One of the last things I did with my now defunct phone was to take this picture of two Mini cars sitting back to back. I saw them on my walk to work and was struck by the juxtaposition of old and new. The new one isn’t that recent (the license plate suggests registration in 2010) but the old one is certainly old. It even has leather straps holding the bonnet down (probably not original, judging from their good state, but an original type of feature).

Getting the chance to compare the two side by side, I realised the overall chassis length isn’t that different. However, the original is shorter (compare the roof and bottom line of the windows). They always used to feel quite fast cars because you really weren’t that far above the road surface! The biggest difference is the wheels, which are truly mini on the original.

I think I prefer the look of the original although I suspect the new one is a lot safer to travel in. I was glad to have the photo to compare them with.