Once upon a time, Mini built a small pickup truck. But that time was long ago, and there's certainly nothing of the sort in the modern Mini era. Perhaps there should be, because this bespoke Mini pickup made from a Clubman has us thinking truck yeah!
We've certainly seen plenty of oddball pickup build, notably from Smyth Performance which offers all kinds of fibreglass bed conversions for everything from the VW Beetle to a Dodge Charger. This Mini doesn't have a fibreglass bed, nor did it come with instructions on how to turn a four-door, all-wheel-drive Clubman into a two-door pickup truck. Instagram user Timothy (AKA imperf3kt) had to write the book himself, and we'd say the final product is far from imperfect. Say hello to the Elcamini.
The video at the top of this article offers an overview of the build, but Timothy's Instagram page goes in-depth, and whoa, Nellie was this a project and a half. Lopping off the roof off seems to be the easy part, as Timothy then set about adding all kinds of bracing to stiffen up the Clubman, making it an actual, functional pickup truck. He also seals up the back doors, fills the holes where the door handles used to be, and that back window? It's from a Volkswagen, and yes, Timothy did all the work himself. In fact, according to the video, he learned how to weld by making the floor of the bed. That's dedication.
Gallery: Mini Countryman Pickup Truck Conversion
His efforts come through in the final product, which looks like it could be a factory-built Mini pickup. Of course, simply doing the conversion wasn't enough so the Clubman also got a suspension lift, beefy tires, a roof rack, a snorkel, and a grille guard for some proper off-road adventuring. And lest you think this is just a show truck, that solid steel bed gets used for actual pickup truck labour.
It's not every day you see a neat pickup truck conversion like this, never mind one that looks so finished off and built by the owner's own hands. Well done Timothy, and Mini, pay attention to this. A small EV truck could be an epic, real-world alternative to six-figure rigs like the GMC Hummer, or small city runabouts like the Fiat 500e.
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Sources: imperf3kt / Instagram, The Miniac / YouTube