The $200k Mini Special Edition

The first Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis and produced by the British Motor Corporation, was launched in August 1959 and cost £496 ($660). A lot has changed since then!

Credit: Mini

Mini is not a brand associated with rare, low-volume models. Even though Mini was acquired by BMW in 1994, most of its creations over the decades were mass-produced with the intention of reaching as many customers as possible, and even its hardcore GP models were produced in their thousands.

But with the recently announced and wildly expensive 66 Collection, only half a dozen examples will be made, divided between the all-electric and gas-powered variants. The collection is for the island nation of Singapore and forms part of Mini Asia’s 66th birthday celebrations. Whether customers choose the John Cooper Works Electric or the gas-powered John Cooper Works, “66” cars have a few tweaks to their exterior (and '66' emblazoned on their doors), but the interiors of each vehicle remain identical to those of the existing JCW models.

The electric version starts at a whopping $208,036 and the gas model costs an even more eye-watering $235,216. Why so much? Singapore applies heavy import and excise duties and taxes to cars, and even the right to own and use a vehicle is a bidding-based process that can vary in cost depending on demand at a given time, says AutoBlog. Moreover, this Certificate of Entitlement, as it’s known, is only valid for 10 years, and a vehicle quota system restricts the number of vehicles allowed on the road.

Singapore is a tiny island and these high costs are designed to discourage vehicle ownership. So yes, these are six-figure Minis, but in a way, they’re not overpriced. That’s just what cars cost in Singapore. There must be a good chance that they won't succeed in selling them all.