TITLE: MINI Cars at Auto Lemon - Used Car History Check

Cars Directory: MINI Auto, Automobile, Automotive, Car, Cars, Classic, Classic Car, Used Cars, New Cars, Used Car, New Car

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MINI CAR

CARS > USED CAR HISTORY > MINI

MINI (1959-) CAR HISTORY

Car review on MINI

The BMC Mini, launched in 1959, is Britain's most influential car ever. It defined a new genre. Other cars used front-wheel drive and transverse engines before but none in such a small space. Packaging was its greatest strength -interior space was staggering. Every square inch was used: there were big door-bins, tiny 10-m (25-cm) wheels that didn't intrude on passenger space and a boot lid you could fold down to use as a luggage platform.

Designer Alee Issigonis sketched his ideas on the back of envelopes, envisaging the most compact possible "cube" in which four passengers would sit, headed by a space-saving front-wheel-drive system. The gearbox was mounted under the engine instead of behind it, saving more inches. Another major innovation was a new rubber-cone suspension system designed by Dr Alex Moulton. Inspired by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Mini amazingly took BMC just two years to develop and put into production. Launch was set for 26 August 1959.

There were four initial versions: the Austin Mini Seven and Morris Mini- Minor, both available in basic or de luxe t trim. Costs were pared down by fitting sliding windows, cable-pull door releases and those trademark externally welded body seams.

On the road, it handled better than any rival (and most sports cars) and boasted "penny-a-mile" running costs. Nippy, easy to park, it quickly became fashionable to own and the word Mini passed into everyday English language. Sub frames allowed a huge variety of Mini derivatives: van, pick-up, estate, long-boot Riley Elf and Wolsley Hornet, and the Mini Moke workhorse-turned-leisure-vehicle and, recently, the Mini Cabriolet.

What sealed the Mini's reputation among enthusiasts, however, was the legendary Mini-Cooper, launched in 1961. Grand Prix-winning constructor John Cooper persuaded BMC to extract the most out of the Mini's innate handling prowess by stroking the 848cc Mini engine up to 997cc (later 998cc) and increasing power from 34 bhp to 55 bhp. Now 87 mph (139 kph) was possible, fast enough to justify fitting tiny front disc brakes. Later, there was an "S" model with 70 bhp on tap (later 1275cc versions were boosted to 76), capable of almost 100 mph (160 kph). BMC fielded works Mini-Coopers with in credible success. "Normal" Coopers won the Tulip Rally in 1962-63. The "S" was all- conquering in British saloon car racing and the Monte Carlo Rally, which it won in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Sadly, the Cooper was dropped in 1971 in British Leyland's rationalization.

The Mini has seen many technical changes: hydrolastic liquid suspension from 1964; winding windows from 1969; the option of square-nosed Clubman and1275 GT versions from 1969; bigger 12- in (30.5-cm) wheels from 1984 and standard 1275cc engines from 1992. Nearly 40 years on, the Mini has as passionate a following as ever and was recently voted "Car of the Century" by motoring pundits. It provides cheap transport and is a technical triu mph, a dominant rally car, a packaging masterpiece and, as Britain's best-selling car ever, a runaway sales success.

MINI CAR

CARS > USED CAR HISTORY > MINI

TITLE: MINI Cars at Auto Lemon - Used Car History Check

Cars Directory: MINI Auto, Automobile, Automotive, Car, Cars, Classic, Classic Car, Used Cars, New Cars, Used Car, New Car

Site Description: MINI Used Car History reviews and guide on classic and older model cars. Including car designers from Italy and Germany. Learn history of cars from classic, exotic, used, new to prototype model cars.

Cars Topics: MINI Classic Cars, Price, Prices, For Sale, Part, Restoration,
Classifieds, Classified ads, pictures, muscle car, picture, and photo , AutoCheck, KELLEY BLUE BOOK, USED CAR HISTORY, VIN number, VIN SEARCH, Lemon Car Check