MINI

The new MINI, owned by BMW, was announced as the successor to the iconic Classic Mini brand in 2000. The MINI design is greatly influenced by its antecedent, and is offered in Hardtop, Convertible and Clubman body variants. The original Mini was released in 1959 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), and is still one of the great legends of the motor industry. Designer Alec Issigonis is chiefly credited as the Mini’s creator – it was Issigonis’ revolutionary design that enabled the tiny vehicle to accommodate four passengers as well as luggage, and inspired a generation of car-makers. The original Mini was marketed under two of BMC’s brand names - the Austin Seven and the Morris Minor. The ‘Mini’ name did not appear until 1961, when the Austin Seven was rebranded as the Austin Mini. 1961 also marked the launch of the first Mini Cooper, a high performance model developed in conjunction with John Cooper, an expert in race car construction. A subsequent version of the Cooper - the Cooper S - had great success as a rally car, winning the Monte Carlo Rally four times from 1964 to 1967. By 1967, Mini had established itself as a brand it its own right, and the Austin and Morris names were dropped from the Mini range. The Mini Moke appeared around this time and was particularly popular in Australia, where production carried on long after the model was discontinued in the UK. The original Mini’s impact on the automobile industry earned the brand several notable awards, including Autocar magazine’s Car of the Century and Classic & Sports Car magazine’s Number One Classic Car of All Time. BMW MINI looks set to continue this legacy; in 2003 the new MINI Cooper S was named North American Car of the Year by a panel of 50 automotive journalists. MINI has also made its mark with the Cooper D green car, which was nominated for the Green Car of the Year Award in 2008.