It was 50 geezerhood ago this hebdomad that the Mini " “ symbol of all that is British , modern , and cool " “ first rolled off the line . And fromThe Italian Jobto , well , The Italian Job , the Mini has stay a tiny , economical and very stylish agency to get from point A to point B. But how did the Mini become the Mini ? Here ’s a brief history of the gondola that proved that less truly is more .
In the beginning"¦
The Mini was the British Motor Corporation ’s answer to the " house of cards car,“ those weird , tiny cars that were economical , sure , but incline to have the door in the front , and in some cases , an actual rounded bubble on top . Leonard Lord , head of the British Motor Corporation , detest the bubble car and vow to drive it off the road . It was also a reception to the gas rationing as a solvent of the 1956 Suez Canal crisis .
The directive was to design a motorcar that used an exist engine , was small-scale than anything else the corporation already made but could still induct four people , and would drive the house of cards railway car to extinguishing .
The designer , Alex Issigonis , who had antecedently designed the iconic Morris Minor , came up with the Mini .
It was a pretty ingenious design : so as to accommodate the four - seater dictate , Issigonis dedicate 80 percent of car ’s 10 - understructure length to rider and luggage space . But he still had to match the railway locomotive and the gearbox , which he did by turn the engine sideways and sliding the gearbox underneath it ; this also meant that crude oil companies needed to grow a form of oil colour that could be used by both the locomotive engine and the gearbox . He put the bike at the uttermost corners of the car and made them incredibly small , all for save space . This was mix with hardwearing tires developed by Dunlop that could last more than 5,000 sea mile , rubber abeyance and prompt steering , lending the Mini a fussy agility and durability .
The Mini fall off the line in 1959 in two models , the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Seven , at a cost of £497 and £537 respectively . The only available colors were Farina Grey , Tartan Red or Speedwell Blue . It was not , however , an straightaway success .
Making the Mini
The first outpouring of the car did not auger well : Only a few thousand of the " fifty - niners,“ as Mini - maniacs call them , were made , but they were built rather artlessly . The floor of the car had been welded on the incorrect agency , meaning that drive the car in wet weather mean uncomfortably wet feet for drivers and long and expensive warranty claims for British Motor Corporation .
But it was also incrust by problem . Mismanagement by the British Motor Corporation and British Leyland , as it subsequently became , led to engineering and design issues with the car not being fixed , while the party focused on strictly cosmetic changes in subsequent editions . The cars still had leaks , did n’t always ride well in the rainwater , sported rubber seals that did n’t quell on or crack , the engine rocked , the exhaust come down off , the electrical organization was a muss , and the speed indicator was undependable , at good . So as railway car manufacturing continued to better in other parts of the world and in Britain , the Mini was very deadening to exchange .
And , while fantastically popular , because the car was routinely sell at or below output price , the car ’s manufacturer barely made any money off it at all " “ in fact , in the 1970s , Ford buy a Mini for around £500 , took it asunder , and figured that the machine were being sold at a loss of £30 each .
Re-introducing the Mini
Through the 1980s and " ˜90s , the Mini was still being produce , albeit on a smaller scale . While the car was still popular in England and in place that take account its retro - cool cultural memory cache , it had become more of a statement purchase than a mass - market place item and sale dwindle down .
Even so , many old shoal mini still rove the street of London today , even as the new school minis have reach more than a million sell . [ effigy courtesy ofMarketallica . ]
Mini-owning celebrities
Just like when the Mini first attain the swing London scene , celebrity bed the Mini . Celebrities like Madonna , who even write a trivial whang about her Mini , in her song " American Life" ( " I drive my Mini - Cooper and I ’m feeling super - dooper . “ ) Other celebrity Mini owners include erstwhile hobbit Elijah Wood , labour his appropriately small car around LA ; mini - skirt designer Mary Quant ; super hip designer Paul Smith ; preternaturally paleTwilightactress Kristen Stewart ; and actress Goldie Hawn .
The Mini has also featured prominently in many films and TV show , includingThe Bourne Identity , both version ofThe Italian Job , and British sci - fi smash , Dr. Who .
Later this month , Mini will fete its golden day of remembrance with athree - day festivalfeaturing Mini racing , a concert headline by rock ‘n’ roll musician Paul Weller , and all style of Mini - mania dorkery .
If you own one , will you be celebrating the Mini " “ or the MINI " “ this month ?
