Mini

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    The Mini is a small economy car made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s. Its space saving layout allows 80 percent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T. On introduction in August 1959 the Mini was marketed under the Austin and Morris names, as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The Austin Seven was renamed to Austin Mini in January 1962  and Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969. In 1980 it once again became the Austin Mini and in 1988 the Rover Mini. The new BMW MINI was launched in 2001 with a completely new design from the BMW design team.  Since then it rekindled the worldwide sales of mini, averaging around 250,000 MINI sold worldwide. In 2006 BMW completely redesigned the MINI to meet stricter NCAP European safety standards and ratings.  The revolutionary design of the MINI was created by Sir Alec Issigonis (1906–1988) considered a visionary in industrial transportation. The MINI was intended as an affordable vehicle in response to the 1956 Suez oil crisis. The MINI is one of those special cars that gets to define the vehicle class it belongs to. What makes it even more individual is that it was awarded the “European Car of the Century”. Let’s have a closer look on how the MINI became the car it is today.