I can believe the Beta Spider's "time has come". Its "of the age" and the survival rate in absolutely top condition is very low.
We also can't ignore "the market" in general. When looking for my first car a Beta Coupe was top of my list. I ended up with an Alfasud and then a 998 Cooper. Try finding any Alfasuds, then what would it take to put one right... As for Minis:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C459767http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C587786http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C473406If I had money to spend on a classic (I don't, but many friends are at that stage now) a Beta with nothing on its "to do" list would be a really attractive prospect. The thread here I'm enjoying the most is the Y10 restoration - I wouldn't have expected that to be the case even five years ago.
David