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Who makes the Mini Cooper
The Mini was largely the creation of one
man, in a way which would be impossible to imagine in today’s motor industry.
That man was Alec Issigonis, one of the greatest and most inspired motor
engineers of the twentieth century.
Alec Issigonis (1906 - 1988, knighted in 1969) had been born in Smyrna
in present day Turkey, the son of a Bavarian mother and a Greek father
who became a nationalized Briton.
Issigonis was an idiosyncratic and demanding taskmaster, communicating
firmly held ideas in an uncompromising way. A favorite way of explaining
his requirements was through the detailed sketches for which he became
famous and which were made on a concrete floor to a restaurant tablecloth.
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 In
four decades it has turn out to be an icon and is destined to live on
as one of the great legends of the world motor industry. The modern motor
car was born on 26 August 1959. On that day, BMC (British Motor Corporation)
launched the Mini. BMC had been formed in 1952 by the merger of the Austin
and Morris companies, so the Mini was originally launched in two versions
- the Austin Seven (some times written "Se7en") and the Morris
Mini-Minor. According to the original publicity, the Austin was "The
Incredible Austin Seven" while the Morris was "Wizardry on Wheels."
Before that, in the period of 1933-1938 Alec Issigonis and his friend George
Dowson built a racing special based on the Austin Seven.
Then the Suez crisis hit and Leonard Lord was quickly convinced of the importance
of a BMC economy car. In March 1957 Leonard Lord told Alec Issigonis to
drop his work on XC9001 and begin development sign a small car project,
which assumed the title ADO15. Assembling a small team around him, Issigonis
initiated the genesis of the Mini.
Leonard Lord gave Issigonis largely a free hand only stipulating that it
must the use of the existing A-series engine. For a while Issigonis experimented
with a two-cylinder version of this engine, but it proved too rough and
gutless; however, the ‘twin’ remained under consideration as an alternative
power unit until at least mid 1958.
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And so Issigonis, with a small team of assistants, began the design of
the Mini. His vision was of the smallest possible car that would accommodate
four adults and some luggage. Issigonis dictated the car’s specific from
day one with the sort of arrogance that today’s committee designers would
find intolerable.
Issigonis had a clear and determined vision of what he wanted. Front-wheel
drive with a transverse engine was a vital element; it would allow better
use of space, improve traction and stability, and save weight. But this
was only the start.
Having established the basic dimensions for this package, he then looked
at how the engine could be fitted into the car, which he saw as a box,
little more than 10 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet.
Before leaving Morris in 1952, he had already built a special Morris Minor
with front-wheel drive and a transverse engine, and this idea was now
applied to the new car. The masterstroke that made this engine installation
possible was the idea of putting the gearbox in the sump of the engine.
Other important space saving measures were the tiny 10 inch wheels and
the compact all independent suspension with rubber elements.
In the summer of 1958, Issigonis took Lord for a quick drive round the
factory in one of the early prototypes. Lord was quickly convinced and
told Issigonis to have the car in production within a year. And so it
happened - the production lines at both Longbridge and Cowley, for Austin
and Morris respectively, began to roll in the spring of 1959, in readiness
for the August launch date.
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new car was offered for just under $500 (approximately US$786.75) in its
least expensive, standard form in the home market. It took a while for
the Mini to find its place in the market, and production in 1959 was only
around 20,000 cars, although by 1962 BMC turned out over 200,000 cars
per year and went on doing so for the next 15 years. Originally seen just as another small family car, the versatility and
charm of the Mini made it a favorite with the jet setters of the swinging
sixties. The car quickly became something else altogether - a fashion/lifestyle
statement, an icon.
Many different variations were to follow the original saloon. The period
1960 to 1964 was especially fruitful, first with estate car and van versions,
then a pick-up, and in 1961 the badge-engineered luxury versions of the
Mini under the Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf badges, featuring miniature
versions of the classic radiator grilles of these brands, and also expanded
trunks with increased luggage space. More importantly, 1961 saw the launch
of the first Mini Cooper, a high-performance version developed jointly
with the racing car constructor John Cooper.
The standard Mini's 848cc engine with 34bhp was replaced by a 997cc engine
developing 55bhp, and the Cooper for the first time had front disc brakes.
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1963 the Cooper was followed by the even more potent Mini Cooper S with
a 1071cc engine and a top speed of close to 100mph. While the standard Mini
and the Mini Cooper had already been used in rallying by BMC's competitions
department, the Mini Cooper S became an outstanding rally car. The car won
the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally three times for BMC, in 1964, 1965 and
1967, apart from many other important victories, in the hands of famous
drivers such as Paddy Hopkirk, Rauno Aaltonen, and Timo Makinen.
From 1964, the Mini Cooper S was fitted mostly with a new 1275cc version
of the A-series engine while there was also a short lived 970cc version.
The non S Mini Cooper received a 998cc engine which had already been introduced
in the Wolseley and Riley models. At the other end of the Mini range, the
utilitarian Mini Moke was introduced, a simple lightweight vehicle originally
intended for military applications. Also in 1964, many Minis received the
interconnected Hydrolastic gas/fluid suspension system.
By 1967, a small face lift was deemed to be in order, and the Mark II Mini
range, introduced at the Motor Show, had new radiator grilles, bigger rear
windows, and other cosmetic changes. The standard models now became available
with the 998cc engine as an alternative to the 848cc size. The new range
for the first time lost the traditional Austin and Morris names - Mini now
became established as a brand in its own right. Compared to the original
models, improvements across the board included wind down windows in place
of the original sliding door windows, and new concealed door hinges. The
entire bodyshell was an additional model range featuring an alternative
front end design, the Clubman saloon and estate car models, as well as a
new 1275 GT model. Riley and Wolseley versions were however discontinued,
and of the Mini Cooper models only the 1275cc S lived on briefly in a Mark
III version before being discontinued in 1971. Van and pick-up models were
continued, but the Mini Moke had been dropped from the UK line-up in 1968,
although production continued in Australia, and later in Portugal.
The first millionth Mini was made in 1965, with the second millionth in
1969. The highest annual production figure of more than 318,000 Minis made
worldwide was reached in 1971 and in 1972, the third millionth car was made,
followed in 1976 by four million. After several abortive attempts at replacing
the Mini, the BL company now had a new small car under development, to be
launched as the Austin Mini Metro in 1980. The Clubman models, including
the estate car and the 1275 GT, and the van and pick-up versions all disappeared.
The 850 saloon also disappeared, leaving only the 1000 saloon to carry on.
A special anniversary model was also produced, becoming the first of many
Mini-based limited editions. In 1986 the five millionth Mini came off the
Longbridge production line.
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In 1986, the BL company became the Rover Group, under Graham Day's management,
and Day personally authorized a new campaign to revitalize the Mini, with
famous slogans such as "You never forget your first Mini" and
"Minis have feelings too." These efforts bore fruit particularly
in export markets, notably in Japan where Mini sales rose from 1,000 cars
in 1985 to a remarkable 12,000 in 1990, helping the Mini to achieve its
best recent production figure of 46,000 cars.
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now the Mini had celebrated its 30th anniversary. In 1990 Rover, again
with the enthusiastic help of John Cooper, brought back the Mini Cooper,
first as a limited edition, soon after as a standard production model.
The new Mini Cooper quickly became the best-selling Mini version. The
1275cc engine from the new Mini Cooper was eventually also fitted, in
a less powerful form, to the standard Mini saloon, while in 1992 the first
Rover produced Mini convertible appeared - after numerous aftermarket
conversions over a period of 30 years. At ?12,000 (approximately US$18,882)
this was the most expensive Mini ever but still found a niche in the market.
In 1994, BMW acquired the Rover Group, thus adding the Land Rover, Rover,
MG and Mini brands to the BMW Group portfolio. Investment by BMW into
the Rover Group enabled the company to confirm, in 1996, that there would
be an all-new Mini for the new millennium, to be built in the UK. There
was also a new much-modified 1997 Mini range of two models, Mini and Mini
Cooper, both sharing the same engine, a 1275cc A series with multi-point
fuel injection and 63bhp. Both models cost ?8995 (approximately US$14,153.60)
on the road in the UK, but potential customers could easily spend a lot
more on a Mini, choosing special equipment, accessories and paint and
trim schemes from a wider options list. With these new models, Rover gave
a clear signal that the Mini now and for the future would be positioned
as a specialized more up-market type of small car, not as a mass-produced
entry-level model. The image of the Mini brand was reinforced and sharpened
with a new badge, and a special set of brand values defined as "energy,
escapism, excitement, individuality and innovation".
A glimpse of the future Mini, code named Project R50, was revealed the
evening before the Frankfurt motorshow in September 1997. The new Mini
is scheduled to launch in Europe and Asia in 2001. The company is currently
researching the possibility of the Mini's return to N. America.
Clearly, the legend that is Mini lives on.
Article by: MINI Press |
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