It's been locked away in a barn in Oxfordshire for 40 years - but this car is expected to fetch around £10,000 at auction. The 1959 Morris Mini Minor Saloon has just 47,0000 miles on the clock - but it will need some attention when it's auctioned next month.
The rusty dishevelled car is expected to attract plenty of attention as it's the 15th oldest Mini in the world. It will go to auction in Oxford on March 2.
Unite has hailed BMW Group's decision to invest £250m into its UK plants in Oxford, and Swindon as a "ray of sunshine".
The company announced the cash boost during a visit by Business Secretary Vince Cable this morning.
Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary, said: "This major boost in investment is tribute and reward for the dedicated and hard-working workforce at Oxford, Swindon and Hams Hall.
"The British car industry is once again a ray of sunshine in gloomy times for British manufacturing.
"The UK has the potential to be a manufacturing success story, if we had a Government which was prepared to roll its sleeves up and intervene to support employers up and down the UK."
BMW is to invest a further £250 million in its three Mini factories, including two in our region.
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BMW is to invest £250m in its UK Mini factories, including those in Swindon and Oxford, over the next three years.
The announcement was made during a visit by Business Secretary Vince Cable to the Oxford plant, on the day when the Olympic Torch Relay will also pass.
The announcement comes on top of a £500m investment promise in June last year.
BMW said the investment showed its commitment to Britain "as a vital manufacturing base".
This decrepit motor was only the eighth to be made in the UK when it rolled off the production line in 1959 and is thought to be the oldest unrestored Mini in existence. Despite its condition the Mini is being described as a 'classic'.
BMW has announced a new pay offer following discussions with the UNITE union, in the hope that a strike at its Mini plant in Oxford can be avoided. In a joint statement the company said:
– Rebecca Baxter, External Communications ManagerFollowing constructive and productive discussions, we have reached agreement on a pay offer which will be recommended for acceptance by the union.
The details of this offer are being put to the workforce today and a ballot will follow subsequently. The offer is as follows: 4.5% increase in base pay effective 1 January 2012, 2.3% increase in base pay effective 1 January 2013."
Workers at the Mini car plant in Cowley near Oxford have rejected a pay offer. This raises the threat of the first strike at the factory since 1984.
