DART

The DART is regarded as one of the most influential Mini derivatives ever created. Although only a single original car was built, its design directly led to the Mini Marcos, Mini Jem and Kingfisher Sprint, making it an important starting point for several lightweight sports cars based on Mini mechanical components.

The project began in 1963 when Desmond “Dizzy” Addicott decided to create a more streamlined Mini for racing. Addicott was a fighter pilot and competed with Minis in his spare time. He named the project DART, short for Dizzy Addicott Racing Team.

For the construction work, Addicott turned to Paul Emery, a West London engineer and racing-car builder who designed, built and maintained competition cars from his workshop. Together, they bought a damaged Morris Mini Van and extensively reshaped it. The roof was removed, the windscreen and front wings were lowered to reduce frontal area, and a new sloping rear section with a truncated Kamm tail was fabricated.

Addicott initially wanted to use lightweight materials, but the prototype was ultimately built with a steel body. Power came from a 1,071cc Cooper engine. The engine was fitted with a redesigned rocker cover because there was barely enough clearance beneath the modified bonnet. Once completed, the DART was tested in a wind tunnel, where it demonstrated strong aerodynamic efficiency and stable behaviour.

The prototype made its public debut at the Racing Car Show in London in January 1964, displayed on Paul Emery’s stand. Emery was also presenting his Hillman Imp-based Emery GT, giving the small stand two new cars at the same event. The DART attracted considerable interest, encouraging Addicott to consider putting it into production as a kit car.

The proposed production version was to use a fibreglass monocoque body. A mould was produced from the steel prototype with assistance from Jem Marsh, the co-founder of Marcos. Several fibreglass shells were made, but Addicott was dissatisfied with their quality. Disagreements followed, and his collaboration with Marsh ended.

Marsh continued developing the design and, in less than a year, turned the project into the Mini Marcos. Addicott eventually lost interest in the DART and sold it to Jeremy Delmar-Morgan, who developed it into the Mini Jem in 1966. The Kingfisher Sprint also emerged from the same family of Mini-based designs.

The fate of the original steel DART remained unknown for many years. In the 1990s, the badly deteriorated prototype was discovered in a Leicester scrapyard. After changing hands several times, the remains were acquired by Stefan Wray, who carried out a comprehensive restoration. The work was completed in 2008, returning the unique steel-bodied DART to presentable condition.

Desmond “Dizzy” Addicott died in December 2005 at the age of 83, three years before the restoration of the car that had begun his influential Mini-based design project.