Mini – Classic
The cars : Mini development history, part 1
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 [...]
August 5, 2011
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Keith Adams · 
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The cars : Mini development history, part 2
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 1970: big changes [...]
August 5, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
The cars : Mini Cooper
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 [...]
July 24, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
The cars : Mini Clubman
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 [...]
July 24, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Mini – Classic : Crayford Conversions
A wide variety of Mini-based models saw the inside of Crayford’s workshops, including the Cooper, Wolseley Hornet, Clubman and even the Moke… Mini/Mini-Cooper Convertible First introduced in 1963, the convertible Mini was the model that made Crayford’s name, attracting wide publicity on the back of the general success of the Mini itself, and the Cooper [...]
July 27, 2011
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Also known as : Mini – Classic
In this gallery, we take a look at some of the names used to sell various versions of the Mini in overseas markets… Austin Partner Home market name: based on Austin SevenThe Austin version of the Mini was sold in Denmark as the Partner from its introduction in 1959 until 1964. Morris Mascot Home market [...]
July 27, 2011
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Mini special editions
Having been in production for some 40 years, it goes without saying that there were many, many special editions based upon the Mini. Here are just a few.
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Mini ERA Turbo
ERA is a name with a glorious past – and in the summer of 1988, the owners of the marque approached Rover in order to revive the name on a very special Mini. This is what happens when you put a turbocharger under the bonnet of a Mini… a little bit of magic. Turbo’d fancy… [...]
July 26, 2011
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Mini Convertibles
Rover offered one of the fullest ranges of cabriolets on the market – starting with the Mini, through the Metro/100 and onto the R8 (as well as the convertible MGF and RV8), there was a budget drop top for everyone. Jeffery Allen, with the help of some friends, pieces together the history of the Lamm [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Mini – classic : The tuned cars
Minis are fun – such fun that most people think they need more power. Ian Nicholls guides us through some of the tuned Minis offered for sale in the UK over the years… THE arrival of the BMC Mini in 1959, with its roller skate handling, was of great benefit to the British performance tuning [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Mini – classic : Beach cars
During the early 1960s, a couple of Mini-based beach car designs were produced in limited numbers. Fun in the sun In his 1964 book “The Mini Story”, Laurence Pomeroy provides the following information on these fairweather variants: “For use in the balmier parts of the world, BMC have built a small number of prestige cars [...]
July 26, 2011
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Minis overseas : Australian Mokes
Once it became clear the Moke was never going to cut in in serious military use, its future seemed to be tied into sunnier climes… Park Paget tells the story of its Australian afterlife… AT the beginning of the Seventies, BLMC-Australia had started to realise the Mini-Moke could be better marketed. As a result, the [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Mini overseas : South Africa
South Africa produced the Mini in an interesting variety of body combinations not seen elsewhere… Wolseley 1000 The Wolseley 1000 was South Africa’s first mix-and-match Mini, mating the glitzy Wolseley front end – complete with the obligatory illuminated grille badge – to the standard Mini bodyshell. Well, almost standard – as can be seen in [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Mini overseas : Venezuela
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 [...]
July 26, 2011
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Mini overseas : Innocenti 90/120
In 1974, Leyland’s Italian subsidiary Innocenti introduced a rebodied, 3-door hatchback Mini, sytled by Bertone. However, within a year of its launch, BLMC went bankrupt and Innocenti was sold to de Tomaso. Prior to the launch of the Metro, the Innocenti was briefly available in the UK, and it continued to be sold as part [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Mini overseas : 1970 Innocenti Mini-Minor
The 1970 Innocenti Mini-Minor; a name long since dropped in the UK… Thanks to Giovanni Marchisio for scanning and submitting the images on this page
July 26, 2011
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Mini overseas : Innocenti Mini t
The Italian-built estate version of the Mini was called the Innocenti Mini t… Thanks to Graham Arnold for scanning and submitting the images on this page
July 26, 2011
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Mini overseas : Spain
The Costa Mini… As well as ADO16s, Authi also produced their version of the Mini for local consumption. As with its larger brother, the aim was to achieve 100 per cent local content, and as a result, the Minis that rolled out of Pamplona were very interesting indeed. The easy route to component supply in [...]
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Concepts and prototypes : Mini – classic
A brief look at how the ground-breaking Mini made it from sketch pad to showroom in little more than two years. This page was contributed by Declan Berridge
July 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 2 Comments
Supermini projects : A new Mini (1968-’74)
From barrel to wedge Long before the term supermini had been coined, BLMC had begun to think about producing a new Mini with superior space, comfort and practicality. This gallery contains some initial thoughts and some blind alleys. This car was tentatively developed around the same time as Sir Alec Issigonis was working on his [...]
June 25, 2011
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Concepts : BMC 9X
Sheer Genius SOMETIMES, a crisis can truly focus the thoughts of an individual – and in the case of Issigonis, a proven and gifted designer, the Suez crisis had proven this to be the case. From the Leonard Lord edict to design a car to meet the fuel crisis head-on, a true stroke of genius [...]
June 14, 2011
· Keith Adams · 4 Comments
Superminis : Why the Italians beat us by a decade
Keith Adams BMC changed the world with the launch of the Mini in 1959. It was created in response to a crisis and was a genius piece of packaging which will forever be Sir Alec Issigonis’ legacy to the automotive world. However, as we all know, it was no profit-maker for BMC and, during its hyper-successful [...]
May 8, 2011
· Keith Adams · 48 Comments
