Mini Car of the Week

The original Mini, which debuted in 1959, was the brainchild of Alec Issigonis. Tasked by the British Motor Corporation (BMC was the merging of Austin and Morris) with designing a small family car, Issigonis produced one of the most outstanding design packages in motoring history. The original Mini was an enormous commercial success and its peculiarity was extended by the fact it also had an illustrious racing career, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and Bathurst twice.

Even with an overall length of just over 3m the car could accommodate four adults in relative comfort. To achieve this feat Issigonis used a combined transverse four cylinder engine and gearbox, a packaging solution relatively unique for a period of front engined rear wheel drive cars. This configuration allowed a much shorter front as well as less intrusion into the cabin. Issigonis also used his expertise in suspension design with the incorporation of fully independent suspension at each corner, a solution that provider efficient use of space and superior handling.

Originally launched with a 848cc engine producing 25 kW, BMC commissioned John Cooper (famous at the time for winning the 1960 Formula One Championship with Jack Brabham) to produce a tuned performance version. Cooper increased engine capacity to just under a litre and increased the power output to 41 kW. Other improvements included the use of two SU carburetors and disc brakes up front. A legend was born.

In 1963 John Cooper further developed the Mini with an even more track-focused version. The Cooper S was launched. The S used a larger engine than the Cooper, a BMC A-series unit that Copper used in his Formula Junior single-seaters. Capacity was slightly decreased for the mini as it had to also be suitable for road-use. In competition trim these engines would easily reach 75 kW, road going examples were stated as 52 kW. The racing Mini was a huge hit with race spectators, consistently raising an inside rear wheel while overtaking more powerful V8s through a corner.

In 1966, the Mini Cooper S racers gained the top nine places at Bathurst. Mini Cooper S cars were a staple of the Bathurst Great Race through to the mid-1970s, at which time they became no longer eligibile to enter.

The original Mini was not just a success on the track though. It also had quite a celebrity following and itslef became somewhat of a movie star in The Michael Cain movie, The Italian Job. and more recently The Bourne Identity as well as many others..

The success of the last original Minis and the continued retro-chic status continued which allowed for special editions to be produced through the 1980's and 90's, this kept production going through to 2000, 41 years after its launch. These special editions became fashionable icons and helped keep the name `Mini’ a bankable commodity that BMW seized upon when they gained control of Rover.

The highly respected magazine Classic and Sportscar named the original Mini Car of the Century.

Here in Australia we started producing Morris Minis under the BMC Australia group in 1960 with the first being sold for the 1961 production year. Australian Minis, which were produced at a plant in Zetland, often had unique features to their European siblings. The Australia Cooper was introduced in October 1962 followed by the Cooper S (imported version) in April 1963, Australian production of the Cooper S commenced in September 1965. In March of 1964 a uniquely Australian variant was introduced – the Morris Mini Deluxe. BMC withdraw factory support from racing in 1970 and British Leyland Australia took up racing development on its own.

Local production ceased in October 1978 after producing more than 176, 000 examples.