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The production version of the Mini was
demonstrated to the press in April 1959, and by August several
thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales.
The name Mini did not appear by itself immediately — the first
models being marketed under two of BMC's brand names, Austin and
Morris. The name Austin Seven (sometimes written as SE7EN in
early publicity material) recalled the popular small Austin of
the 1920s and 1930s. The other name used in the United Kingdom,
Morris Mini-Minor, seems to have been a play on words. The
Morris Minor was a well known and successful car, with the word
minor being Latin for "smaller"; so an abbreviation of the Latin
word for "smallest" — minimus — was used for the new even
smaller car.
Until 1962 the cars appeared as the Austin 850 and Morris 850 in
North America and France, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner
(until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). The name Mini was
first used to name the car in 1961,[10] somewhat to the surprise
of the Sharps Commercials car company (later known as Bond Cars
Ltd) who had been using the name Minicar for their three-wheeled
vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted,
and BMC used the name Mini for the remainder of the life of the
car.
In 1964 the suspension of the cars was replaced by another
Moulton design, the hydrolastic system. The new suspension gave
a softer ride but it also increased weight and production cost
and, in the minds of many enthusiasts, spoiled the handling
characteristics for which the Mini was so famous. In 1971 the
original rubber suspension reappeared and was retained for the
remaining life of the Mini.
1965 Mk I Mini TravellerFrom October 1965 the option of an
Automotive Products (AP) designed four-speed automatic
transmission became available.
Although they were slow at the outset, sales were strong across
most of the model lines in the 1960s, with a total of 1,190,000
Mk I's being produced. The basic Mini never made money for its
makers because it sold at less than its production cost. This
may have been necessary in order to compete with its rivals, but
it is rumoured that this was actually due to an accounting
error. Some profits came from the popular deluxe models and from
optional accessories, which included items such as seat belts,
door mirrors and a radio that would be considered necessities on
modern cars.
The Mini etched its place into popular culture in the 1960s with
well-publicised purchases by film and music stars. |
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From 1967 to 1970, Issigonis had been
designing a replacement for the Mini in the form of an
experimental model called the 9X.[5] It was shorter and more
powerful than the Mini, but due to politicking inside British
Leyland (which had now been formed by the merger of BMC's parent
company British Motor Holdings and the Leyland Motor
Corporation), the car did not reach production. It was an
intriguing "might-have-been"; the car was technologically
advanced, and many believe it would have been competitive up
until the 1980s.
The Mk II Mini featured a redesigned front grille which remained
with the car from that point on. Also, a larger rear window and
numerous cosmetic changes were introduced. 429,000 Mk II Minis
were made.
A bewildering variety of Mini types were made in Pamplona,
Spain, by the Authi company from 1968 onwards, mostly under the
Morris name.
The Mini was arguably the star of the 1969 film The Italian Job,
which features a car chase in which a gang of thieves drive
three Minis down staircases, through storm drains, over
buildings and finally into the back of a moving bus. This film
was remade in 2003 using the new MINI.
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