MINI: 60 years not out
MINI celebrates its 60th birthday this year, and marked the occasion by building its 10 millionth car. We joined the brand for a special parade
MINI is as British as tea and crumpets, Big Ben or The Royal Family. Ever since the first car was built in 1959, Mini has been synonymous with British life.
Almost everyone you meet has a Mini story to tell. For many, it was the car their mother or father drove, but for those around when it launched, it was the antidote to the slow, noisy, inefficient, and unexciting models that made up the motoring landscape of the time. For most people, driving a car in the sixties meant putting up with something as stagnant as a Morris Oxford or Austin A55.
The Mini changed all that. Efficient, agile and able to accommodate a family of four, the car was also cool, classless and popular with celebrities. The Alec Issigonisdesigned original was built for more than 40 years without interruption, first by the British Motor Corporation (BMC),
“60 cars gathered for a dazzling convoy to the annual International Mini Meeting”
then British Leyland (1959-86) and latterly by the Rover Group, which carried the torch until production ended in 2000. The fact that these makers often lost money on the Minis they sold is a small, unfortunate detail.
The Mini was such a success that it was one of those rare cars – along with the Citroen DS and the original Range Rover – that spawned its own, eponymous brand. This year marks 60 years of Mini, or MINI as it became under BMW’s ownership. The German firm bought Rover in 1994, and set about creating an all-new car under the refreshed brand.
Launched at the turn of the century, the new MINI, like the car that came before it, captured the hearts and minds of millions – not only across the UK, but globally. In fact, BMW’s car proved so popular that in just 20 years it has almost surpassed the total number of units (5.3m) its forbearer clocked up in the preceding four decades.
BMW has just built the 10 millionth model – a British Racing Green MINI 60 Years Edition – at its plant in Oxford, UK – and to celebrate the double milestone, we headed to the factory, where MINI had arranged for 60 cars to gather in the August sunshine, ahead of a dazzling convoy down to Bristol for the annual International Mini Meeting.
It was also an opportunity to meet a handful of owners, each selected via a far-reaching social media campaign searching for old, new, funny or inspiring stories about what made their Mini (or MINI) so special to them.
No two cars in the line-up are the same. Headed up by ‘621 AOK’, the very first Mini built at BMC’s Cowley plant, the collective cleverly comprised a representative from every year of production. Naturally, the sea of cars is littered with limited-run models and special variants, including an original 1275 GT, a gorgeous Mini Paul Smith Edition, and a more recent R53-generation MINI Cooper S Checkmate.
Personalisation is a habit new MINI owners are familiar with thanks to factory-fitted trim, personalised 3D-printed panels, and numerous other options that make each car so individual. But making a Mini unique started long before BMW got involved, as witnessed by the fact that many of the models in front of us have been customised. Be it interior tweaks, inventive stickers or engine modifications, the Mini community has embraced the art of personalisation.
Some owners have gone wild, with decals, aftermarket wheels and custom exhausts, and plenty of cars are filled with themed cushions or memorabilia. There’s even a 1973 Mini Clubman with a specially built trailer, crafted from what looks like the rear end of another car. It looks great, and epitomises the passion Mini provokes in people.
As we wander around the parked cars, which in some parts stretch 13 rows wide and seven models deep, we’re given an opportunity to chat with some of the owners. Most of the Minis on show are mint, but some are scruffier; after all, a couple are now approaching their 60th birthday.
Chris Smith turned up with his father, Trevor, in his 1972 Austin Cooper, which was imported from South Africa a
few years ago. He’s only had it a few months, although it’s not his first; the family history is littered with Minis.
“I was offered this one late last year and it was just impossible to turn down,” Chris tells us. “It’s a bit rough around the edges but, because it’s originally a South African car, the underneath is really clean.”
It’s his dad that does much of the mechanical work, though. “Back in the day, you just learnt how to fix things,” Trevor says. “They’re simple enough to work on – although we’re hoping for an uneventful run down to Bristol.”
Another car that catches our eye is that aforementioned Mini Paul Smith Edition. Owner Simon Price bought it new in 1998 courtesy of a whopping big bank loan. It’s now 21 years old, but Simon has no intention of selling it.
“I couldn’t afford it at the time, but a friend offered to be my guarantor,” he says. “It all worked out and I still own the car today.” He knows all there is to know about the Paul Smith-branded Mini, recalling an interesting story about how the original 300-car production run latterly became 303 – a fact he only unearthed after he was gifted a load of paperwork from the now-defunct Longbridge plant.
“No one seems to know why Mini made a total of 303, rather than the original quota of 300. It’s a shame none of those final three are still on the road; it’d be a great story to tell if you owned one,” Simon said.
Everyone you speak to has a story about their car. Whether it’s an historic road trip, a tale about when they fell in love with the brand, or a more recent restoration job to bring their pride and joy back to its former glory. Every
owner beams with pride as we make our way through the lot. But these cars are here for a reason: to celebrate six decades of UK production, and 18 years of MINI’s rejuvenated Oxford plant. No man is better placed to lead the parade, then, than MINI Oxford’s longest-serving employee: maintenance project manager Mick Fisher.
Fittingly, Mick has been thrown the keys to the 10 millionth MINI, which sits at the head of the queue as we stand by to watch the 60 cars leave the site – headed south in the direction of Bristol. Mick has been with the brand since 1965, seeing the plant transform from building cars largely by hand, to an almost entirely mechanised process.
“For me it’s a huge honour to drive the 10 millionth car out of the factory gates in this, our 60th year,” he said. “The MINI brand has come a long way since it launched. It’s been a British institution since 1959. Long may that continue.”
With MINI launching its first all-electric production car, the Cooper S E, within the next few months and talk of the company latterly becoming a pure EV brand, its success looks all but assured. The Cooper S E will be built in Oxford – initially alongside the petrol MINI hatch. It undoubtedly heralds an exciting new era for the esteemed British brand. We can’t wait to see what the next 60 years have in store.
“It’s an honour to drive the 10 millionth MINI. The brand has come a long way since it launched. It’s a British institution.” MICK FISHER Maintenance project manager