Being in production for just over 60 years, the company was founded in 1959 and on 26 August of the same year, Mini dealers around the UK began selling what was then known as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor.
The history of Mini is as interesting and intriguing as any car manufacturer in the world and the following 7 points are some of the most notable times of the last 6 decades.
1. The very first Mini to be produced had an 848cc engine, 4 speed manual gearbox and was 3.05 metres in length, 1.40 metres wide and 1.35 metres tall.
2. A year after the first Mini was produced, five new variations entered Mini dealers in 1960. Most commonly the Countryman and Traveller, both of which were estate versions that had 2 barn-style rear doors, there was also a now somewhat humorous looking pick up, primarily due to its length of still a mere 3 metres. Although it may not have been the largest of pick up trucks, it was still particularly popular, selling just under 60,000 models until production stopped in 1983.
The two remaining models were the van version and the Mini Moke, a buggy-style vehicle that was first intended for use in the military, but its small size proved to make it not a viable option.
3. The Mini dominated the car market in its class for almost half a decade, when in 1963, the Hillman Imp was introduced. However, the Mini continued to sell extremely well until the middle of the 1970s, even with the new competition.
4. The Mini Clubman was first introduced in 1969 and had wind-up windows. A year later in 1970 and it was decided that all future Minis were to be manufactured with wind-up windows. This may seem a like somewhat obvious choice today, but for over a decade Minis were produced solely with quarter light windows.
5. Showing just how bare the basic model of the Mini was, it took until April 1974 for heaters to become standard features in all Minis. We are not talking about heated seats or even heated rear windows hear, but actual heaters for the car.
6. 1981 saw the van, pickup and Clubman stop being produced and 3 years on, in 1984, the last Mini with 10 inch wheels was produced, with all future Minis having 12 inch wheels.
7. After BMW took over part of Rover in 1994 (who were the successors of BMC and therefore owned Mini), they fitted the very first airbag into the models, so to be compliant with the European legislation.
8. Production of the classic Mini ceased in 2000 and from 1959 to then, 1,581,887 were sold in the UK, with 5,387,862 being manufactured worldwide according to the MiniResource website.
9. Only a year after production of the original Mini stopped in 2000, BMW released the new style MINI (now capitalized as part of the branding campaign) in April 2001, which itself has gone on to be one of the most popular cars in its class.
Author Resource:-
Jardine Motors Group UK operates a large portfolio of specialist franchises of the world's most prestigious marques, including Mini dealers.
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