By Melissa Davies
The Mini is a classic car which has had many makeovers in its history, but perhaps none as unique as the 'Matchstick Mini' on Auckland's North Shore.
It's covered with millions of matchsticks which were painstakingly glued to the car.
Lakmal De Silva and his father in law lit and glued every matchstick on this car individually.
There are so many they lost count but say it must be more than a million.
"I want to do something different that's the main reason I choose matchsticks," says De Silva.
It's definitely different but it's also kept a Mini trademark - a Union Jack on the roof.
When asked how long the roof took, De Silva responds: "It's hard to tell - maybe six to eight months."
The whole project took three years. De Silva says it was very boring at times, but they carried on because it was an excuse to get out of household chores.
From afar it looks a bit like a big cane basket. It's often not until people get up close that they realise what it's made of.
The 'Matchstick Mini' has two coats of lacquer but De Silva didn't want to give it too much more because with the texture the way it is at the moment you can still feel each and every single matchstick.
De Silva uses the Mini for club racing events but matchsticks and wind don't go together and the extra weight has been a problem.
But you wouldn't want to go too fast and crash - the repairs would take forever.
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