Spectre Type 10 Is An Extremely Rare Mini Restomod And Costs $180,000

Aston Martins with convertible tops and blinged-out Flying Spur Bentleys are just Millennial nostalgia bait. Perhaps the coolest thing to come out of Monterey Car Week this year was a classic Mini with a Honda engine. In North Vancouver, British Columbia, the Spectre Type 10 was designed by Spectre Vehicle Design.

It has a Honda K20 engine with 230-hp behind the seats, Rear-wheel drive, limited-slip differential, and a six-speed manual transmission as standard. Believe it or not, Type 10 is Spectre's first car.

Given the amount of evident craftsmanship on exhibit, especially on the interior, the fact that the car only weighs 1,700 lbs. with fluids (the modern Miata weighs more than 2,300 lbs) is unbelievable. Everything about this car—the chrome, the clocks, the wooden surfboard-shaped dash, and the stunning "type ten" emblem on the leather-wrapped cage—is well-done and demonstrated great auto style.

"The wasabi-colored carbon-fiber bucket seats were motivated by a picture of Monica Bellucci in a black one-piece bathing suit with belly button cutout," says Marco Lii, Design Director.

As well as being engineered to remove hot air from the four-piston disk brakes, these bespoke 10-inch directional three-piece wheels also look like a harsher version of the old Mini's famous stock wheels. However, the price is high. With only 10 cars available in the first batch, each Type 10 will cost $180,000, which is about the same as a new Acura NSX Type S with the Lightweight Package.