● Live from the Longbridge Quarter · Neo-Birmingham · 2098
The last place on Earth that smells of petrol.
Since 2061 we have kept the little car that changed everything alive. Classic Minis, rebuilt by hand by Ozzy Pennington and his crew of very polite robots – an oasis of old time in a city that drives itself.
Petrol licence · valid
Autopilot · not fitted
Kettle · on
1,284
Minis restored since 2061
1 : 11
Humans to robots
1,275
cc – our favourite A-series
0
Autopilots ever fitted
01 / The oasis
An oasis of old time in a land of the future
Petrol, chrome and a kettle that’s always on.
When the last petrol stations closed in 2061, Ozzy’s grandmother Pearl bought the old body shop in the Longbridge Quarter – a stone’s throw from where the Mini was first built – and simply refused to sell. The glass towers grew up all around us. We stayed small, warm and slightly oily.
1959 The Mini is launched – ten feet long, four seats, front-wheel drive.
2000 The last classic Mini rolls off the Longbridge line.
2061 Petrol pumps go dark. Pearl Pennington opens the workshop anyway.
2079 Ozzy takes over and hires WREN-7, his first robot apprentice.
2098 Mini number 1,284 leaves the courtyard. Still smiling.
Courtyard cam 02 · 18:42 · 14 Minis on site
02 / The crew
One human. Eleven robots. Zero autopilots.
ID: human · grade: master mechanic
Osbert “Ozzy” Pennington, 67
Ozzy learnt to change a clutch at nine, on Grandma Pearl’s 1967 Mini. He has rebuilt more A-series engines than anyone alive – the robots checked – wears little round wire spectacles, hums sixties songs at the lathe and still writes every job sheet in pencil.
Unit 01 · lifting & torque
WREN-7
Chief apprentice since 2079. Lifts engines like teacups and has never once dropped a gearbox.
Unit 04 · paint & chrome
POLLY
Can tell Almond Green from Island Blue with her optics switched off. Polishes until she sees herself.
Unit 07 · diagnostics
DOT
A hovering drone the size of a teacake. Listens to engines the way a doctor listens to hearts.
Unit 11 · upholstery & tea
MRS HOBBS
Stitches seats in original vinyl and brews tea at exactly 98 °C. Nobody argues with Mrs Hobbs.
03 / Services
Everything a 1960s Mini needs in 2098
Robots do the precise bits. Ozzy does the soul.
01 · 14–20 weeks
Full restoration
Bare shell to showroom. Every nut, every seam, every chrome strip – and a digital twin so it never gets lost again.
02 · 3–4 weeks
A-series engine rebuild
848 to 1,275 cc. Bored, balanced and run in on our rolling road with Ozzy listening, eyes closed.
03 · one afternoon
Carburettor tuning
Single or twin SUs, balanced by ear (Ozzy) and by laser (DOT). They usually agree.
04 · the eternal enemy
Rust and bodywork
New sills, floors and subframes, cut by WREN-7 from the original drawings and hand-welded in place.
05 · points & patience
Period electrics
Dynamos, contact points and wiring looms in proper cloth-braided cable. We keep a spare of everything.
06 · the paperwork
Fuel and permits
Synthetic petrol on tap, plus your Manual Driving Licence renewal and Heritage Vehicle exemption handled for you.
Old parts, new tricks
Two hands on every carburettor
Every Mini that comes through the gate gets a digital twin. DOT scans forty million points, WREN-7 machines new parts to the original 1959 tolerances, and then Ozzy leans in, listens to the tick-over and decides whether it sounds right. No algorithm has overruled him yet.
04 / How it works
From scan to smile in four steps
01
Book a scan
Ping us or roll in on manual lane 4. DOT reads your Mini from bumper to bumper in eleven minutes.
02
The estimate
Ozzy writes it out in pencil, honest to the penny. Mrs Hobbs puts the kettle on while you read it.
03
The rebuild
Your Mini lives in the oasis while we work. A live camera feed and a short note from Ozzy every evening.
04
The hand-over
Keys, a full tank of synthetic petrol, a bag of humbugs and a robot waving you off at the gate.
05 / Customers
Happy owners, very wide grins
“My grandad drove this Mini to his wedding in 1968. They gave it back to me better than new – and it still smells of his pipe.”
Amara Okoye · Solihull Arcology · 1967 Mini 850
“I am an autonomous taxi. I was only towing it home. I was not supposed to enjoy the sound of that engine. I enjoyed the sound of that engine.”
Unit TX-4471 · Neo-Birmingham Transit
“Four hundred metres of skyway, seven driverless pods overtaking me and I’m grinning like an idiot in a 1964 Cooper S. Best money I’ve ever spent.”
Jonas Weller · Berlin · 1964 Cooper S
06 / Book a scan
Bring her in. We’ll put the kettle on.
Rust bucket, barn find or concours winner – every classic Mini is welcome in the oasis. The first scan is free, and so is the tea.
Workshop
Unit 9, Lickey Road Ring 3
Longbridge Quarter
Neo-Birmingham B31
Voice line
0121 496 0959
A human answers. Usually Ozzy.
Open
Mon–Sat 07:30–18:00
Sundays Ozzy goes fishing
Arriving
Drive in on manual lane 4. Pods may drop you at the gate but are not allowed in the courtyard.