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Mini, the evolution of a driving legend

he Mini has been a style icon even since its original inception in 1959. The combination of a cute and quirky little car which was not only great around town, was owned and driven by the rich and famous, but was also one of the most easily affordable vehicles available for the normal person in the street to both buy and maintain, propelled this automotive icon into being one of the most popular British-made cars ever.

From the time the first groundbreaking 850cc Morris Mini Minor rolled off the production line on 26 August 1959, the Sir Alec Issigonis' designed Mini was destined for a big future.

The original mini from 1959 came about as Issigonis was challenged by The British Motor Company (BMC) to design a car to answer the problems resulting from the European fuel crisis caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal. While German aircraft designers like Messerschmitt, Heinkel as well as Isetta came up with tiny bubble cars in response, the head of BMC wanted a new car which was to be small at just four feet wide, by ten feet long and four feet high but which could comfortably seat four adults and take their luggage without any problems.

The revolutionary engine and transmission design allowed for the creation of a car that was not only compact externally but made maximum use of available interior space. With great stability generated by the front wheel drive and wheel at each corner arrangement, and the front grill and headlamp layout which created a cheeky face look, the car appealed to both hardened driving fans as well as the general population.

The creation of the Mini Cooper in 1961 which lead to three wins at the Monte Carlo Rally between 1964 and 1967, driven by the likes of the great Paddy Hopkirk, as well as a host of other racing triumphs, showed the Mini's true driving pedigree. Combining this with driving endorsements from big name celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and all four of the Beatles, and then add to this the release of The Italian Job, a big motion film with Michael Caine and Noel Coward, but which firmly had Mini's as the main stars, and it is no surprise that everyone wanted to drive one of these great little cars.

Production of the classic Mini continued until 2000 after which BMW, who now owned the brand name, announced their successor, the BMW Mini.

While many enthusiasts reject the claim that the new Mini is in fact a genuine successor, being longer, wider, heavier, and being relatively more expensive to buy than the original, many others feel that the new larger Mini was the only logical way for the car to keep up with modern requirements. By retaining the general overall styling look of the classic car but upgrading the technical specifications, BMW had to tread a fine line to produce a car which would retain the quirky yet fun visual aspects of the old vehicle as well as the superb handling characteristics which had made the original such a classic icon.

Despite initial reservations from some reviewers and fans of the old car, the new version of the Mini has so far proved to be almost as popular as the first, and with the help of BMW car finance over one million models were sold during the initial six years of production

It seems that just like the original, these latest models have also been able to garner the attention of famous owners such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sharon Osbourne and Charlotte Church. While the latest brace of cars bearing the Mini name, and the latest version of the Italian Job, may not be able to conjure up quite the same stirrings of emotion that their predecessors did, it is undeniable that BMW has managed to avoid much of the backlash which remaking a classic can bring. Instead the BMW Mini looks set to continue the legacy, albeit in a different direction, which was started nearly 40 years ago.


Paul McIndoe is an online, freelance journalist and keen hillwalker. He lives in Edinburgh with his two dogs.