Someone Turned A Classic Mini Into The Perfect Beach Cruiser

Crayford has pulled the door skins, rear glass, and lower body panels off a classic Mini and called it the Mojito. The hand-built four-seat beach car has no doors, a tuned original Mini engine, and not much else, with UK pricing at £35,000 (about $46,200) for entry-level builds.

The English coachbuilder is not hiding what the Mojito is for. It is a short-hop coastal runabout, not a car meant to replace a daily commute or survive a long highway haul.

An Open-Sided Mini Built For The Coast

The revived Crayford Automobiles has put the Mojito at the center of its current Mini work, cutting the sides off a classic Mini and creating a format few others offer. The Mojito keeps its fixed roof and a standard folding Webasto-style sunroof, so it is open at the sides rather than fully convertible.

Buyers pick from four paint options: White Sand, Beach Yellow, Surf Blue, or a custom Mojito finish. Inside, marine-grade upholstery and non-slip Flexiteek flooring replace the Mini's usual carpet and vinyl, a direct nod to its intended life near sand and saltwater.

The Mojito keeps the compact footprint of the donor Mini, with overall length and width staying close to the classic city car’s roughly 10-foot by 4.6-foot proportions. Availability is reportedly limited, with Crayford and recent coverage talking about small-number production without naming a fixed cap.

The approach echoes other small-scale coachbuilders currently reworking old platforms for niche buyers, including the team behind the Fiat 500 restomod built in Britain. Both projects bet that a tiny, characterful base car still has room for a completely new identity.

What Changes Under The Skin, And What It Costs

Crayford left the underlying Mini hardware largely stock. The Mojito uses the original Mini engine retuned for stronger low-end torque, with Mini Cooper-spec front disc brakes fitted to cope with modern traffic and a manual gearbox as the default setup.

Some published specifications describe a 998 cc engine producing 40 horsepower, with an estimated curb weight around 650 kilograms (1,433 lbs), and note that exact figures can vary by donor car and customer build. There is no formal factory options list, and Crayford instead treats the Mojito as a low-volume coachbuilt project where upgrades are agreed case by case.

Recent coverage also highlights the pricing spread. The company talks about keeping the entry point “very attainable” in the UK with a base price of £35,000 (about $46,200) before any bespoke requests.

The ordering and ownership details reflect its role as a holiday car. Buyers deal directly with Crayford, which delivers a fully converted classic Mini. UK-market cars can qualify for the donor vehicle’s historic status on tax and inspection, while exports depend on each country’s classic-car rules, so overseas buyers need to confirm registration and import terms before signing a contract.