Mini to the max: 1974 Mini scales the world’s tallest volcano

This supercharged 1974 Mini scaled the world’s tallest volcano to momentarily become the highest car on the planet.  

Mini drivers are a special breed, and none more so than automotive adventurer Ben Coombs who recently drove his 1974 Mini up the flanks of the world's tallest volcano in Chile’s Atacama Desert. 

Ben’s 6400km road trip in the self-prepared Mini saw him drive out of a shipping container in Montevideo, Uruguay, before passing through the Argentinian central plains to reach Chile’s Ojos del Salado, the world's tallest volcano.

In addition to crossing the driest region on the planet, Ben and the Mini experienced temperatures plummeting to -20˚C, searing sandblasting winds, and the unpredictable and life-threatening consequences of climbing to a 6000m altitude.

The supercharged engine fitted to Coombs’ Mini was required to cope with the thin air at an altitude of almost 6000m above sea level (Image: Falken Tyres)

Featuring a supercharged engine to cope with the altitude and lugging 200kg of extra kit on its diminutive 600kg frame, the Mini required daily maintenance to contend with the increasing altitude that starved the engine of air.

The carburettor jet size was regularly increased in line with the rising altitude to get enough fuel through to start the A-Series lump and keep it running.

Even at half the halfway point of the 6000m climb both Mini and driver were contending with 25 percent less oxygen and the record attempt eventually petered out just 100m shy of the 6000m target due to a stuck carburettor float. By that stage Ben, the Mini and a supporting Range Rover were at an altitude higher than any other road on the planet. 

The Mini never quite managed to make it to 6000m above sea level, with the engine eventually giving up at just 100m shy of that target (Image: Falken Tyres)

The team managed to get the Mini back down through the volcanic boulder field and once on level ground the engine was coaxed back into life to begin the no-less challenging descent and 2414km return journey, via Patagonia.

Remarkably, despite using Falken FK07 road tyres and carrying three backup tyres, Ben managed the entire journey over vast distances and varied terrain without incurring a single puncture. 

“Perhaps surprisingly, we didn’t want an aggressive tread-pattern, sensing they would dig in, so opted for sand crawler boards or winching when the sand and ash got deeper,” he said.

Coombs and his Mini managed to make it through the entire 6400km journey without a single punctured tyre (Image: Falken Tyres)

With some of the newer rocks encountered on the steep slopes of Ojos del Salado just 30,000 years old and the last lava flows said to have been around 11,000-12,000 years ago, Ben was impressed with how the 10-inch Falkens coped with the terrain. 

With modern tyre sizes creeping ever bigger and some brands moving away from smaller sizes, Falken continues to offer a range of smaller pattern sizes including 12- and 13-inch tyres commonly found on modern classics. 

Now safely back in the UK, Ben is already plotting his next escapade, with the ‘Mini6000’ trip just the latest in a string of adventurous journeys that have previously seen him travel the length of the Americas in a TVR Chimera, and cross Africa in a Porsche 944.