(photos: MINI) Life Ball MINI 2012 by Franca Sozzani | US$na | www.mini.com
MINI is one car that never short of limited or one-off edition and the latest to join this exquisite list is the Life Ball MINI 2012 by Franca Sozzani. for the uninitiated, Franca Sozzani is the chief editor of Italian VOGUE magazine and yes, she had her hand in the visual of this beautiful one-off MINI, exclusively created to mark the 20th anniversary of the charity Life Ball event. under the hood of this roadster is 184 horsepower petrol unit that makes a top speed of 227 km.h (141 mph) but though sporty, it is not the highlight of this vehicle. the highlight is its intricate floral design on a “deepest purple” matt paint job, accented by gold hallmark MINI rally stripes. the Franca-touch carries into the cabin of the roadster with lavishly printed leather for the instruments and brass-colored touches on the circular elements. according to Sozzani, “the concept behind the MINI customization is inspired by the beautiful and elegant women who in the past used to wear a scarf draped around their head when driving a convertible.” well, we certainly can imagine that and we also know that only one lucky lady gets to realize that dream. the Life Ball MINI 2012 by Franca Sozzani was successfully raised 54,000 euros when it went under the hammer at the AIDS Solidarity Gala. so ladies, the bad news is obvious: there is one of such beautiful example in existence but the least you could do is to draw some inspiration from Sozzani works or you could hit past the jump for a few more larger views as a consolation.
