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A Brief History Of The Mini

by prettyone

The mini was a very iconic car during the 60's and early selling
strongly up to the early 21st century (2000) when production was
finally ceased. It was then replaced by the new Cooper. The Mini
had many names during its long history, and it was marketed under
Austin and Morris until it became its own company in 1969. The
first car was produced in 1959 by the British Motor Company (BMC)
its engines ranged from 850cc to 1275cc during its later years.
 
The original car was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis who wanted
to give the mini a great deal of room for passengers and luggage.
To save space the mini was designed with a front wheel drive
layout leaving up to 75-80 percent of the cars chassis to be used
for passengers and luggage; even though the chassis was very
small car there was a lot of space thanks to this layout. The car
was assembled in factories in Longbridge and Cowley as well as
being built worldwide in many other countries such as Belgium,
Australia and Spain due to its popularity with the global public.

The Mini was put into production because of the fuel shortage
that took place in 1956. This meant that the UK had to introduce
a program of petrol rationing.  During its lifetime the car
received three main updates from its original car (the Mark 1).
They were the mark 2, the clubman and the mark 3. It also
received modifications that changed the exterior of the car. They
included variants such as pickups and vans.

There was also the Mini Cooper S that was hailed as a sportier
or "racier" version of the original; these were extremely
successful in rally events and won the Monte Carlo rally three
times. This was mainly due to great handling and low weight, the
Cooper S weighing just 617kg to 686kg. They were also quite
successful in other forms of racing winning GTC 65 championship
races. Many celebrities such as Niki Lauda and Steve McQueen
famously owned Mini's.

The new version was introduced in 2001 taking the mantle from
the old model when production ceased. BMW had bought the rights
to the company and started production of the new model. Due to
the new ownership the Mini corporation changed its name to BMW
Mini. Currently there is only one model in the range, with some
variants such as the clubman and convertible. Also in 2008 the
next generation of minis came out with new stylish and sleek
looks that people wanted this was called the Mark 2.

The mini has been at the centre of some criticism with hardcore
enthusiasts saying that the car does not follow the trend or
principles the original car set. They complained that the car was
too big and there was less room inside. BMW hit back saying that
they had increased the safety and crash protection making the
passengers inside less susceptible to injury in the result of a
crash. They also stated that they incorporated new features such
as air conditioning and emissions control that had to increase
the size of the car.

The two main versions sold in the UK of the new version are the
standard Cooper and Cooper S. The standard Cooper features a 1.6L
engine that produces 120hp and has a 0-62 mph time of 9.1
seconds. The faster version the cooper S has a supercharged (and
now turbocharged, mark 2) 1.6L engine that produces 175hp with a
0-60 mph time of 7.1 seconds and has an impressive top speed of
140 mph. From its humble beginnings the mini has become a modern,
stylish and above all popular car.

Motoring expert Thomas Pretty looks into the history of the <a
href="http://www.coopermini.co.uk/">Mini</a> from sixties icon to
modern day styling.

Syndicated by Top Gazebos - www.topgazebos.net

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