Mini

Mini’s were made under morris and austin originally as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor but then both becoming Austin and Morris Mini (Also Wolseley and Riley, but not the same iconic shape except certain markets), then became austin mini, until Austin Rover became Rover Group around 1987, when Mini’s were sold as Rover Minis, until BMW came along.

Minis were initially placed first, second and third in the 1966 rally as well, but were disqualified after a controversial decision by the French judges. Mini allows customers to choose from numerous interior trims to give each car an individual character. Mini gave journalists the opportunity to drive both the Clubman S and the regular Mini Cooper S on an autocross and the cars felt very similar. Mini Cooper earned acclaim in Monte-Carlo rally victories in 1964, 1965, and 1967. The Mini is a small car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The most popular British-made car ever, it was superseded by the New MINI, which was launched in April 2001. Within these was a series of variations including an estate car, a pickup truck, a van and the Mini Moke — a jeep-like buggy.

Cooper

The Mini Cooper and Cooper "S" were sportier versions that were successful as rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally three times. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburettor version of the Cooper's 998 cc power unit in the MkII in 1963. Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula 1 and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. A more powerful Mini Cooper, dubbed the "S", was developed in tandem and released in 1963. Featuring a 1071 cc engine and larger servo-assisted disc brakes, 4,030 Cooper S cars were produced and sold until the model was updated in August 1964. The 1275 cc Cooper S models continued in production until 1971. A new Mini Cooper named the RSP (Rover Special Products) was briefly relaunched in 1990-91, with slightly lower performance than the 1960s Cooper.

It proved so popular that the new Cooper-marked Mini went into full production in late 1991. From 1992, Coopers were fitted with a fuel-injected version of the 1275 cc engine, and in 1997 a multi-point fuel injected engine was introduced, along with a front-mounted radiator and various safety improvements. A new model, dubbed the 1275GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc Mini Cooper (the 1275 cc Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275GT for two years until 1971). In 1971, the 1275 cc Mini Cooper S was discontinued, leaving the Mini 1275GT as the only sporting mini on sale in the UK for the rest of the decade. (Innocenti in Italy, however, continued making their own version of the Mini Cooper for some time, and also in Australia during the early seventies, where they made a unique Cooper with Clubman front named the Clubman GT, equipped with the twin-carb version of Cooper 1275 S). While not nearly as quick as a 1275 Mini Cooper S, the 1275GT was cheaper to buy, run, and insure. Bertone also created a Mini Cooper equivalent, christened the Innocenti De Tomaso, that sported a 1275 cc engine similar to the MG Metro engine but with a 11 stud head, a special inlet manifold and uset the A clutch instead of the verto type.

Minis

The Mini was arguably the star of the 1969 film The Italian Job, which features a car chase in which a gang of thieves drive three Minis down staircases, through storm drains, over buildings and finally into the back of a moving bus. [19] Minis were initially placed first, second and third in the 1966 rally as well, but were disqualified after a controversial decision by the French judges. On the Australian market however, all Minis (including the commercial derivatives) gained the Clubman front.

Customer demand led to the sliding windows being replaced with winding windows –although some Australian-manufactured Mk I Minis had adopted this feature in 1965 (with opening quarterlight windows). [edit] TimelineMinis lined up on Brighton seafront after a London-to-Brighton rallyAugust 1959: Introduction of the Austin Seven, Morris Mini-Minor and Morris Mini-Minor DL 2-door saloons, all with transversely mounted 848cc engine and 4-speed gearbox. Many celebrities of that era drove Minis that had been customised by famous British coachbuilders. The cheapness, simplicity and easy availability of used Minis make it an ideal candidate for body replacement. There are also numerous dramatically modified Minis such as a set of three street-legal cars made up to look like giant oranges as a promotion for the Outspan company, a Mini that was made to look like a half-timbered cottage, complete with thatched roof and windows with curtains. Some enthusiasts have drastically shortened or lowered their cars to make them yet smaller – others make small versions of stretched limos, double-decker busses, monster trucks, motor homes and many other kinds of vehicles from used Minis.

Bmw

BMW's Mini division introduced the Mini Cooper in 2002 as a premium subcompact car. BMW acquired the rights to the Mini brand in 1994, and introduced a new Mini Cooper in the United States for the 2002 model year. BMW kept the Mini brand name and now sells a completely new Mini, technically unrelated to the old car. BMW have received a significant backlog of orders in the short period since its announcement.