An early Austin Mini, circa 1962
Success, it’s often said, has many fathers, while failure is an orphan. In the automotive world, nowhere is that more evident than behind the highly branched family tree of the immensely successful classic Mini. Tracking and charting the many Mini models produced over the years, under numerous brand and model names, is a task worthy of a doctoral thesis or well-funded, long-term government project.
This much is clear: Prompted by fuel shortages brought on by the Suez Crisis of 1956, British Motor Corporation (BMC) tasked designer Sir Alec Issigonis with creating a saloon car with room for four adults and fuel efficiency to rival microcars. The end result debuted on August 26, 1959, under the Austin Seven (or Austin Se7en, as it was sometimes written) and Morris Mini-Minor brand names.
The Austin Seven name lasted from 1959 until 1961, when it became the Austin Super Seven. That changed again in 1962, when the car was renamed the Austin Mini; Morris, meanwhile, used the Mini-Minor name until the launch of the second generation in 1967.
Meanwhile, parent BMC became British Motor Holdings (BMH) in 1966, and British Leyland in 1968. Following the launch of the second generation Mini in 1967, Morris adopted the same Mini name used by sister brand Austin. That lasted until 1969, when Mini became a stand-alone marque, dropping both the Morris and Austin names. Parent British Leyland became part of the Rover Group in 1986, which built the classic Mini until the final car rolled off the Longbridge, England, assembly line in 2000.
As with any car that enjoys more than four decades of production, the Mini saw many revisions over its lifespan. Following 1967′s Mark II, subsequent versions included the Mark III, launched in 1969; the Mark IV, launched in 1976; the Mark V, launched in 1984; the Mark VI, launched in 1990 and the final Mark VII, which lasted from 1996 to 2000.
A Mini Cooper S runs the Rallye Monte Carlo
While that explains (in very simplified terms) the history of the classic Mini name, there’s also the Mini Cooper to factor into the equation. In 1961 racer and car builder John Cooper added a more powerful engine, a close-ratio gearbox, front disc brakes and wider tires to the Mini, which became known as the Mini Cooper. The Mini Cooper S, simply a faster and better handling Mini Cooper, was introduced in 1963. Austin sold the car as the Austin Seven Cooper in 1961, changing it to the Austin Mini Cooper in 1962, while Morris began using the Mini-Cooper name (with hyphen) in 1961.
If you’re not confused yet, ponder this: Over its 41-year lifespan, the classic Mini spawned variants ranging from panel trucks (the Mini Van) through station wagons (Morris Mini Traveller and Austin Mini Countryman) and utility vehicles (the Mini Moke). There was even a pickup version built on the Mini Van platform, as well as more upscale (and slightly restyled) versions sold under the Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf names. The Mini was built under license by other brands, too, such as Italy’s Innocenti and Spain’s Authi.
Sadly, American consumers only had access to the classic Mini for a limited period of time. Roughly 10,000 were sold on these shores between 1960 and 1967, before safety regulations implemented for 1968 precluded the cars from U.S. sales.
