|
1956
|
|
|
A
fuel crisis looms over Britain as Egypt seizes the Suez canal.
Car sales plunge and, with petrol rationing in force, buyers
turn in droves to crude bubble cars. The British Motor Corporation
re-hires Morris Minor designer Sir Alec Issigonis, by now with
Alvis.
|
|
1957
|
|
|
Issigonis,
a maverick 51-year old engineer, shows Sir Leonard Lord he knows
just the sort of economy car the world needs with a series of
sketches. But he'll only design it if he is given a free hand.
Lord eagerly agrees.
|
|
1958
|
|
|
The
Mini rapidly takes shape around Issigonis's concept. Leaps of
engineering imagination include siting the gearbox under the
engine, front-wheel drive with the power unit mounted transversely,
and rubber cone suspension designed by rubber expert Alex Moulton.
|
|
Small is beautiful.
The Mini. Page 1 of 6
| That's
what the British Motor Corporation (BMC) thinks at the end
of the fifties when the Mini-project gets started. There
are no real small cars at the time. The Suez-crisis, with
the subsequent shortage of fuel, creates the demand for
a small, fuel-economical car. Germany is the first provider,
with the introduction of the so called Bubble Cars. Small,
motorbike-like 'cars', most of them threewheelers. Sir Leonard
Lord, head of BMC, can't stand them. He orders the development
of a small British car; that is big enough to accomodate
4 people and must be smaller than a Morris Minor and the
Austin A35, the current BMC models.
|
 Alec
Issigonis with Enzo Ferrari.
| Alec
Issigonis is given the job of creating this car. He has
already a proven track-record as the designer of the Morris
Minor. Another requirement is that he should use an excisting
BMC engine. The tested, but somewhat older A-series engine
of Austin qualifies for this. He places the engine transverse,
with frontwheeldrive, very unusual for the time. At first,
Issigonis wants to put the carburettor on the front, and
the ignition and electrics at the back, but as this causes
problems with the carburettor, he decides to turn the engine
180 degrees. The radiator is placed on the left side of
the motor. Because of this, water can easily reach the ignistion-system,
and that's why Minis often have a hard time in heavy rain.
|
| Leonard
Lord drove a prototype Mini for 5 minutes and was so enthousiastic,
that he orders Issigonis to have it production-ready within
a year. And this is done, despite him hurting his back when
he gets out of the Mini. The first Mini is not a massed
produced car. Factoryworker Albert Green puts it together
within 7 hours almost by hand. An achievement, cosidering
there are at least 3016 bolts and screws in it. He was offered
to buy it, but he doesn't want it. The Mini with registration
621 AOK was eventually brought to the British Motor Heritage
Centre, where I made the picture right. In 1959, the assembly-line
could produce a Mini within 2 hours. |
AutoCar
& Motor Magazine concludes: "Considering it's size
a remarkable space inside, a good price-performance ratio
and lively performances".
The Mini is badged in two varieties: the Morris Mini Minor
and the Austin Seven. Both cars are, apart from some cosmetics,
identical, but badging is very popular in those days. The
Mini has all kinds features which makes it different to
other cars of the time; the speedo is placed centrally,
starterbutton on the floor, big side pockets which can hold
9 bottles - the Mini has sliding windows, this saves space
in the inside of the door. |
|
|
|
1959
|
|
|
The
Mini is revealed in August, badged as either Austin Mini Seven
or Morris Mini Minor. Reaction is mixed because it's spartan
and decoration-free. But, at 10ft long with four proper seats,
it's clearly a masterful package. The price is unbelievably
cheap; £496, cost-trimming measures include sliding windows
and external body welds. Issigonis, a chain-smoker, includes
an ashtray but, because he likes silence, no radio.
|
|
1960
|
|
|
Over
116.000 Minis are sold (Longbidge can make many more) but the
public is still a bit weary. The first new derivatives are unveiled:
a tiny van with a longer wheelbase and double doors at the back,
and a similar estate with glued on woodtrim. Ford buys a Mini,
dismantles it, and calculates -rightly- that BMC is making it
at a loss.
|
|
