The Collector

Rescued from a life as an off-road kayak carrier, Virginio Bolla’s ultra-rare Innocenti Mini 1000 T proves that suave Italian style and practicality can mix.

- Jeff Ruggles

For as long as there is stuff, there will be collectors. The objects involved range from the sublime to the frankly ridiculous, but we reckon Virginio Bolla has got it nailed with his selections. The charismatic Italian has amassed an incredible array of scooters, pinball machines, old brochures, house music records and a whole host of random but funky stuff that takes his fancy. Top of the list, however, has to be his classic Mini collection, which is so vast and varied that even Virginio doesn’t know how big it actually is.

All collectors have to start somewhere, and for Virginio, his first Mini came along at the age of just seven. A rare Spanish-built Authi Mini 1000, he still owns it now, some 35 years later. “My father had an Innocenti Mini MkI when I was born, with the long gear lever, but I don’t remember it – I only have a photo,” he says. “My mother then had a Mk3 850 for one or two years, and used to take me to school and on Sunday drives in it. When that was sold I kept saying ‘I want a Mini’ over and over. We had a family friend who was a mechanic and a partner with us, and he gave me the Authi as a gift.”

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