Mini Fifty years - and not showing it!

Mini Specs, Prices and Comparisons-Mini Buyers Guide

By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor
Amsterdam Bureau
Ther Auto Channel

SILVERSTONE, England. On August 26, Mini will be 50 years, but its birthday party already started by the end of May with the Mini United Festival. Location: the Silverstone Circuit, some 80 miles east of London, where the 3rd edition of the 3-day long Festival was organised.

Mini United was launched in 2005 in Misano, Italy, and again took place 2 years later at the Zandvoort race track in The Netherlands, where some 5,000 Mini’s united.

Expectations for this year’s birthday festival were high and Mini fans from all over the world did not let the organizers of their favourite brand down: around 25,000 fans came to Silverstone with old, new, customized or completely changed Mini models.

Mini United also turned out to be a rocking festival, not only with cars and excited fans, but also with performances on stage. Paul Weller, Calvin Harris, Twisted Wheel and Raygun entertained thousands of revellers and DJs kept the party going deep into Friday and Saturday night.

There were many activities, such as the Mini stunt driving and taxi rides in a Mini race car, or Mini pulling and car tyre bowling. And, of course, there was a race on Saturday and Sunday of the Mini Challenge. People could participate in games, such as Frisbee golf, or could go-karting, bungee trampolining and climbing the Mount Mini wall.

For the media, the start of the festival was on Friday evening with the presentation of two new Mini versions, the Mini 50 Mayfair and the 50 Camden. For the fans, the weekend started with the arrival of a slew of Mini’s in the huge paddock within the 3.67 mile Formula 1 race track. One of the many eye catchers was a bright red super stretched Mini with two rear axles and a whirlpool in the rear section.

Could you recognize a typical Mini driver? No, of course not, as there is no typical Mini driver. There are owners of classic models and new models and that is it. They can be your grandpa or your grandchild, you neighbour, your boss, your c-worker or your employee.

More important than the people are the cars, of which, it seemed not two were identical (the company cars that Mini brought in for shuttling being the only exceptions). No surprise, as customizing is big business for the brand and is now also is an example for other manufacturers who are trying to copy the Mini success formula.

Ongoing success

In 1955, Alec Issigonis worked as Deputy technical Director of the Austin Plant, when he was asked by Leonard Lord, chairman of BMC, British Motor Corporation, the company that evolved after the merger between Austin and Morris, to develop a number of new models for the small, medium-sized and upmarket segment to secure the future of BMC, then Europe’s largest car manufacturer.

In particular the small car project was important, due to the Suez Crisis, that had brought on petrol rationing.

Issigonis opted for front-wheel drive and the engine fitted crosswise at the front with the gearbox directly below, which formed the ideal conditions for optimal use op space of the 3.05 meters (120.0”) car.

After two prototypes were ready to go, Issigonis invited his boss Leonard Lord to a test drive. Issigonis later recalled that he drove around the plant: Ï was going like hell. I am certain he was scared, but he was very impressed by the car’s road holding. When we stopped outside hi office, he got out and simply said: “All right, build this car.”

The first Mini coming off the production line in Austin’s Longbridge plant, was an Austin Seven on April 4, 1959. Its twin brother, the first Morris Mini-Minor was completed in the Morris Oxford plant on May 8.

The two models were unveiled for the public on August 26, 1959. Production at the two plants continued for ten years with the model built in Longbridge bearing the name Austin Mini as of 1962. In Oxford were more than 600,000 united built, all the basic version of the four seater.

The other variants ranging from the Mini Van and the Mini Pick-up to the Morris Mini-Traveller and Austin Seven Countryman were built in Longbridge. There all production activities were concentrated from 1969 on, with the model name being streamlined and Mini becoming the brand name.

On October 4, 2000, after more nearly 5.4 million Mini’s had been built, production was discontinued.

Unexpected

In the meantime the BMW Group had taken over the Rover Group (1994), including the Mini. BMW invested around 280 million pounds in the Rover plant in Oxford in 1996/97 to modernise the body shop and the final assembly and the state-of-art paintshop.

More investments were made to modernise and restructure the plant, adding up to another £ 230 million. In 1999 the Germans took the decision to build the modern Mini there. In 2000, Rover was still suffering massive losses and BMW decided to dispose of most of the company, to retain the Mini name and the planned new model. Rover was granted the temporary rights to the brand and allowed to manufacture and sell the run-out model of the old Mini.

After the last of the Mini production had been sold, the 'Mini' name reverted to BMW ownership. The new Mini (by BMW) was unveiled in Geneva in March 2001. BMW hoped to sell 100,000 cars a year, but that target was soon exceeded and the Oxford plant built 200,000 unites a year in 2005, a year after the Convertible had been added. The ongoing success made new investments of around £ 100 million necessary to prepare the plant for production of the second generation of the new Mini, increasing capacity to around 240,000 cars per year.

At the beginning of this year, Mini celebrated the 1.4-millionth unit of the modern model range.

After the Mini, Mini Clubman and Mini Convertible, there will be a fourth model, the Mini Crossover. A concept for this variant has been unveiled in Paris, last year. The production version of the new Mini, that will have 4WD, 4 doors and will seat 4, is expected to bow at the IAA in Frankfurt in September. The Crossover will hit markets worldwide in 2010.