In February, human resource director Chris Mead got his dream car: a 1971 Austin Mini Cooper painted with multi-coloured stripes.
This is an homage to the iconic one-off special edition of the Paul Smith Mini, which had 86 different coloured stripes, released by the British marque in 1998.
Australia-born Mr Mead, 49, now a Singapore permanent resident, bought his vintage Mini Cooper in 2014 and it was originally mustard yellow.
He took the car to CarCrafters Singapore, a workshop specialising in spray-painting cars, and got it painted over with stripes for a four-figure sum.
The father of two calls the car his “third child”.
“I’m a fan of Paul Smith designs and old British cars, so the coming together of the two was perfect.”
When The Sunday Times met him at East Coast Park recently, he had chosen to park in a lot that had no cars on either side of it.
“I avoid crowded carparks, especially those with big four-wheel drive SUVs, because sometimes they just don’t see you,” he says.
He is among a growing group of car owners who customise their vehicles with spray-paint and wrap jobs. The designs could range from geometric graphics to colourful ones featuring film characters.
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