“My first car was a Mini and there has always been one in my family,” explains Jon Miller, whose list of special Minis owned includes a Cooper Sport 500, Cooper 35 S, Mk3 Cooper S, 1275GT and a Mini 40 LE. The sought-after Rover Paul Smith LE Mini eluded him until he bought one in 2017.
The Paul Smith LE was a Rover limited edition Mini built in collaboration with British fashion designer Paul Smith. Paul opened his first shop in his native Nottingham in 1970 and launched his own 'Paul Smith' label in 1976. He was awarded a knighthood in 2001. In 1997 Rover offered him a Mini, which he had customised with stripes in 26 colours which became known as the 'Artcar'. It was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1997 and at other motor shows in 1998. Over the years, Paul has been pictured with various striped Minis and diecast models of his striped Minis have also been produced. Such Minis are often depicted on some of his products today.
Rover’s production Paul Smith limited edition Mini was launched in 1998. Only 300 examples of the car were made in ‘Paul Smith’ Blue for the UK market. Japanese Mini buyers had 1,500 Paul Smith
