We’re willing to bet that you’ve never seen a Mini that sits quite like this one. The custom off-road suspension and L59 motivation make this the ultimate off-roader.

Scott is just a regular car guy from Austin, Texas, who was drawn to the hobby thanks to his creative nature. “I’ve always been into trying to make things custom, whether its a car, house, art, etc,” he said.

But if there’s one thing about Scott that isn’t “regular”– it’s his car.

He claims his father was a huge part of his draw to the world of automotive modifications, though. He found himself favoring off-road vehicles as a way to get further down the shore and find more surf spots. As he got older, he and his friends eventually got into modifying Volkswagens, mostly because they were pretty cheap and easy to work on.

He bought his current car, a 2004 Mini Cooper S, back in 2010. He claims he had always thought about buying one and just happened to come across this great deal. In March 2015, Scott started to attack this new project full-swing– completely pulling out the motor and beginning disassembly in his very own garage. At the time, it held a smaller pulley on the supercharger, antiroll bars, and better struts– but, lets just say, that’s all gone now.

After countless nights in the garage, as you can see, the Mini has come a very long way. It’s not far from being completely finished now and Scott claims he’s having a blast creating this somewhat of a “dream car” of his. Yeah, you guessed it– this little thing is housing a V8, a 2004 5.3 Flex Fuel L59 to be exact. This car is the perfect example when referring to the saying “its what’s inside that counts.” Tubular steel subframes in the front and rear make is possible to run the 5.3/T56 drivetrain on the Mini’s body. The rear subframe adapts a 9.75-inch independent rear differential from a 2008 Ford Expedition, along with Expedition CV axles and wheel assemblies. “Pretty big for the little Mini,” Scott added. The suspension is fully custom, all fabricated by the owner himself.

After some slight trimming for tire clearance, Scott was able to throw on some black powder coated steelies, wrapped in whopping 33-inch Falken Wildpeak A/T tires. He added some Hella driving lights up front, LED fog lights in the rear– and now, this thing is just about ready to hit the dunes. We can’t wait to see pictures of this bad ass Mini soaring through the air. No matter how you look at it, this makes us hate Minis substantially less.

Scott claims that, eventually, he plans to build a little hotter engine and throw on a roof rack for some overland-type activities. Either way you look at it, this thing seems like a blast– and is pretty cool to look at, too.