The new Morris Mini Minor was almost exactly the same car as the Austin Seven ( or Austin Mini ), the only differences being the radiator grille, the colour schemes and the fact that it was built at Cowley rather than Longbridge, Super saloons available from 1961, key starts and Hydrolastic suspension from 1964.
This is one of many illustrated classic car guides I've created for the community. I hope you enjoy it. If you wish to find out more about the classic Mini car art featured in this guide please click here.
This guide features a motoring legend, the Mini. Since 1959 no other vehicle has captured the imagination quite like the Mini with a diverse range of models to suit any and every purpose.
These magnificent red and white Mini Coopers dominated international rallying during the mid-sixties, sweeping aside the opposition. There were six international works victories apiece for Timo Makinen and Paddy Hopkirk, while Rauno Aaltonen, "the Flying Finn" managed nine.
The Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf were launched in 1961 to give a luxury end to the Mini phenomenon. They stretched and beautified the original Mini, with boot extensions, plusher grille and smarter interior. BMC sold 59000 of these models during the 1960s, presumably to people who wanted something slightly more refined than the basic box of tricks. Often described unfairly as "badge engineered", the Hornet and Elf were in fact very important in the development of the Mini, having a 998cc engine five years before the standard car and wind-up windows three years before other models.
The Minimoke was an attempt to produce a lightweight military vehicle that could be parachuted into action, but its low ride height meant it wasn't really suitable for rough terrain and instead it headed for an easier life in the leisure market. The Mini-Moke served happily on beaches, golf courses and anywhere hot and with full weather equipment in place provided the brave with some degree of protection from the English weather. Regular appearances in the TV series "The Prisoner" enhanced the Moke's popularity.
John Cooper ran a works team in the 1960s with cars in the colours of the F1 team (British Racing Green with Snowberry White Longitudinal stripes) with the legend Cooper Car Co on the door tops, and driven by Sir John Whitmore, John Handley, John Rhodes and John Fitzpatrick, amongst others. Competing against other successful teams such as the Alexander and Broadspeed outfits, these thrilling green and white racers were a very familiar sight on the circuits during the 1960s. Later, of course, they were the inspiration for the new generation of Rover Mini Coopers.
Almost from day one the Mini's nature of being very practical in terms of being very practical in terms of parts availability and that it was a cost-effective mode of transport, customised cars based o it chassis started to appear. Many glassfibre bodies were put on the Mini's basic frame and the result was a large array of practical and fun vehicles during the 1960s. Outspan customised a Mini for promotional purposes, the result a giant orange on wheels with a small windscreen at the front! Another ingenious use for the Mini was as a mobile vending vehicle such as an Ice Cream, a once familiar sight around our housing estates and coastal resorts.
The Mini Cooper 1071S was announced in 1963 and offered a charming blend between the Cooper 1275's lugging power and the Cooper 970's high revving capabilities. A fine competition car, it won the Alpine and Monte Carlo rallies and although it may not be so well remembered in the nineties as the 1275S, it was nevertheless a very significant model.
The van version of the world's ultimate small car was a logical move by BMC, coming shortly after the launch of the saloon in 1960. Initially offered with the 848cc engine and later in 1967 with a 998cc option, the Minivan became very popular with enterprises of all sizes, from the one-man business to large organisations such as the Royal Automobile Club ( R.A.C. ), who used them as their Radio Rescue units.
The Mini still shows the timeless shape that first appeared in 1959, which even today looks as stylish as ever. The Mini should really have faded into glorious obscurity after the arrival of the Metro in 1980. Sales halved when the Metro was launched but against all forecasts at Austin Rover, they didn't take a nose dive and there was still enough demand to make it worth continuing to build the model, especially as Minis now ran on Metro production lines.
The idea of bringing back the Mini Cooper came from a series of meetings between Rover and John Cooper and on the 10th July 1990, the Rover Special Products or RSP Commemorative Cooper was launched. Intended as a limited commemorative edition of just 1000 (plus 650 for Japan), the model was inevitably closer to the standard Mini specification than the old Mini Coopers had been. The 1.3 litre unit from the MG Metro was used while the Minilite style wheels were borrowed from the Mini 30 model of 1989 along with most of the interior trim.
This is one of many illustrated classic car guides I've created for the community. I hope you enjoy it. If you wish to find out more about the classic Mini car art featured in this guide please click here.
The Mini is the living classic, its production still going strong. When launched in 1959 it was bristling with innovations such as the transversely mounted engine to name but one, and was quite revolutionary in its concept. The first Minis were available as an Austin or a Morris, the official titles being "Austin 7" or "Morris Mini Minor", Differences between the two were slight and were mainly confined to cosmetics. These first Minis set the standard for years to come with outstanding fuel economy, returning in excess of 40mpg.
The Mini Cooper was introduced in 1961 and with a 997cc engine and 55bhp it offered a tremendous improvement in performance over the standard car. The two-tone Cooper was otherwise almost indistinguishable from the 850 model, with just the discreet badging and different grille giving the game away. The Mk 1 Cooper was capable of 85mph and 0-60mph in around 17 seconds. In January 1964 the 997cc Cooper was replaced by the 998cc version. Although only fractionally larger in capacity, the engine had been subtly reworked, to a more balanced proportion and this led to an improvement in torque and tractability.
The estate version of the Mini arrived in October 1960. It was based on the van but had side windows and saloon car furnishings and featured a wooden frame glued onto the outside of the bodywork behind the front door line. Similar in appearance to the popular Morris Minor Traveller, the Mini's traditional framework was purely cosmetic, unlike the Morris Minor's, which actually supported the body panels. It was insisted upon by BMC's Sales Department at the time who reasoned that a Mini estate without woodwork would look too much like a van fitted with windows. The Morris version was called the Mini Traveller and the Austin version adopted the marque's traditional Countryman title. Price when new was £623 including Purchase Tax.
In 1967 the Cooper and Cooper S along with all other cars in the range received the heavier Mk II body-shell. Changes were light, at the front the grille was redesigned with the top chrome strip being attached to the bonnet at the sides reshaped to give the car a more pleasing look. At the rear the body-shell incorporated a lighter light cluster and a two-inch wider rear window. In addition, the Mk 2 solved some of the niggly problems associated with earlier models. The use of seat belts had been growing since legislation made their fitment compulsory, but once strapped into a static belt it was difficult to reach the switches on the centre facia. Mk2 modifications brought the switches three-inches nearer to the driver. Other definite improvements at the time were a smaller turning circle and twin leading shoe front brakes.
In the years 1964-1967, between them the 1071S and 1275S won the Monte Carlo Rally three times officially and were disqualified (1966) from a fourth win. The 1275S won 23 international rallies for the works between its April 1964 Tulip-winning debut and September 1969's assault on the Tour de France. Among the 1275 S-type's results, it won Monte Carlo (twice); 1000 lakes (three times); Tulip (twice); Circuit of Ireland (three times); RAC (once); Austrian/Alpine (twice); Acropolis (once); Polish (twice); and Czechoslovakia (twice). The 1271S won the June 1963 Alpine and January 1964 Monte.
In 1968 the introduction of the Clubman was an attempt by BL to give the Mini more status. Feeling was that a front end change would make the car look bigger and make the buyer feel he was getting more car for his money. In reality of course, he was not, as the Clubman had no more interior space and more importantly, no improvement in performance when compared to the original Minis of the same specification. The Clubman-fronted 1275GT was a replacement for the Mini Cooper in the early 1970s. For a short while the Cooper S and 1275 GT were produced alongside each other until the Cooper S was deleted in July 1971. The Clubman, in all its forms, continued until 1980 to be outlasted by the original Mini shape.
In its heyday the Mini was used for a number of different applications not normally associated with the small family car. The use as a Police pursuit car was one of these.
It was known from the beginning that a car with all its vital components at the front had great versatility for derivatives and within five months of the saloon's launch the van was proudly announced. Initially offered with the 848cc engine, the 998cc option became available in 1967, which was the same year the AA dispensed with their motorcycle combinations to go under cover with AA Minivans. The Mini van was the ideal successor and not surprisingly became a regular and welcome sight for many motorists at the time. The Van lacked some of the niceties found on the saloons, such as the decorative grille, which helped in achieving the relatively low purchase price.
There can be few cars as practical and as versatile as the Mini. Its virtues of compactness and economy coupled with its eager engine, snappy gear-change and great manoeuvrability have made it one of the world's best-loved small cars. The ability of the Mini to never look out of date with its surroundings is almost uncanny, especially since its basic shape has remained unchaged since 1959. Sir Alec Issigonis once said, "Stylists are employed to make things obsolescent .. like women's clothes.. I design cars which cannot be obsolescent and there give value for money." The Mini City E was the economy model at the time and epitomised the way Issigonis had envisaged the car 25 years earlier - a utility vehicle capable of getting people from A to B in comfort.
