuel as part of our sustainability goals.