RETROspective - The Mini
Where do we begin?
It is impossible to understate the significance of the original Mini – both in the world of motoring and m otors port.
The car started life as a simple sketch by British Motor Corporation (BMC) designer Alec Issigonis. Codenamed ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15), the Mini was designed as a solution to the fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis.
Petrol in the UK had to be rationed and sales of larger engined cars lost out to smaller and more fuel efficient m achinery.
One of the cars that emerged as a surprise success was the bubble car range. However, the head of BMC reportedly hated the cars and vowed to rid the streets of them by creating a re-designed British version.
The original prototype was produced in 1957. It used a pre-existing BMC A-Series four-cylinder water-cooled engine but mounted sideways and fixed with the four-speed transmission in the sump which drove the front wheels instead of the rear. This meant that the overall length of the car was dramatically reduced but it did expose a few weaknesses.
The radiator was fed with air that had already been heated by being passed over the engine and the entire ignition system was exposed to the elements as the only protection was the front grille.
A new type of suspension was created that used rubber cones instead of springs. The ride was raw and stiff but when combined with the Mini’s non-existent overhangs, the car handled like a go-kart.
The cars stole the limelight in the 1969 film ‘The Italian Job’ where three Mini Coopers were used as getaway vehicles in a plot to steal gold from under the noses of the Italian mafia. In a film that featured motoring icons such as the Lamborghini Miura, Aston Martin DB4 and Jaguar E-Type - it was the Mini was undeniably the star.
In 1989, on the Mini’s thirtieth anniversary, Launch Executive Tony Ball said: “It took a while to get used to because the car was so unusual and people had to get used to this idea of a car that looked small but was big inside.
“Once people accepted the idea that his car could perform, that the car had style, that the car was safe then the whole thing started to take off and it’s never looked back.”
Although he often denied it, Issigonis was a lover of motorsport and was good friends with Formula One designer John Cooper. Although initially reluctant, Issigonis agreed to a collaboration that was to transform the Mini into a performance car. The Mini Cooper was unveiled in 1961 and was an instant success.
Speaking to Top Gear in 1997, Cooper said: “Issigonis wasn't too keen at the beginning but he got used to the idea because he loved motor racing really. He always used to make out that he didn't though.
“We realised the capabilities of the car and we thought 'we've got to make a real homologation special now and go for it'.
“We put the 1070 engine in and that was the one we called the ‘S’. That was the car that came out in 1963 and Paddy [Hopkirk] won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964.
“Even I couldn't believe it, because to me, at that time, the Monte Carlo was the Rally to win.”
The car went onto the win in Monte Carlo three times as well as Minis of other forms accompanying four drivers to five British Touring Car Championships.
Throughout the 1990s, it cemented itself further into its British identity as the iconic transport of choice for the award winning comedy Mr. Bean.
The car continued to reinvent itself until 2000, when the Rover Group - which was producing the final incarnation of the Mini Cooper - was broken up by BMW and the German marque retained the rights to Mini.
By 2001, BMW had its own take on the icon - the newly stylised Mk I MINI.
In 2003, a re-imagining of the Italian Job was released unto the public, with the classic red, blue and white Minis replaced by their modern counterparts.
While many shunned a German recreation of a British classic, the MINI’s success is undeniable. It is one of the automotive world’s strongest brands with a full range in production rather than a number of variants on the one chassis.
One of which, the Countryman was created to herald in the new era of MINI in the World Rally Championship. In 2011, MINI returned to rallying with podiums in Germany and France.
While the current MINI may be a far cry from the original icon, the legend of the car that took on the world and won still remains intact. And it will be a while before we see them disappear yet.
