Background
Very few cars the world over can pretend to cult status, but if there is one where such denomination is appropriate, it is safe to say it is the classic Mini. The small two door, four-seater car was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and introduced in 1959 by the British Motor Corporation (later produced by that brand’s successors). It remained in production until 2000. The vehicle, code-named ADO15, was hence produced during a period of four decades, during which its basic design remained virtually unchanged. The motorcar was available as fastback version, estate and even as a convertible. Production was located in Birmingham at the Longbridge plant as well as at the former Morris plant at Cowley near Oxford. Outside the UK, the cars were assembled in Sydney, Spain (as Authi), Belgium, Italy (as Innocenti) and even in Chile, to only name a few.
Over the Mini’s four-decade long production run, different series were launched, named MKI to MKVII. A Cooper ‘S’ version was also available right from the early days and competed very successfully in rallying, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967.
The car’s revolutionary design, with a transversely mounted engine at the front (engine and gearbox share the same oil sump) combined with front-wheel-drive, allowed 80% of the area of the car’s floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage. As such, the design was among the most influential of the 20th century, finding its way into numerous cars from other producers.
When production of the classic Mini ended in 2000, more than 5.3 million vehicles had been produced.
