A Brief History of the Classic Mini

The Mini was introduced in 1959, its goal was to be a fuel-efficient, reliable and affordable way to move four adults and their luggage from point A to point B. What it’s designer Alec Issigonis didn’t expect was for it to become quite such a cult classic.

MK1:

The Mark 1 Mini was launched in 1959, it was available either as an Austin Mini Seven or Morris Mini-Minor. Mark 1 Minis featured external door hinges, smaller rear window apertures and 10” wheels.

In 1961 with help from John Cooper, the Mini Cooper model was launched. It was available with 7” disc brakes and a 998/997cc engine. The Cooper didn’t quite satisfy the masses and in 1963 The Cooper ‘S’ model was released. Available with either a 970cc, 1071 or 1275cc engine the Cooper S was created to go racing.

The Mini Cooper S took home wins not only on the circuit but in the hills of the Monte Carlo rally.

Mk2:

The Mk2 Mini was released in 1968, it was only a minor facelift to the Mk1. Larger rear lights had been fitted to improve safety and a larger rear window aperture. The Mk2 received a redesigned front grille. The model range didn’t drastically change when the Mk2 Mini was released, the Cooper and Cooper ‘S’ models both continued on in production although they now utilised Hydrolastic suspension.

Mk3

The Mk3 Mini was released in 1969 not a whole lot really changed. The rear lights and grille were retained from the Mk2 model, but the long-standing sliding windows and external door hinges of earlier models were replaced with more secure and safer wind-up units with internal door hinges.

The Mk3 Mini was the first of the Minis to be produced by British Leyland, previous models were either Austin or Morris. The Mini Cooper model was dropped for the Mk3 and introduced only the Cooper ‘S’ model, with a 1275cc engine and 4 speed gearbox. The Cooper S featured servo-assisted 7.5” disc brakes up front and wider steel wheels.

Clubman/1275GT

In a bid to keep people interested in the Mini, the Mini Clubman was launched. It’s new squarer face was designed to draw a new group of owners to British Leyland and the Mini. Although underneath, the Clubman was just another Mini.

There was a performance model for the Clubman however, the 1275 GT. Built to replace the Cooper ‘S’ it was actually less powerful and desirable. It featured a single carburettor vs. the Cooper ‘S’ twin set up and it did away with the Mini’s Iconic Central Speedo in favour of a driver-focussed offset speedo.

The Classic Mini is an icon of British Motoring, the likes of Lulu, Brian Johnson and the Beetles are all known to have owned a Classic Mini. Sadly, production ended in 2000 at the Rover Longbridge plant, with the last Sport Pack Mini being driven off the production line by Lulu herself.