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The Mini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 
1968 Austin Mini Cooper
Larger version
"Mini" is common slang for miniskirt.
The original Mini was a revolutionary and characterful small car designed for the nationalized
British Motor Corporation (BMC) by Alec Issigonis (later Sir) (1906-1988), made in Birmingham
and first released in 1959. The car used a conventional four-cylinder water-cooled engine but
it was mounted transversely and drove the front wheels. This innovation allowed much increased
passenger space in a small body. The result was nimble, economical and inexpensive. Almost all
small cars built since the 1970s have followed this mechanical layout.
Another design innovation was the use of exterior welded seams, which
permitted the car to be built more cheaply using manual labour.
Designed as project ADO15 (ADO indicating Austin Design Office), it was
originally called both the Austin Seven (sometimes spelt Se7en) and
Morris Mini Minor, but later Mini became a brand in its own right.
Between 1961 and 1969 there was also a version of the Mini produced
with a more substantial boot (trunk). This was badged as both the
Wolseley Hornet (reviving a sports car name from the 1930s) and the
Riley Elf. The Mini itself could be bought in a variety of body styles
- the standard two-door, an estate (station wagon) version with
"barn-door" style rear doors, and a version of this with wooden
exterior trim similar to that available on the Morris Minor - this
"half timbered" styling is something uniquely (and to some, bizarrely)
British.
The 1960s saw the
heyday of the car, with well-publicised purchases by movie and music
stars, Mini Cooper victories in rallies, a starring role in a major
film (The Italian Job), spin-off models including commercial vehicles
and an estate, and strong sales. However the car never made much money
for its makers. Indeed, it is thought that due to an accounting error
the car had been incorrectly priced originally and each sale made a
loss for the company.
During the 1970s,
under the ownership of British Leyland, the Mini was given a more
modern, squarer looking face-lift, but later, the design reverted to
the more classic and widely recognised rounder 1960s design.
Production of the
original Mini outlasted its major competitors -- the VW Beetle (at
least in Europe), the Citroën 2CV and the Metro, its intended
replacement -- running until October 2000 with a total of 5.3 million
cars.
In 1994 under Bernd
Pischetsrieder, BMW took control of BMC's successor the Rover Group,
which included the Mini. But by 2000, Rover was still suffering massive
losses. BMW decided to dispose of most of the company: MG and Rover
went to Phoenix, a new British consortium; Land Rover went to Ford; BMW
kept the Mini brand name and now sells a completely new Mini,
techically unrelated to the old car, which the Rover subsidiary had
almost finished developing.
New Mini
Launched in 2001, the new Mini (sometimes called BMW Mini) is built in
Cowley in Oxford. Historically this was the Morris car plant. The new
Mini has a Brazilian-built Chrysler engine. Like the original, this is
a transverse four-cylinder unit, driving the front wheels. The styling
of the car, like that of the new VW Beetle is deliberately reminiscent
of the original. The car has been criticized for its poor
space-efficiency compared with the original, but it has quickly become
a sales success in Europe and (from 2002) in the USA. It comes in 4
varieties: the Mini One, Mini One D (with a Toyota-built diesel
engine), Mini Cooper, Mini Cooper S. In the US market, only the Mini
Cooper and Mini Cooper S are currently sold. It is featured in the 2003
remake of The Italian Job.
External Links
Mini International
MiniClassics
Source
Engines of the ADO15 and family
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