Mini
Mini, a British automotive brand owned by Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW), originated as a specific vehicle, the Morris Mini-Minor/Austin Seven launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959 and developed into a range of small cars. The space-saving, front-wheel-drive layout of the original Mini influenced a generation of car-makers. The original two-door Mini continued in production until 2000, and its BMW successor, under development from 1995, launched in 2001.
The last of the 5,387,862 original two-door Minis left the assembly line in October 2000 and took up residence at the Heritage Motor Centre beside the first Mini. The new generation Mini Hatch/Hardtop went on sale the following July with immediate sales success. In February 2005, BMW announced an investment of £100 million in the Oxford, UK Mini plant, increasing production by 20 percent. In June 2011, BMW announced a further investment of £500 million in the UK for expansion of the Mini range to seven models.
The original Mini four-cylinder engine initially had an 848-cubic centimeter capacity later enlarged to 998, 1071, and 1275 cubic centimeters. Standard transmission was four-speed manual with an optional three-speed automatic after 1965. Other undramatic, incremental changes were modifications to doors and windows in 1969 and to the chassis and suspension in 1976, brake upgrades in 1984, relocation of engine mounts to accommodate the 1,275-cubic centimeter engine in 1990, and introduction of fuel injection to replace carburetion in 1991.
The hatchback/hardtop Mini, the first new BMW model introduced in 2001, was available in Cooper, Cooper S, and One variations powered by 1400- or 1600-cubic centimeter, four-cylinder engines. The names Cooper and Cooper S echoed those for sportier version of the classic Mini. Current models have two engines powered by gasoline, four by diesel, and one by electricity, the E, which can put out 201 horsepower. In August 2006, BMW announced that future engines would be UK-built, making the car essentially of all-British construction again.
At the 2004 Salon International de l’Auto, BMW presented a convertible model released to the market in the 2005 model year. The roof is fully automatic and opens partially as a sunroof. The convertible dispenses with the rear hatchback of the hardtop Mini, replacing it with a drop-down tailgate similar to that of the classic. At the 2007 North American International Auto Show, the limited edition Mini Cooper S Sidewalk Convertible appeared. It has a top speed of 134 miles per hour and accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.9 seconds. Its engine puts out 168 horsepower.
In 2009 and 2010, the Mini was Britain’s seventh best-selling car. Mini 2011 sales of 285,000 cars worldwide were up by 22 percent over 2010. In the USA, the largest market, there were 57,000 sales in 2011, up 26 percent over 2010. In the next two largest markets, the UK and Germany, sales increased by 13 percent in the former and 28 percent in the latter. A total of 301,526 Mini vehicles sold worldwide in 2012, 66,123 in the USA and 50,367 in the UK.
