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The Mini: a brief history

The original Mini was born in the late 1950s and was the brainchild of designer Sir Alec Issigonis, who set out to design the ideal city car, a box with a wheel on each corner. Taking the ‘A’ series engine that was widely used in various Austin and Morris models at the time and mounting it crosswise at the front, the Mini concept became a reality.

Initially, the Mini was available in the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor versions with little difference between the two. Van and traveler versions soon followed and there was an attempt to bring the concept up the notch by introducing the Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf versions, both of which had an additional trunk and improved interiors. While these two models sold to some extent, the entry-level Mini proved to be very popular going from point to point and the introduction of the Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S versions took it to new levels of performance and handling.

The mid-sixties was the defining moment for the Mini with track and rally victories, the most famous of which was the Monte Carlo Rally. A class victory in 1963 was followed by outright victories in 1964, ’65 and ’67. After this success, tuning companies were introducing their own versions of street legal rally cars and because the simplicity of the design made the Mini easy to work with, do-it-yourself enthusiasts began producing their own vehicles. tuned.

The Mini legend was now well and truly established and with celebrities of the time of the stature of Peter Sellers and the Beatles calling for custom versions, all class barriers were broken in a way that no other car has ever managed.

After turbulent times that included British Leyland’s takeover of parent company BMC and its evolution to MG Rover, the Mini has resurfaced under BMW ownership and while the new Mini is a modern take on the original design, it is more great and totally different vehicle. But it has to be said, it’s an excellent car in its own right and it’s starting to capture public affection in much the same way as the original Mini.