This is a Riley Elf. It was built to be a "luxury" Mini. Upfront there is a formal, upright grille. In the back there is an actual trunk. Everything else is pure Mini.
The Elf was never officially imported into the US and that's what makes this car interesting... It's LHD. I've seen a few Rileys at shows, but they've always been RHD.
This ad is a bit confusing. In the ad's title, the seller writes "1st Mini ever made from UK". Huh? I have no idea what that means. Just as confusing is the car... Every Elf I have ever seen either in person or in pictures has had a wood veneer dash. This one seems to have a stock Mini dash. Why? Although much less important, the hubcaps are also from a Mini and not an Elf. (Just throw some Minilites on it!) Even more scary, there is a giant muffler sticking out from just under the back of the left quarter panel. Hmmmm... (No, c'mon, it couldn't be... Please don't tell me that this car has some sort of old Nissan-Honda-Toyota-style bootleg Flowmaster exhaust on it.)
The car has new paint (it lost its distinctive white roof in the process) and what appears to be a rebuilt (or at least painted) engine.
All-in-all, this is an interesting car that you would need to check out very, very carefully before purchasing it.Located in Trumball, CT, click here to see the eBay listing.
