Manky Monkey Motors

In the course of our travels over the past week or so, my workmate & I have seen several new Minis with large numbers on the sides & bootlids. Today we saw a number 3. A couple of days ago we saw a 37 in a white circle etc. I don't keep up with modern car marketing, but presumably this is a new fashion for trendy young Mini drivers?
I'm convinced it's illegal to display race numbers on a road going car & that they must be obscured -which is why you often see weekend clubman type racers on the road with a strip of black tape diagonally across the number.
My mate's never heard of this & says a large car manufacturer like BMW wouldn't make a mistake like that.
Who's right?

I've always understood it wasn't legal to display competition numbers - when we were rallying we always had to remove or cover them before going home.

new mini,s for sale on a dealers forecourt in doncaster the other day with them on,,

So are the numbers significant, or just totally random? Can you choose what number they put on?
Sounds like I'm right for once then Bobbi?

Long time since we were rallying, maybe it's changed.

It would be surprising if BMW had it wrong with their legal department but you never know. It could all be down to what defines a number on a car as a racing number I guess

as far as I know, It's only a MSA rule that you cant show your race numbers one the road (Unless its a road rally)

MSA?

motor sport association ;)

AFAIK there is no legal position to what you display on your vehicle - so long as is not obscene or offensive - and thats not a road traffic offence it applies wherever you do it :) .

Yup, that was it!  Not a legal thing just the rules.

O.K -so do the numbers on new Minis have any significance or are they just randomly picked by some design bod somewhere who thinks they look cool?

take more than a number to make em cool mate  ;)

 ;D

THAY AINT,, REAL ,,MINI,S,,

thats true they're about the size of a 70's family saloon ugly looking things, the new mini not the germans  ;D

From what I heard years ago, competition numbers have the tape across them to indicate the vehicle is not in a competitive event, and therefore normal insurance is valid (as opposed to invalid when competing) - could be things have changed over the years tho.

Learnt to drive in a diesel cooper and a friend sold them a couple of years back.

Great cars - go like stink and handle like they're on rails.

Definitely not a proper mini!

Forgive him Bobbi, for he is young & knows not the ways of "proper" cars.

Nope not a "proper" mini at all, but a very very good car.

I hate old minis.

Burn him! Burn the heretic!

Oh dear................

 ;D

you havnt driven a real car until youve had to hold a mini gear stick up whilst driving to stop it dragging on the road , :o :o, they had a habit of the rubber mounting ,bobbins, parting company if driven very roughly , ::) ::)

While I have happy memories of hitting the top of Blackshaw moor flat out then knocking it into neutral and managing to get the speedo needle to go right round to the stop I wouldnt say the original minis were as good/practicable a car as the new ones in most respects.

They did have lots of character though didnt they :)

I don't think anyone would dispute that - but the BMW ones are still not proper minis!

did the rock wink at you on the way past  :D :D
its a bugger when you do that and some drunk pulls outa the pub  just before the camp... :o :o

It was on the way down the hill from Buxton side Mike so it would have been someone pulling out from the Rock pub side and it would have been lethal. Things we did when we were young and invincible eh? Wonder we survived at all never mind with just bits missing ;)

Only thing in defence was there was very little traffic out and about round there in 1971/2

i rember in the late 70,s  stan crompton ,,split,,, a gardner engine block down there in an erf  he lost brakes due to heat fade ,, so stuffed it down a gear and she over revved and ,got away he rode it out stood on the cab step clinging to the steering wheel  .. when me and my owd fella got to him over an hour later  he was still,shakin,, and the cab inside was covered in hot oil,, and engine bits were spread over a mile  :o :o

You can certainly get some speed up going down it from Buxton side Mike, I wouldn't like to attempt it in a car now never mid a wagon

i fished a few wrecks out of the bottom when i worked for  boydons,, lol, all ,,boy,, racers,, ::)