Simon Cowell’s latest car ‘inspired by James Bond’

TV star’s Mini is inspired by classic James Bond film car.
Simon Cowell with his electric classic Mini (David Brown Automotive)
Ted Welford4 October 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

TV star Simon Cowell has become one of the first owners of an electric reincarnation of the classic Mini.

Cowell is a well-known petrolhead – owning models from Bugatti, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari over the years – but is switching to electric power for his latest car.

Called the Mini eMastered, it is made by David Brown Automotive, which heavily customises the classic model and now fits it with a modern electric powertrain.

Cowell is one of the first to take delivery of the firm’s latest creation, with the celebrity’s version inspired by James Bond.

The exterior colour combination is inspired by a Lotus Esprit that appeared in the Bond film A View To A Kill.

Painted in a similar paint colour to the film car, the Mini also features “Turbo” branding and gold alloy wheels.

Cowell’s own Rolls-Royce Phantom provided the inspiration for the interior of the Mini, which comes with white leather upholstery and a walnut dashboard, he described it as a “Mini Rolls”.

The TV star originally owned the Remastered Mini with a petrol engine, but said it lacked the “go-kart feel”, so returned it to David Brown to have an electric powertrain fitted instead.

David Brown Automotive says the car has been “built from the ground up over the course of hundreds of hours”.

The Mini uses a small 96bhp electric motor, that allows for a top speed limited to 92mph, while a compact 18.8kWh battery allows for a predicted range of around 110 miles.

Speaking after taking delivery of the car, Cowell said: “This has always been my dream car. It was on my wish list, one day I wanted to have a classic Mini. Then I read about this company, and I thought, I’ve got to have one of these.

“Of all the cars I’ve had in my life, this is my favourite. This is a keeper. I’ve never really kept cars, I don’t have a collection. I’ve had a lot of cars but I’ve always sold them. This one I will always, always keep.”

No price has been given for Cowell’s particular car, but prices for the Mini eMastered by David Brown Automotive start from £125,000.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in