History of the MINI part III

Timeline

• August 1959: Introduction of the Austin Seven, Morris Mini-Minor and Morris Mini-Minor DL 2-door saloons, all with transversely mounted 848 cc engine and 4-speed manual gearbox.
• 1960: Introduction of the Austin Seven Countryman and Morris Mini-Minor Traveller 3-door estates, both with 848 cc engine from the saloon models. 116,667 cars built in the first full year of production.
• 1961: Introduction of the Austin Seven Super and Morris Mini-Minor Super 2-door saloons.
• 1961: Introduction of the Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper 2-door saloon, both with larger 997 cc 55 bhp (41 kW) engine.
• January 1962: All former Austin Seven models now officially called Austin Mini.
• March 1962: pvc seat covers replaced cloth upholstery on entry level model ("basic Mini").
• 1962: "De Luxe" and "Super" designations discontinued. "Super de Luxe" designation introduced. Modified instrument panel now included oil pressure and water temperature gauges.
• March 1963: Introduction of the Austin Mini Cooper 1071 S and Morris Mini Cooper 1071 S 2-door saloons, both with larger 1071 cc 70 bhp (52 kW) engine.
• 1964: Introduction of the Mini Moke.
• April 1964: Introduction of the Austin and Morris Mini-Cooper 998, Mini-Cooper 970 S and Mini-Cooper 1275 S. 1275 S models have 1275 cc 76 bhp (57 kW) engine. Automatic transmission available as an option for the 998 cc Austin Mini-Cooper 998 and 1275 S. Previous Mini-Cooper 997 and 1071 S models dropped.
• 1965: Mini Cooper 970 S discontinued.
• October 1965: Automatic transmission now available as an option on standard Austin/Morris Mini and Morris Mini SDL.
• October 1967: Mark 2 range launched with facelift and upgraded equipment. Austin Mini range as follows: 850, 1000, Cooper 998 and Cooper 1275 S 2-door saloons and 1000 Countryman 3-door estate. Morris Mini range as follows: 850, 850 SDL, 1000 SDL, Cooper 998 and Cooper 1275 S 2-door saloons and 1000 Traveller 3-door estate. Optional automatic transmission available on all Austin models (except 850) and Morris Mini 1000 SDL saloon.
• September 1968: Manual four speed gear box with synchromesh on all four forward ratios introduced.
• March 1969: Launch of the Morris Mini K an Australian-only model manufactured in the Australian British Motor Corporation factory at Zetland NSW using 80% local content
• October 1969: Separate Austin and Morris badging now merged into Mini 850/Mini 1000 badging. Range reduced to: 850, 1000, Clubman, Cooper S and 1275 GT 2-door saloon and Clubman 3-door estate. Optional automatic transmission available on all except 1275 GT.
• April 1974: A heater became standard equipment on the entry level Mini 850 (having now already been included in the standard specification of the other models for some time).
• 1980: The Mini becomes the Austin Mini.
• 1988: The Austin Mini becomes the Rover Mini

Limited editions

From the Mark IV onward, many special limited-production editions of the Mini were offered. These included models that were created to commemorate racing victories or to celebrate an anniversary of the Mini marque. Limited editions generally came equipped with a unique combination of interior and exterior trim and special decals. Examples include Mini 1100 Special, Mini Rio, Mini Mayfair, Mini Park Lane, Mini Italian Job, Mini Cooper RSP, Mini Flame, Mini Red Hot, Mini Jet Black, Mini Racing and the Mini Monza.

 

Concepts and unproduced prototypes

From 1967 to 1979, Issigonis had been designing a replacement for the Mini in the form of an experimental model called the 9X.It was longer and more powerful than the Mini, but due to politicking inside British Leyland (which had now been formed by the merger of BMC's parent company British Motor Holdings and the Leyland Motor Corporation), the car did not reach production.

A number of prototypes produced for vehicles based on the Mini but which never saw production are held and sometimes displayed at the British Heritage Motor Centre museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire. These included the Twini, a re-engineered four-wheel-drive Moke with two engines—one at the front and another at the back; the Austin Ant, a second attempt to produce a four-wheel-drive vehicle, this time using a transfer case; and a two-seater convertible MG edition of the Mini, cancelled due to it being perceived as competition for the MG Midget.
In 1992, a project considering possible improvements to the Mini was started. Codenamed Minki ("Mini" plus K-Series engine), it included a redesigned dashboard, a two-piece tailgate instead of a boot, fold down rear seats, Hydragas suspension and a 3-cylinder version of the K-Series engine with a 5-speed gearbox.
However, the project was cancelled by management within Rover, who decided that the cost of engineering the changes, and achieving compliance with modern crash testing standards, was too great for the production volumes that could be expected of an updated Mini.
In 1995 the idea to update the Mini again surfaced but this time with BMW management. As part of the process of deciding how to replace the Mini, a vehicle representing what the current Mini could have become, if it had been developed further over its production history, was commissioned. This resulted in the Minki-II, designed to house the 1.4L MPI K-Series engine with an extensive redesign inside, but without the original Minki's tailgate. The car had to be widened by 50mm and lengthened by 50mm to accommodate the new engine and gearbox, with Hydragas suspension and dashboard from a Rover 100. The Minki-II was used for Hydragas development work, this suspension being considered at the time for the R59 project, later to become the Mini Hatch.

Kit cars and customisation

The cheapness and availability of used Minis make it a candidate for body replacement. There are over 120 Mini-based kit cars from various small companies and individual enthusiasts.
BMC operated a Competition Department at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, under the control of Stuart Turner, which built specially prepared Minis (mostly based on Cooper and Cooper S versions) to compete in international rallies and other motorsport. This department played a key role in ensuring the Mini's huge success in motorsport throughout the 1960s, in particular, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967.

Awards

The Mini has won many awards over the years, perhaps the most notable include: "Car of the Century" (Autocar magazine 1995), "Number One Classic Car of All Time" (Classic & Sports Car magazine 1996) and "European Car of the Century" in a worldwide Internet poll run by the prestigious Global Automotive Elections Foundation in 1999. The Mini managed second place (behind the Model T Ford) for "Global Car of the Century" in that same poll.
In the end 5.3 million Minis were sold, making it the most popular British car ever made.

Sales

At its peak, the Mini was a strong seller in most of the countries where it was sold, with the United Kingdom inevitably receiving the highest volumes.
It dominated the mini-car market until the arrival of the Hillman Imp in 1963. It outsold the Imp. Competition arrived with the more modern and practical Vauxhall Chevette of 1975, but the Mini continued to sell well until its "replacement"—the Metro—arrived in 1980. By this time, the Mini's design had been overtaken by numerous more modern and practical vehicles.
Although the Metro did not replace the Mini, production figures for the Mini dipped during the 1980s, and interest in the design was not revived until the re-introduction of the Mini Cooper in 1989. This helped sales of the Mini through the 1990s, to the end of production on 4 October 2000.
A total of 1,581,887 Minis were sold in Britain after its launch in 1959. The last new one to be registered was sold in 2004, some four years after the end of production.

United States

Between 1960 and 1967, BMC exported approximately 10,000 left-hand drive BMC Minis to the United States. Sales were discontinued when stricter federal safety standards were imposed in 1968 and the arrival of the larger and more profitable Austin America. Mini sales fell in the 1967 calendar year and the U.S. importer was expecting the forthcoming Austin America to find a larger market. However, the America was also withdrawn in 1972 due to slow sales and the introduction of bumper height standards.

Safety record

Issigonis designed the Mini with an emphasis on active safety. Asked about the crash worthiness of the Mini he said "I make my cars with such good brakes, such good steering, that if people get into a crash it´s their own fault". and "I don’t design my cars to have accidents".
In July 1965 BMC announced that following "comments by safety experts" about the Mini's external doorhandles, these would be modified on new cars so that the gap between the handle and the door panel would be effectively closed.
Nicholas Faith states in his book that Murray Mackay, one of the UK's leading motor vehicle crash and safety researchers, was critical of the pre-1967 Mini's passive safety features, including the protruding filler cap, the door latch, and the vulnerability of the passenger space to engine intrusion.
The Mini was withdrawn from the American market because it could not meet the 1968 U.S. safety regulations and emission standards, and was never updated to comply with those regulations. It continued to be sold in Canada until 1979.
The Mini was modified during its production to improve its safety. In 1974 a prototype Mini experimental safety vehicle was built, the Mini Clubman SRV4. It featured a longer crumple zone, a "pedestrian friendly" front-end, run-flat tyres, strengthened door sills, extra internal padding and recessed door handles, the latter having been used earlier on Australian-built Minis owing to local laws. Jack Daniels, one of the original Issigonis team, is stated to have been working on further safety improvements for the Mini when he retired in 1977. Several times it was thought that safety regulations would stop Mini production Safety improved in 1996, with the introduction of airbags and side-impact bars. The Mini, challenged by increasingly demanding European safety and pollution standards, was planned by British Aerospace to be taken out of production in 1996, but BMW chose to invest to keep the Mini legal until the launch of the BMW MINI.
In January 2007 Which? magazine listed the Mini City in its "Ten worst cars for safety (since 1983)" list, alongside other economical, lightweight, fuel-efficient cars like the Hyundai Pony 1.2L, Fiat Panda 900 Super, Suzuki Alto GL, Daihatsu Domino, Citroën AX 11 RE, Yugo 45 and 55, Peugeot 205 GL, and the Citroën 2CV6.
A UK Department for Transport statistics publication, presenting estimates of the risk of driver injury in two-car injury collisions, based on reported road accident data, estimated that the 1990–2000 Mini was one of two small cars (the other being the Hyundai Atoz), which, with an estimated 84 per cent of drivers likely to be injured, presented the greatest risk of driver injury; the average risk for the small car category was 76 per cent.

50th anniversary

Several key events marked the 50th anniversary of the Mini in 2009.
On 13 January 2009, The Royal Mail released a limited edition of stamps entitled "British Design Classics", featuring an original, Egg-Shell Blue, MK1 Mini, registration XAA 274.
On 25 May 2009, 10,000 Minis and 25,000 people attended an anniversary party at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire.
Between 7–10 August 2009 approximately 4000 minis from around the world congregated at Longbridge Birmingham to celebrate the 50th anniversary.
On 26 August 2009, smallcarBIGCITY launched in London to provide sightseeing tours of the capital in a fleet of restored Mini Coopers.