I bought a Mini Cooper to build into a rally car. It needed a new engine, but that was all part of the plan…Apparently!
The first big job was stripping the car right down to a bare shell. Everything was removed — the seats, carpets, complete dash, and the full wiring loom. At one point it looked less like a car and more like a bath.
Any parts that caused problems were replaced with new ones.
The car was even put on a turn table so we could work on the underneath. Seeing a car spinning in the air was cool… and a little scary. It was all under control…. so they said
The inside of the car was painted candy purple, because rally cars should never be boring.
A roll cage was welded in to make the car strong and safe, and a lot of time went into building and fixing parts that didn’t always go to plan.
Building a rally car means making it tough enough for rough roads and safe enough to race. Every part has to be checked, changed, or upgraded.
My idol is Michèle Mouton, a famous rally driver from France, She drove in the groub B era and is a legend of her time where safety was out the gap !
I added a tribute sticker of her on the roof.
People keep asking if the build took 6 or 7 weeks
It didn’t.
It took 67.
Just joking it took 6 or 7 months
By Layla Marie Dillon
