Unrest and Diversity TheThe UbiquitousUbiquitous MiniMini As BMC turned into British Leyland, poor management decisions and unhelpful union influences conspired to see the eventual downfall of the British motor industry. As British Leyland lurched through the 1970s, even the charismatic South African, Michael Edwards could not stop the strikes and company unrest. Nevertheless, through the entire trauma, upheavals and re-adjustments the company suffered, the evergreen Mini sailed on, with ever varying modifications and company changes.
Eventually, on the 4th October 2000 the Rover Mini, as it was now called, ceased to be when MG Rover sold the rights to BMW. A new Mini was born that only slightly resembles the original model, but somehow the spark lives on with enthusiasts who covet this new Mini concept as strongly as their grandparents did back in 1959.
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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL Introduction Development and Variations
What makes a car into a cult object and therefore successful and During its life, the Mini saw some real oddball developments from collectable is difficult to quantify, but there is no doubt that the Mini outside of the parent company. Harold Radford Ltd, suppliers of has achieved this status. During a 41 year life span the outer panels quality coachwork to the rich and famous, re-appointed Minis to of the Mini have changed little, many of them interchangeable with ape their much larger brother, the gargantuan Rolls Royce by fitting later units. From the 1980s on however, the modern Mini became a deep pile carpet, leather interiors very different animal. and burr walnut dash boards. An early Mini contained many oddities, sliding windows, a starter Another Mini derivative, the Mini button on the floor between the driver and passenger and a piece of Sprint, with a lowered roof and string to close the door. It was cheap and cheerful with mechanical de-seamed body became popular reliability, economy and amongst the ‘boy racers’. usability unrivalled by any other of its kind. Alec Issigonis Of all the oddities that the Mini In March 1957, Leonard Father of The Mini provided derivatives for, the Lord, the Chairman of Nov. 18, 1906 - Oct. 2, 1988 oddest was to be produced by BMC, asked the BMC themselves, with the Mini designer, Alec Issigonis Moke. Destined for military use, it to design a car with failed on pretty well all counts. With ten-inch wheels it could not maximum passenger cover the rough terrain that the military required of it. However, the capabilities in a very Moke found fame and fortune in the leisure industry, used by small frame utilising the holiday makers and free spirits all over the world. It was motoring in standard BMC A-series its most basic form, with the wind and sun (and often rain) in your engine. After the Suez hair. Crisis of 1956 the It found cult fame ensuing petrol shortage via a popular TV brought a new programme of its dimension to the day “The Prisoner” motoring public. - filmed in Portmeirion in Family car marketing Wales, it featured began to focus on the Patrick McGoohan economical, small car. as a political prisoner, held by Mini Moke driving guards.
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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL Development and Variations The Man Behind the Mini
In 1960 the first of the many Alec Issigonis was born in Smyrna, variants, the Mini Van, was Greece in 1906 as a British subject. launched, followed by the Alec and his family were forced to Austin Mini Countryman, a abandon the country after the Great tiny estate car based on the War, as Greece and Turkey fought van. The Mini Pickup one of their periodic territorial wars. followed in 1961, as did the They arrived in England and Alec Morris Mini Traveller. attended Battersea Technical College In 1962 a new Mini duo was where he gained a grounding in launched with the Wolseley Hornet and engineering despite a self confessed the Riley Elf. They were upmarket, weakness in Maths. Pre Second badge-engineered versions with bigger World War, he worked for Morris at boots and stylish bodies. Cowley designing MG car parts and spent the war years designing military equipment. The first of his two world acclaimed cars, the post war Morris Minor, was soon in production, when in 1952 he produced an In September 1961 one of experimental front wheel drive Minor with engine, clutch and the most significant variants gearbox transversely all in line with a final drive beneath. Although was introduced with the Mini Alec never drove the prototype it was used every day by Jack Daniels, Cooper, a very powerful one of the Minor development team. version that eventually was to make its mark in the world of motor sport.
The Mini Clubman, introduced in May 1969, was an attempt to move the image upmarket, but was not universally popular.
The Mini was slowly turning into a fashion Icon and in the sixties it became ‘très chic’ to drive a Mini around the trendy capitals of Europe.
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INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL The Concept The Launch
The Mini was the second Alec Launched in 1959 as the ‘under £500 car’, oddly enough it cost Issigonis creation that became £506 at its cheapest. BMC dealers were given both Austin and a motoring Icon. Before the Morris versions, the Austin Seven (harking back to a previous small BMC merger, Leonard Lord was car model) and the Morris Minor (ditto). Initial sales were in charge at Austin where he disappointing and by 1960 they had sold only 100,000 units world announced to shareholders in wide. Soon however the buying public began to accept the little 1947 that he was “not yet Mini and in 1960 they sold 150,000 units and in 1961 this figure planning a Mini Car”. rose to 200,000. The Mini was on its way to becoming a star. Nevertheless, after the merger it was Leonard Lord who brought Alec Issigonis into BMC to design the Mini. Issigonis designed the car around the needs of the occupants and the transverse engine concept meant huge gains in space inside the car because there was no gearbox housing and no propeller shaft tunnel. The ‘orange box’ construction method was enhanced by the use of sub frames front and rear. The front sub-frame held the engine, gearbox and final drive whilst the rear sub-frame held the suspension parts.
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