‘I drove classic car around London but it would be better if it was electric’

The Crayford Mini Mojito is a great car, but with just one floor (Image: Daily Express/Christopher Sharp) The world of restomods is booming right now. Around the world small boutique manufacturers are taking old cars, refitting them with new parts and selling them as new cars. The whole point of restomods is to have a car that looks old but drives like new, and the Crayford Mini Mojito is the latest vehicle to join the restomod ranks. Built and designed by the revived Crayford brand which built convertibles in the 1960s, the Mojito is a doorless, roofless car for the world’s coastlines. Express.co.uk was lucky enough to get an exclusive first taste of the Mojito around London ‘s poshest streets. While the 1960s looks undoubtedly worked, not everything on the car did. The Crayford Mini has no doors (Image: Daily Express/Christopher Sharp) The Crayford Mojito begins life as an original Mini van which is then fully restored and specified to the customer’s demands. If you want you can have the Crayford Mojito with Bluetooth and speakers to blast a South of France  soundtrack to match the South of France views. Also on offer, is an engine upgrade to a 1275cc engine, which is where the only major fault with the Crayford Mojito lies. In effect, it has the feel and build quality of a modern car, but with old-fashioned unpredictability. The Crayford Mini is built to an incredibly high standard with quality detailing (Image: Daily Express/Christopher Sharp) All cars are unpredictable, but when you’re paying around £50,000 (depending on options) for what is effectively a toy, the last thing you want is to suffer a misfire which is what our car did on the test drive. It should be stressed at this point that Crayford has thought ahead because their doorless creation can be built with an electric motor and battery pack, a much more suitable solution that gives you era looks without the era headaches. Aside from the motor, there was another surprising element of the Crayford. Despite its fruity and throaty motor, it didn’t really get much attention. As we passed Knightsbridge and Sloane Square cafes packed inside and out with people, barely anyone raised their heads from their phones, as if this bright blue, doorless Mini with no roof was just another car. No one in Knightsbridge gave the car a second look (Image: Getty) Except it isn’t. You slip into the car through the aperture made possible by the lack of doors and settle into a seat with a mechanical handbrake, a gargantuan but thin steering wheel, and three pedals. If you’re familiar with a modern MINI you’ll instantly be at home as your right foot straddles the throttle and brake for the heel and toe and your left foot rests ready for the clutch. Driving away, your mind is racing at the thought of how you will feel with no metal protecting you from the dangers of London ‘s streets. How will you be able to concentrate knowing there is nothing shielding you from the outside world? Completely fine. If you’ve cycled in London , you’ll know the feeling of having nothing to protect you so driving a car with no doors feels little different, it’s only when you become a passenger that the heartbeat starts racing. With nothing to hold onto apart from a little handle on the side and maybe the dash, the sense of speed becomes eye-opening. As we weave through London ‘s streets 20 miles an hour feels like 70 as the ground rushes beneath your elbow and you realise just how scary a Range Rover’s headlight can be when it’s at eye level. While the Crayford Mini Mojito is a worthy car for those who can afford it, it is one best bought with a plug socket in mind.