This is a 1968 MK1 Mini with the heart of a Toyota, the legendary 4A-GE engine which uses in many Toyota cars from the 80s. The 4A-GE engine was first introduced in 1983 by Toyota. It was used on a Toyota AE86 that produces 112 hp at 6,600 rpm and 131 N·m (97 lb·ft) of torque at 4,800 rpm. It’s an impressive engine with high revving ability in the ’80s. With so many advantages, this is the first time we see a car enthusiast actually put this engine into a Mini shell.

Look at that engine bay! This MK1 Mini Cooper is located at Oudtshoorn, South Africa. The owner built the car from the ground up over a period of more than a year. Well, it’s not easy to put a Toyota engine into a small classic Mini Cooper. Without a doubt, loads of money and time must have gone into the car. See the 1966 Crazily modified Austin Se7en Van then you will know what we mean.

The exterior of this car is in black and cream. Windows has been modified to wind-up type (Note that MK1 Mini is using sliding window). Inside, it features full roll cage, leather bucket seats, reupholstered black interior, custom dash board.

Front loader, 3000 watt amp, 12-inch sub-woofer, fiber-glass flip front, fiberglass boot lid, 13 inch TSW mags with 175/50/13 Yokohama tyres are a few other parts you can find on this cute little Mini.

There are also extra mods such as duel pot brake master setup with adjustable brake bias, VW vented drilled disks and VW calipers front, VW drilled disks with BMW calipers back, Hi/lo adjustable suspension front and back, rubber cones in the back and imported coils in the front. As you can see from the photo, the 4AGE is also married a Honda Civic Radiator.

Under the hood, this Mini features a fully rebuilt 3rd Gen Toyota 4AGE 1.6 16V Motor. This engine has the silver cam covers with the words only written in red, hence the nickname “red top”. The compression ratio is from 9.4:1 to 10.3:1. Paired with a Corolla 5 speed gearbox with Button Clutch, Twin Dellorto 40mm side draught carbs, and custom intake and exhaust manifolds. It is estimated the power has at least 125 PS (92 kW; 123 hp) at 7200 rpm with a torque of 149 N·m (110 lb·ft) at 4800 rpm. Very impress, isn’t it?

From all the photos we have, this Mini is definitely one of a kind. For those who are interested to buy, the owner Simon is letting it go! This is a good chance to own a Toyota powered Mini Cooper.

How does it sounds? Have you ever heard how a Toyota AE86 sounds?