When Rolls-Royce made a Mini: The lost art of small luxury cars

Rolls-Royce’s collaboration on a tiny luxury car may have been easy to overlook in the wake of the Aston Martin Cygnet debate—but the “Mini Inspired by Goodwood” is the forgotten parallel. Unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai motor show, it joined BMW Group’s Mini brand with Rolls-Royce design influence from Goodwood, using walnut, leather, cashmere and lambswool inside a mechanically near-standard Cooper S. About 120 were sold in the UK, with Mini reportedly aiming for 1,000; Aston made fewer than 800 Cygnets. Priced at £41,000—roughly £10,000 more than the Cygnet—it now appears to be rising in used value.