As any classic Mini owner will tell you, there’s no limit to what modifications are possible with Sir Alec Issigonis’s greatest creation. So it is - as these arresting images show - with the Mini’s 21st century successor. These two reimagined John Cooper Works concept Minis are the work of the Australian lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina, who’ve made a name for themselves by adding radical custom motorcycles to their ranges of slightly less radical casualwear. For Mini, the Deus Ex Machina team have turned to surfing and rallying for inspiration. This special stage leads to the beach. Very fast.
Names count here. The Machina is all about beating the stopwatch. In the 1960s the original Mini Cooper S made its name with multiple wins on the demanding special stages of the Monte Carlo Rally. Deus’s designers have gone in hard on competition references, as just about every classic Mini owner has at some point. Four integral lights up front mirror those on Monte Minis, doors sport multiple circles, in tribute to the numbers carried by competition Minis.
Designer Matt Willey chose the typeface to the rear because it "feels like timing-gear teeth”. Rear spoiler is Can Am racer rather than 1960s rally as is the significant diffuser: it's “Nordschleife-inspired” say the designers, just in case you’re tempted by the green hell of the Nürburgring. The Machina’s JCW internal combustion engine boasts 231 bhp. You’ll be strapped in with racing style harnesses to make the most of it, with very little in the way of creature comforts. Floor is bare aluminium, roll cage is exposed, seating is to competition standards. Let’s just say that there’s none of your production Mini ambient lighting here.
Mini JCW x Deus Ex Machina: Just one isn't enough
Companion Mini is The Skeg, named after the fin to the rear of a surfboard. Exposed, almost transparent, fibreglass echoes surfboard manufacture, as well as significantly saving weight. Yellow roof straps are designed to carry your boards to the beach. Inside, there are bespoke trays for your wetsuits to dry off as you make yourself comfortable - or try to - on neoprene lined seating. Fibreglass panels serve as door cards with yellow pull straps to close yourself in.
The Skeg is as silent as The Machina is loud, courtesy JCW electric propulsion, good for 258 bhp, so it’ll give its snarling competition stablemate a good workout on the run to catch the last wave before sundown. Externally a lighting array sketches a Mini-shaped grille, a neat idea that surely might make its way into production. Yellow and black stripes echo warning signs on beaches.
Sadly, there’s no price on either Deus Ex Machina JCW Mini. Perhaps start with a basic JCW in either petrol or electric form and take it from there? That’ll be £33,815 for the noisy one, and £35,455 for the quieter example. Then get the paint and the fibreglass out. We’ll see you on a beach in Monte Carlo for cocktails.
And because no Deus project is complete without something to wear while you’re doing it, the collaboration extends beyond the cars and into the wardrobe. The MINI JCW x Deus Ex Machina clothing line is pitched as kit for the road, the track, or the sand. Think jackets and sweats stitched with motorsport nods, while tees and caps don prints and embroidered graphics.
In true Deus fashion, it’s less about polish than purpose - gear that looks best once it’s been broken in by salt spray, sun-fade, or the long shadow of a night drive.
Next up: The future-classic cars you should be considering.
