I bought the UK’s rarest car… it went horribly wrong
Get 20% off Car Vertical using code Carwow: https://bit.ly/Carwow-Car-VerticalHas Mat finally lost the plot? This week on Carwow, we’ve added one of the rarest cars in the UK to the fleet: the Mia C. It’s a tiny, French electric car built between 2011 and 2013 that is actually rarer than a Ferrari F40! Only 1,000 were ever made before the company went bust.
With only 11 registered on UK roads, Mat sets out to discover if this central-seat micro-car is a misunderstood genius or a total waste of money!
So what exactly is the Mia C? Unlike the Citroën Ami, the Mia C is classified as an actual car, meaning you can drive it on motorways. It features:
- McLaren F1 Layout: A three-seat configuration with the driver positioned in the centre.
- Bizarre Entry: No traditional door handles! You have to press the flower logo to release the electric latch for the sliding doors.
- Performance (or lack thereof): With a choice of 8kWh or 12kWh batteries, it’s "supposed" to have a range of up to 78 miles.
And as you can imagine, it wouldn't be a Carwow video without some punishment. Mat puts the Mia through:
- Real-world Range Test: We drive it until the battery dies to see how close it gets to its 13-year-old promises.
- Performance Testing: Mat records the slowest 0-60 mph time in Carwow history - a staggering 56.49 seconds!
- The Braking Disaster: An emergency stop reveals that the ABS is completely broken, leading to a terrifying 209-foot braking distance! After this, he took a trip straight to the mechanics…
And the trip to the mechanics led to more problems - the struggle to find parts for such a rare car! Mat discovers that many components, such as the rear shock absorbers, were made by companies that build parts for fighter jets and are nearly impossible to source. After failing to use AI to find parts, Mat tracks down specialists in Germany and someone in the UK who actually recognises this specific car from its past life, and helps to get it MOT-ready!
After spending over £1,600 just to get it through an MOT, Mat takes the Mia to Topaz for a complete makeover. The question is, how good will the final edition of the Mia C look? And more importantly, will Mat finally be happy with his purchase? You’ll need to stick around and see for yourself!
Chapters
0:00 Intro: Mat’s rarest purchase yet
1:06 What on earth is a Mia C?
2:11 The "McLaren" interior and flower buttons
4:08 The first drive: "It's so wobbly!"
7:25 The Inspection: Shockers, tie rods, and leaks
11:10 Can AI help us find parts? (Spoiler: No)
15:30 The Accident History: What's under the wrap?
18:10 The Range Test: Stranded by the roadside
20:43 Charging with a BYD backup
22:20 Meeting the team, resurrecting the Mia
25:40 The Part Hunt: Special orders and high prices
32:15 Mat becomes a mechanic: Fixing the ABS
37:10 The MOT Result
40:15 The Final Reveal: A £10,000 makeover! Receive SMS online on sms24.me
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