AROnline » Mini – Classic

The cars : Mini development history, part 1

Keith Adams — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:29:37 +0000

It changed the way we looked at small cars almost overnight, and sent the designers scurrying back to the drawing boards – the Mini was little short of a major revolution. We take a look at the development and subsequent life story of Britain’s favourite small car… Words: Keith Adams, Ian Nicholls Development and early [...]

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The cars : Mini development history, part 2

Keith Adams — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:28:29 +0000

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The cars : Mini Cooper

Keith Adams — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:50:50 +0000

Ian Nicholls charts the origins and production history of the legendary Mini Cooper. In doing so, Ian explains: ‘This article is not meant to be a rehash of the Mini Cooper story, but an attempt to show how the car fitted in with the BMC>MG story.’ The giant-killer AS is well known, when the 34bhp [...]

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The cars : Mini Clubman

Keith Adams — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:56:39 +0000

The Clubman was developed through BMC’s desire to expand the Mini concept, without spending too much money. It started out as a hatchback proposal penned by Roy Haynes, and then developed into something rather less useful. Words: Ian Nicholls Keeping up appearances THE Mini Clubman story starts in 1967 when BMC managing director Joe Edwards [...]

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Events : MINI’s centenary tour (updated 28 March)

Keith Adams — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:14:35 +0000

MINI celebrated the Cowley centenary in style by touring of all of the European production sites that have built this iconic car over the years. These included Novo Mesto (Slovenia), the Italian city of Milan, the former production plant in Malta, the Portuguese town of Vendas Novas, Pamplona in Spain, Seneffe in Belgium, Amersfoort in [...]

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International variations : Canadian Minis

Keith Adams — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:41:02 +0000

Heath Robinson strikes The Mini was an enduring success for British Motor Corporation and then British Leyland – and the sheer number of markets the Issigonis Brick was exported to proves that the car’s appeal was truly international. But being designed between 1956-’58 did begin to count against it as the years rolled by. Governments [...]

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Blog : The story of the other twini-Mini

Keith Adams — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:41:19 +0000

Ian Elliott The ease of adding an extra engine afforded by the Mini’s subframe configuration wasn’t lost on several ‘special’ builders. One of the most entertaining was concocted within earshot of the Longbridge plant, in Barnt Green village. Barnt Green Post Office and shop was run by Tony and Pat Fisher, two great motorsport enthusiasts. [...]

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From the archive : 50 years ago today

Keith Adams — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:23:15 +0000

‘Twini’ Moke goes testing The Times, 8 January 1963 A twin-engined 1696cc version of the BMC Mini-Car has been produced experimentally at the BMC works here by Mr Alec Issigonis, technical director, and Mr George Harriman, chairman of BMC. Together they have been working on special versions of the vehicle for nine months, with the [...]

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News : Mini voted the ‘greatest’ by Autocar readers

Keith Adams — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:17:09 +0000

Once again, the significance and importance of the Mini has been recognised by car enthusiasts from around the world – withAutocar magazine’s poll to find the greatest British car of them all returning a win for Issigonis’ masterpiece. The online poll was to celebrate the best cars produced by British workers, and the result means [...]

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Mini special editions : 1979 1100 Special

Keith Adams — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:50:09 +0000

It’s AROnline‘s favourite special edition Mini – and for good reason. When people discuss special edition Minis, the popular perception is that this is phenomenon that kicked off during the late-1980s in order to sell more cars. But pretty much from the moment the Mini was launched back in 1959, dealers as well as its [...]

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Buy parts with AROnline and Rimmer Bros

Keith Adams — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:01:30 +0000

KEITH ADAMS Rimmer Bros sponsored AROnline‘s Polish SD1 restoration… Buying parts for your Jaguar, Rover, Lands Rover, Triumph or MG has never been easier through AROnline… HERE at AROnline, we receive a large numbers of emails from people all over the world looking for parts for their cars MGs, Rovers, Landies and all manner of [...]

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News : Kiwis smash world speed record… in a Mini

Keith Adams — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:32:07 +0000

Following in the footsteps of legendary New Zealander Burt Munro, a team of Kiwis have smashed a world speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and confirmed their car as ‘the world’s fastest Mini’. They were told they didn’t have a hope of even passing the tech inspection – let alone breaking the [...]

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Auction watch : 1960 Mini under the hammer

admin — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:06:44 +0000

A 1960 Austin Seven 850, with 2600 miles on the clock and with virtually every component an original, up for auction at the Silverstone Classic Sale on 21 July. Not surprisingly, this exceptional car, estimated at £20,000 to £25,000, is expected to be one of the most sought after lots at the sale hosted Silverstone [...]

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News : Unrestored Mini makes £40,000

Keith Adams — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:50:15 +0000

When the hammer dropped and the final bid was settled for Richard Bremner’s 1959 Austin Mini Seven De Luxe, there was a ripple of applause from the buyers present at Bonhams’ Hendon auction. It’s not the oldest surviving example, but it’s really close, being the eighth to roll of the Longbridge production line – and [...]

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Around the world : Venezuela

Keith Adams — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:00:33 +0000

The Chilean BL operation was the first attempt to produce the Mini in South America, but by no means was it the last… Story told by Rodrigo Toledo. The ‘Brick’ moves to Venezuela… AT the time that BMC and British Leyland were building cars in Chile, Venezuela was, by far, the most developed country in [...]

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Towns Microdot

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:49:52 +0000

Towns had high hopes for the Microdot, but they would eventually come to nothing… THE Microdot made its debut at the London Motor Show in 1976, where it couldn’t help but attract attention due to its tyically neat, glassy styling – and its bright lime-green paintwork. However, its green credentials were more than skin-deep, as [...]

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Towns Minissima

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:44:57 +0000

At the 1973 Earls Court Motor Show, BLMC expected the new Allegro to be the centre of attention on the Austin-Morris stand. Instead, it was another car that stole the limelight… SHORTLY before the 1973 motor show, BLMC gained permission to add to their stand a curious but radical small car, created by the futurist [...]

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Police cars : Mini

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:27:23 +0000

Being nippy and economical, Minis were mainly used as Panda cars, although some forces elected to use the Cooper versions as Patrol cars. Mini A Befordshire Mini Panda car photographed in the late 1960s. Mini Cooper A Mini Cooper S MkII Patrol car. Mini Cooper S A Mini Cooper S Patrol car. American Mini Interesting [...]

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Engines : A-Series

Keith Adams — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:37:26 +0000

The A-series engine did service in a variety of cars for almost 50 years, during which time it was available in a bewildering variety of capacities and states of tune. A hard act to follow The A-Series engine was certainly a case of the ‘British Curate’s egg’ – good in places. In fact, that is [...]

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Mini – classic : Paul Banham Conversions

Keith Adams — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:22:45 +0000

A chop-top Mini, or retro-style on a plate… To find out more, contact Kit Car magazine Banham Roadster IN 2003, having concentrated on the production of his own bodywork designs for several years, Paul Banham went back to his coachbuilding roots by offering this good-looking open-top version of the Mini. The aim here was to [...]

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Mini – classic : Radford conversions

Keith Adams — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:13:49 +0000

In the 1960s Radford caught the Mini wave in a big way… ITis generally acknowledged that the trend for luxuriously-specified Minis was started by the actor Peter Sellers, when he aksed dealership HR Owen to convert his new Mini Cooper into something a little more opulent and exclusive; HR Owen commissioned Hooper (Motor Services) Ltd [...]

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Mini – classic : Downton Conversions

Keith Adams — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 07:09:33 +0000

The interesting story of the Downton Mini, by Ian Nicholls. In the 1960s many tuning firms established them selves on the back of the Mini’s success: Broadspeed, Alexander, Taurus etc. However only one outfit had BMC approval and contributed more to the BMC>Rover story than just selling go faster bits for the companies products. That [...]

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