We’re not surprised because this Clubman VTEC really is a stunning piece of work. However two things really stand out above everything else. Its subtlety – despite running a VTEC with Honda five-speed and LSD, it retains the Clubman’s track and at normal speeds you’d never know that there was a 185bhp beast under that familiar nose; and Matthew – he tackled everything on this car, even the paint and built the custom dash (using a modified Civic LSI instrument cluster), giving the car a superb professional finish.

    It’s understandable therefore that when Matthew says: “Nothing has been shipped to anyone,” that you can detect a faint touch of pride in his voice.

    “It’s been used a fair bit lately, I did 160 miles in it yesterday and last year I did drag race it at Avon Park where it clocked the quarter mile in the low 14s – and that was with the suspension not quite there, because it was torque-steering a bit.

    Any other plans for this stealth Seventies projectile? “I’m not really tempted to get more power because it goes nuts after 6000rpm anyway, plus its lower geared than it would have been in the CTR and the Clubman is lighter too.”

    Job done and in the bag, Matthew climbs into the Bronze Yellow Clubman – it’s a couple of rungs up the eye-catching ladder from the Clubman’s original Sandglow paintjob – he fires it up. Again, there is really is little to suggest that there’s one of the world’s finest performance four-cylinders in this Mini. Such is the quality of the work (Matthew has only previously restored his Mum’s 1993 Cooper to OE-spec) that you’d just think that this was a subtly tuned Mini.

    That is of course, before he disappears with the taps open and the needle screaming around to the realm of the bonkers cam profile. Boy, if only you could hear it! Oh hold on, you can...

Lawrence BL Mini Clubman VTEC

Technical Specification

Body
1976 BL Mini Clubman 1098cc with modified inner wings bulkhead and modified Allspeed Engineering front subframe, Gp2 wheelarch trims (plus rubber strip). Full Sparco rollcage, stripped out interior, race bucket seats and harnesses, Cooper drilled alloy door furniture. Paint: BL Bronze Yellow.

Engine
Honda B16B 98 Spec R, DOHC, 1585cc, 81.0 x 77.4mm, CR: 10.8:1, 16-valve with VTEC variable valve control, electronic fuel injection, Rover Mini Cooper fuel tank with Honda CRX fuel pump and sender. Max Power: 183bhp @ 8200rpm; max torque: 111lb.ft @ 7000rpm.

Transmission
Front-wheel drive, five-speed Honda gearbox with Honda quickshift, limited-slip differential.

Suspension
BL rubber cones, Gaz adjustable dampers, Hi-Los, Rose-jointed fully-adjustable front suspension (rear suspension adjustable for camber).

Brakes
Front: KAD 8.4 inch vented discs; rear: Cooper S drums with EBC competition linings, servo-assisted (servo located in boot).

Wheels & Tyres
Revolution Motorsport 7J x 13in alloys with Yokohama A539 175/50R13 tyres.