Austin is Building All-New Classic Minis for Goodwood Revival

DimON · 2025-08-29T21:00:17Z

The Goodwood Revival has long been the spiritual home for classic Minis, but for 2025 the race will see something entirely new — or rather, something old made new again. The long-lost Austin brand is bringing back its original 1959 Mini in freshly remanufactured form, ready to line up on the grid for the St Mary’s Trophy.

Burlen, the company that owns the Austin name (as well as SU, Amal, and Zenith carburetors), has quietly been keeping the brand alive through small runs of classic parts. In 2020 it even launched Austin Pedal Cars, charming recreations of the J40 that once introduced generations of British kids to motoring. Now Burlen is taking the next step: full-size Minis built to original 1959 specification, but designed with just enough modern safety to race in anger.

Two of these newly-built Austin Minis will debut at the Revival. The shells and safety cages come from Owens Fabrications in Wales, while race-ready A-Series engines are being prepared by Swiftune in Kent. Finished in period-correct Farina Grey with off-white steel wheels and hand-painted race numbers, the cars wear authentic Austin grilles and winged badges. They even ride slightly higher than most modern-prepped racers, ensuring they roll and lean into corners just as they did when the Mini first shocked the establishment in the early ’60s.

For Mark Burnett, Managing Director of Austin Cars Ltd, the project is about capturing the joy of simple motoring. “It’s not really a new idea,” he says. “We’ve been producing Austin parts for years, then set up Austin Pedal Cars in 2020 as a way into historic motoring for young people. The next step was always going to be creating something for the grown-ups — basic, fun, soul-stirring, no-frills motoring, simply because we can.”

At the wheel will be some serious talent: former F1 driver Karun Chandhok and endurance ace Darren Turner. Their task? To show that even 65 years on, a Mini built to original Austin spec can still entertain a crowd at Goodwood.

For anyone who has been lucky enough to attend the Revival, it’s an atmosphere unlike anything else in the automotive world. A few years back, we chronicled the experience first-hand here on MotoringFile, and the sight of Minis dicing with Jaguars and Alfa Romeos on track remains unforgettable. Adding these reborn Austins into the mix feels like the most fitting tribute to Issigonis’s little giant-killer.

You can follow the action live on Goodwood’s YouTube channel, with the first race of the St Mary’s Trophy on Saturday, September 13 at 2:30 p.m. BST and part two on Sunday, September 14 at 6:00 p.m.