Sir Alec Issigonis' most famous car design turns 50 this year. The Mini was launched in 1959 to combat the spread of 'bubble cars' that were becoming popular in England due to the high cost fuel (note to Mike D. : I couldn't bring myself to say petrol). This was the height of the Suez Canal crisis and oil from the Middle East had been nearly cut off. Carmakers like Messerschmitt, Isetta and even Vespa made inroads in the British market.
Issigonis was tasked to create a car that would carry four adults in the smallest possible space while using as many bits as possible from the corporate parts bin. Issigonis built seating bucks to determine just how small the car could be and meet the needs of four people and their luggage. The answer? Approximately 10 feet long, four and a half feet wide and four and a half feet tall.
Ever the ingenious designer, Issigonis mounted the engine transversely (sideways to me) and placed the gearbox underneath the engine. Both units share the same oil. Issigonis called on his old friend Alex Moulton to create a special suspension system for the little car. Moulton, who always seemed to think WAY outside the box, came up with a unique rubber cone system that did away with steel springs and gave the Mini it's slightly bouncy ride. Later models had another Moulton-designed system called Hydrolastic that used water, alcohol and displacers to give the car an even smoother ride. Great in theory - not so good in practice.
Dunlop was called in to design a 10" tire that would not fly apart at highway speeds as Issigonis found that he could pick up a little more interior room with the smaller wheel. When the classic Mini finished production is 2000, the car was actually wearing 13" wheels.
With the wheels at the car's corners, the handling was nothing short of spectacular. This was not lost on one John Cooper who was one the era's greatest tuners. Over the objections of Issigonis, Cooper was given the opportunity to create a performance version of the Mini and the rest is history.
The classic Mini was built for forty years and over 5 million were produced. In 2001 the new MINI was introduced and has become a best seller.
Happy birthday, Mini!
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