The Mini Is Overrated 

"Spridget" (dustbustervans) 07/13/2016 at 19:25 • Filed to: Mini, BMC, History, Opinion

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Yes, I said it.

I love the original Mini, but it’s waayyy overrated. People love to mention it’s “revolutionary” front wheel drive/transverse layout, it’s “brilliant” packaging, it’s rally history, most successful British car ever, global icon, people’s car, fashion statement, glory days of England, John Cooper, blah blah blah. And the Mini was definitely a great car. But it’s wasn’t exceptional in ANY of the above ways.

Let’s start with the easiest myth to debunk: the revolutionary front wheel/transverse engine layout. Revolutionary, yes: this is a fantastic layout, and it is revolutionary, but it isn’t the Mini’s revolution.

That’s a Citroen Traction Avant. They made 759,123 of them. It was introduced in 1934. 25 years before the Mini. And it’s front wheel drive and unibody.

“But wait” British people you will say. “It’s not transverse engine. Thus, the Mini DID cause a revolution.”

That’s a Saab 92, aka the four wheeled version of a frog. It’s powered by a transverse engine two cylinder two stroke. It’s also front wheel drive and unibody. It debuted in 1948, 11 years prior to the Mini.

“Yeah, but they only made 20,000 of them. They made 5,000,000 Minis” these same pedantic sticklers will say. “Thus, the Mini is the first mass produced front wheel drive transverse engine car.”

That’s a Lloyd LP400. They made 106,000 of them, which is a lot. They made more Lloyd LP400's than there are blue whales in the world, which is a completely bogus and statistic used out of the context of the aftereffects of whaling, which is something I’m ashamed to know so much about. Anyway, it was transverse engine and front wheel drive. It debuted six years before the Mini.

Our next myth- it’s brilliant packaging. Look at that car above- it’s a Renault 4. It debuted two years after the Mini. It serves to highlights a main flaw in the Mini’s brilliant packaging- the lack of a hatchback.

That’s the original Mini’s trunk. It’s, quite honestly, pathetic. What can you put in there? A suitcase? One shopping bag? Two dead babies? Not great packaging.

That’s the Renault 4's hatch, presumably being used by the Pirate from “Tortilla Flats” to haul his firewood. There’s even a dog in the picture.

That’s the original Mini engine/transmission.Note that the transmission share oil in the sump, instead of the transmission being beside the engine like in most front wheel drive cars. This was not efficient to say the least.

That’s the Mini’s interior, supposedly able to sit four adults. Actually, it looks like it could . . . .if they were anorexic. Instead of adding ten inches in length and adding some extra doors, BMC decided that their small car should fight the BMW Isetta. Compared to microcars, the Mini has brilliant packaging, but compared the Citroen 2CV, Renault 4, Ford Cortina, etc, with which it actually competed, it didn’t.

Rally history: yes, the Mini was a fantastic rally car. But that horn is too, over tooted.

That’s a Peugeot 404 barreling through East Africa, which you have to admit is much tougher than Monte Carlo. The Peugeot also wasn’t a full on homologation special full of John Cooper upgrades. That doesn’t diminish the Mini’s rally success; it’s a legend, and deserves to be. But, it’s overhyped. Other cars had huge rally success, and people don’t feel the need to toot that horn (I just used that twice in one paragraph.) When was the last time you heard someone drone on about the Peugeot 404 and the East African Safari?

That’s a rally Porsche 911. Porsche won the Monte Carlo rally as many times as BMC.

And Alpine won it more times, with the A110 . . . ..

. . . . as did Lancia, with the Fiat X1/9 Stratos. I won’t even mention the Audi Quattro. So the Mini’s rally success? Impressive, but overblown.

Next we come to the “most successful British car ever” statement. To be sure, the mini was very successful, with over five million made. But how do you define success? The Land Rover introduced thousands of people to cars; it’s estimated the 1/3 of the first car people ever saw was a Land Rover. The MG T Series introduced the concept of a production sports car to the world. The Austin 7 put Britain on wheels. If you go by production numbers, the Mini is the most successful. But success is all a matter of opinion. Part of the reason the Mini has so many sales is because it was made for 41 years; averaged out, they only made 131,000 Mini’s per year. They made an average of 375,000 Lada’s each year.

And saying the Mini’s a global icon is bullshit. Because worldwide, the Mini wasn’t that successful. It was successful in Japan for it’s “style”, but that was the only other market besides the UK that had major sales. It’s sort of like saying a Trabant is a global icon because it high sales, was unchanged for years, and was hugely popular in it’s home market. If someone told you that, you’d get laughed at.

The Mini wasn’t a people’s car. A people’s car, at least in my mind, is a car that puts the masses on wheels. In my mind, the following are people’s cars for their countries:

VW Beetle- Germany

Ford Model T- America

Austin 7- Britain

Fiat 600- Italy

Subaru 360- Japan

Lada Riva/2101- Russia

Trabant- (East) Germany

VW Santana- China

Citroen 2CV- France

Yes, that’s the Austin 7, not the Mini. The 7 was truly the car that put Britain on wheels; the Model T of England. By the time the Mini was introduced, Britain already had a sophisticated and large motor industry; people weren’t buying their first cars ever in the Mini, and the Mini didn’t mobilize the masses for the first time. It wasn’t even the best selling car in Britain for many years.

However, there are two things which the Mini had which no other car had: a good potential as a fashion statement, and John Cooper. Cooper was true genius, and how he took an economy car and made it into a rally legend was truly brilliant. There’s also no arguing that the Mini was fashionable- it came to represent the best the Britain could be, that the English could make world class cars, that they were innovators- even if they weren’t. And considering much of what came out of Britain when the Mini was in production, they needed that.

Ike > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:32

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Great article great read

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:41

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I recently drove a 2010ish convertible and was rather disappointed. The engine was gutless and sounded like it was protesting being told to rev, and the steering was uninspired.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:49

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And thanks to marketing, the vast majority of the cars you mention have already fallen into irrelevance. Overrated or not, the Mini won.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/13/2016 at 19:50

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I mean, modern Mini is BMW trying to avoid diluting their brand cachet more than anything else.

Nimbus The Legend - Riding on air like a cloud > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:50

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dont care, still want one.

Its super small and i love the era looks... LOL

McMike > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:51

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Show me on the doll where the bad Mini touched you

Alfalfa > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:57

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Yeah, but the Mini is cuter than all those other cars you mentioned.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 19:57

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I still love mine and even though I personally have not driven an original my dad has and he says they are a ton of fun.

Spridget > McMike 07/13/2016 at 19:58

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AHhHhh the memories. . .

Spridget > Ike 07/13/2016 at 19:58

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Thanks!

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/13/2016 at 19:59

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Base model auto? The Coopers do a million times better with a manual.

MultiplaOrgasms > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 20:02

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The Mini never competed with the MUCH larger 2CV, R4 or Cortina (the Cortina is actually a mid-size car by contemporary european standards, the Anglia/Escort would be more appropriate). BMC already had the Minor, A40 Farina which by the way had an optional split “hatch” starting in 1959 AND the AD016 for that.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/13/2016 at 20:06

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Haha Mini trying to avoid brand dilution ur so funny

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 20:15

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Great read, and all true :) still, if you’re looking for automotive superlatives then it’s a very short list indeed.

Show me another car that combined all of the Minis attributes and accolades in one package.

This seems like a case of a whole host of other cars doing individual tasks better, but not the whole package.

Saying that, the lack of a hatchback was a massive oversight...

Aaron M - MasoFiST > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/13/2016 at 20:25

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No no, BMW trying to avoid brand dilution by making Mini their FWD dumping ground. The Mini brand has been impossibly corrupted...though I want a Paceman for some perverse reason.

RallyWrench > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 20:33

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I’m usually on your side in matters of old cars, but as the former owner of the ‘67 Cooper S below, I must respectfully disagree. I’ll concede that other cars matched or bettered the packaging (yes, not having a hatch is frustrating), and yet more beat the driving experience or competition record. However, none of those cars did all of those things at such a high level, and none of the racers came from such everyman roots. Most of the Brits I’ve ever met had a Mini as a first car, which gives it some “People’s Car” cred, if not on the level of the 2CV or Beetle.

Have you driven one? This car on an autocross was so much fun I was literally laughing uncontrollably on every run. On the road, it can be cornered at legal speeds on backroads without lifting. It remains the second funnest car I’ve ever driven.

Great article nonetheless, you make fair points, but we’re all entitled to our opinions ;)

RallyWrench > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/13/2016 at 20:36

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This doesn’t count as a Mini, it’s just a small FWD BMW.

RallyWrench > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/13/2016 at 20:37

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See my post above, I made the exact same point about having the whole package in one car. Having owned one, I’m admittedly a bit biased.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/13/2016 at 20:51

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If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/13/2016 at 20:53

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It was the sport auto, which was ok despite a huge lag between telling it to shift and it actually shifting.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/13/2016 at 21:00

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We didn’t get those in the States, of course.

Spridget > RallyWrench 07/13/2016 at 21:07

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Thrr Mini is an amazing car, I can’t deny that. I’m just saying that it gets a like more credit than its due, and there should be some context, but it's really just my opinion. Why'd you sell your Cooper?

RallyWrench > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 21:18

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Eh, lots of great cars could be called overrated. I think the Mini deserves every bit of praise it gets as a game changer because it put several previously disparate pieces together. That said, all the best cars are flawed somehow, I think you’ll agree.

I sold the Mini and two other cars to make a down payment on my house. It was a means to an end, but I definitely have seller’s remorse.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/13/2016 at 21:32

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Didn’t get those yet

Spridget > RallyWrench 07/13/2016 at 21:33

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Oh, I agree, most cars are flawed. Every car I mention in this rant is flawed. And the Mini was definitely a game changer for BMC and England, even if it wasn’t for the rest of the world, but that’s how it is with every other car I mentioned (Traction Avant and Porsche 911 excluded.)

What were the other two cars?

RallyWrench > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 21:42

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The other two were an ‘83 Audi Ur-quattro and an ‘88 M5. Of course, prices for all three skyrocketed immediately after i sold them. I had the Quattro for 13 years, the M5 for about 5, and the Mini for maybe two. It was far from being a perfect example but it was a riot.

Spridget > RallyWrench 07/13/2016 at 21:48

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Ur Quattro, Mini, and M5? At that point, I would just buy a lot, fence it, pave it, and live in the cars. Selling those has to sting. You should write up your cars for Curbside Classic’s COAL (Cars Of A Lifetime) series; you’ve had some awesome stuff.

RallyWrench > Spridget 07/13/2016 at 21:56

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Haha I’d have loved to when younger! But, priorities change. I spent literally all of my money on cars for many years, no future planning whatsoever. It did hurt to sell them, but I kept my 2002 and Grandpa’s Lancia, so it’s not all bad. And now I have a home (well, I pay a bank that has my home) to raise a family in, and a garage I can really call my own. It was too many at once, I didn’t have time to stay on top of them all, let alone drive them all. I’d love to write them up, just for the sake of nostalgia.

Spridget > RallyWrench 07/13/2016 at 22:03

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Yeah, it makes sense that real, adult priorities would take over; I feel like raising your kids in a Mini might piss off CPS.

You should totally write them up; CC has had too many ‘90's cars lately, in my opinion!

Spridget > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/14/2016 at 01:14

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This post were more about the old Minis- I dom’t know shit about most modern cars.

Spridget > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/14/2016 at 01:21

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I think the Renault 4 has many of the Mini’s attributes, but it’s a bit bigger. The Lloyd has many of the Mini’s attributes, but is worse. The Fist 128 and Autobianchi A112 are essentially improved Minis, but they came after it.

The Mini does take these attributes and puts them together very well; my point was that Mini didn’t come up with those attributes like many (non-car) people claim. I’ll be honest; the thing that irked me into doing this was a video were some supercar collector said the Mini was the first front wheel drive car. As a Citroen nerd, that’s a bit like telling a rock nerd that The Police was the first major rock band; it’s entirely untrue, and skips years of history.

Spridget > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 01:25

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Irrelevance? They sold 8.5 million Citroen 2CV derivatives and 9 million Renault 4s; those cars are still in service across France. The Beetle set the standard for Germany and created the worlds largest automaker. The Model T was the first mass production car ever made, and redefined cars as something for the people and not for the rich. I’ll grant you that the Lloyd and Alpine are obscure, but the rest aren’t.

Spridget > MultiplaOrgasms 07/14/2016 at 01:38

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I must disagree with you on one point: the Mini was never intended to compete with the 2CV and 4, but it did. Basically, BMC started design in 1955 to compete with microcars, but by 1959, the Goggomobil was the only major remaining European microcar. Having invested so much in this one little car, BMC decided to make it their small car. And a 2CV isn’t that much bigger than an original Mini, it’s just MUCH taller because it was actually designed to be able to be driven with someone’s hat on. Anyway, BMC made the Mini their standard small car, much like Citroen had the 2CV and Renault had the 4.

Then, in 1964, BMC introduced ADO16, which designed to compete with the 4 and Citroen Ami. ADO16 was strictly midrange, competing with the 4, Ami, Cortina (you’re right; the Mini did compete with the Anglia/Escort), VW Type 3, Peugeot 304, etc. The Mini was the starter small car, competing with the Anglia, Peugeot 204, 2CV, Beetle, Opel Kadett, etc.

About the hatch, e Farina’s hatch was an unconventional dead end, and was beaten by the 2CV, Suzuki Suzlight (similar style), and the Traction Avant. ADO16 wasn’t on the market until the hatch was really a thing, as pioneered by Renault with the 4 and 16. And the Minor was a living dinosaur by 1959, but BMC didn’t have the funds to replace it. So, a long winded mini-essay in response to brief statement. Sorry for droning on.

Spridget > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/14/2016 at 01:38

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Oh, I’d kill for an original, I’m just saying it’s not as brilliant as everyone makes it out to be.

Spridget > Alfalfa 07/14/2016 at 01:40

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As a function > form kind of guy, this doesn’t bother me. Although, the Mini’s design is fantastic for it’s function too.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 04:56

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Hah :) love the Police quip ;) absolutely right too. Multiple people have done nearly all of the Minis design features first, and a lot have done them better since.

Can the Mini lay claim to the first exterior seams to save space? Or the first gearbox in sump? Probably not either, but they weren’t the enduring features anyway.

MultiplaOrgasms > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 07:42

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Anyway on its domestic market the Mini had no real competitors because nobody offered anything this small, apart from maybe Reliant and Bond, but those were three-wheelers that only existed due to a few legislatory loopholes.

About the classification nonsense: All Issigonis designed BMC cars of the 60s (AD015, AD016 and AD017) all a very large amount of interior space in relation to their external size. Regardless the AD016 was just a compact car and the AD017 was the same size as any old Cortina. If the next Ford Fusion were to be the size of a Fiesta, would you still call it a mid-size?

And a 2CV is way larger than any Mini, over 30 inches longer, five inches wider and ten inches higher as you already pointed out. The 2CV was basically a normal compact car with as little engine and equipment as one can get away with, and to a lesser extent that also applies to the R4.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 07:51

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But:

The Mini rolled all those features into one, and was also fun, cheap, and good looking.

I’m interested to see what obscure car you dig up that counters that.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 08:30

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And now you learn an important lesson about writing; people look at pictures and skim over bulleted lists.

:-p

Spridget > MultiplaOrgasms 07/14/2016 at 09:50

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Fair points, but about the classification: you’re right about them having good interior space; that point is true. However, many people make it sound like the Mini pioneered the concept of “small on the outside, big on the inside”, and my point was that, while the Mini was exceptional at that design style, it certainly didn’t pioneer it, and it wasn’t the only car on the market like that.

My understanding was the Mini (ADO15) was BMC’s base/starter car, ADO16 was their midrange car, and ADO17 was their larger range car, sort of like how Chevrolet had the Nova, Chevelle, and Impala.

Spridget > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 09:52

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FYI, there were pictures of the Traction Avant, Saab 92, Lloyd LP400, Renault 4, Peugeot 404, Porsche 911, Alpine A110, Lancia Stratos, Austin 7, and Austin Allegro.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 09:56

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And other than the rally giants, pretty much all of the rest of them have faded into obscurity. No one’s going to make a retro throwback Austin 7.

Spridget > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 07/14/2016 at 09:59

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Autobianchi A112

My point wasn’t that the Mini wasn’t bad at all of the above things; people make the Mini out to be a revolutionary, technologically advanced people’s car fashion statement that’s also the greatest rally car of all time. It’s not. The Mini wasn’t revolutionary or technologically advanced (it copied ideas that had been around for years), it’s not a true people’s car, it IS a fashion item, which is the main reason the Mini gets so much credit, and it’s not the greatest rally car ever made.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 10:18

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Yum.

Yeah, I get where you’re coming from. It’s kind of fun to poke around at stuff and see that it’s been done before... an example I can think of right away (and I’m going to be talking aviation here because I’m more familiar with early aircraft than early autos) would be the Manly-Balzer engine in the Langley Aerodrome. Best aero engine, hands down, for years. But nobody remembers it. The first great aero engine is, to most people, probably the Gnome. Then years later the Wright Whirlwind was considered revolutionary as a reliable, powerful, lightweight air-cooled radial engine... even though such an engine existed over 20 years earlier, the Manly-Balzer was forgotten because it was coupled to a failed design.

I’d still say the Mini does deserve most of it’s praise though, even with all the examples posted here. Antony Fokker (sticking with aviation) was a very well-known designer. Except he wasn’t. He was a pilot/engineer entrepreneur that knew enough to be dangerous, but his own skills lay chiefly in being able to spot engineers more talented than himself, recognizing the developments of others for their true worth and rolling everything into one successful package. Which is what, IMO, the Mini is.

MultiplaOrgasms > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 10:38

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Pretty much yes, but BMC was more like General Motors as a whole, with its millions of marques and badge engineered models.

Spridget > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 11:01

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Literally just two replies ago:

Irrelevance? They sold 8.5 million Citroen 2CV derivatives and 9 million Renault 4s; those cars are still in service across France. The Beetle set the standard for Germany and created the worlds largest automaker. The Model T was the first mass production car ever made, and redefined cars as something for the people and not for the rich.

And just because someone makes a retro design version of something, that doesn’t mean its better than its competition. First of all, the new Mini is only a Mini in name only. Second of all, just because BMW’s isn’t making a modernized Austin 7 doesn’t mean it’s forgotten; on the contrary, the 7 put more people on wheels than the Mini, but it wasn’t fashionable. The Mini’s the only one of the cars above the are fashion items. But, are fashionable skinny jeans really any better than Levi’s?

Spridget > MultiplaOrgasms 07/14/2016 at 11:03

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**cough cough**

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 11:09

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Well, it depends, are you arguing that the Austin 7 was underrated or that the Mini is overrated? The qualities of other cars don’t imply that the Mini is overrated. In fact, the melange of cars you posted states the contrary better than anything else...you put working class heroes like the Austin 7 next to relative exotica like a Porsche 911 and the Alpine A110. The Mini is the original predecessor to the hot hatch, and had capabilities that belied its cost and practicality. Not a single car you posted did everything the Mini did.

Spridget > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 11:38

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Uhhhh . . . .

It does everything the Mini does, and better. So does this:

My point is that the Mini is overrated, and I used the 7 to prove that. People love to talk about the Mini as a “people’s car”, but the 7 was the true people’s car of Britain, so the Mini is overrated. The Mini also isn’t the original hot hatch, because it doesn’t have a hatch. It may be shaped like a hatch, but that doesn’t make it a hatch. The Mini wasn’t the first small economy with performance capabilities either:

Fiat Abarth 750 Berlina, introduced in 1957, years before the Cooper Minis.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 11:54

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And yet...the Mini sold for 41 years. The problem with trying to stake subjective opinions as objective fact is that no one cares as long as their cars keep selling. You cannot prove that Renault, Austin or Fiat made a better car than the Mini, but I can in fact prove that the Mini brand was popular enough for BMW to scoop it up and retool it, while Renault is gone from the US market (and mostly selling Nissans at this point), Austin is completely dead, and Fiat is languishing because they were trying to beat BMW at their own game. Mini overrated? Perhaps. But the Mini won.

Spridget > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 12:29

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So, they Mini won because it’s company was too poor to replace it and a company scooped up to sell as “hip” vehicles to raise their brand cachet? The New Mini shares nothing with the old Mini except for the name. If I have a child and name him Jefferson Davis, that doesn’t mean that he is Jefferson Davis, it doesn’t make the South better, and it doesn’t change the outcome of the Civil War. Further more, Renault actually owns more of Nissan, which is why their former CEO is the Nissan CEO. As for Austin, when they were selling the 7 they were the most successful company in Britain, but they went bankrupt in the ‘70's when they were selling outdated cars which couldn’t keep up with the competition. Guess what their supermini was? The Austin Mini. The original Mini; BMW’s new Mini is an enitrely different car, and it’s not what I was writing about.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 12:36

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And you still haven’t explained why the Mini was overrated other than the fact you thought some of its competitors were better.

Berang > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 18:44

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“The mini was the predecessor to the hot hatch” is just markting boloney from the 80s. The Mini had nothing to do with hot hatches, at all, in any way, by any stretch of the imagination.

By the time of the hot hatches, the mini was just an old shit box nobody cared about anymore, and it had no lasting influence on car design.

Berang > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 07/14/2016 at 18:47

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Depends on what you consider as “all” many cars had everything the Mini had, but also had more...

Berang > Spridget 07/14/2016 at 18:51

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I covered a large chunk of this a while ago:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/we-can-stop-pr…

A thing about the mini mystique is, because other brands had far more success in the market, those companies moved on to newer models, and marketing didn’t have to hype up the “firsts” for decades and decades, so people forgot about them.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Berang 07/14/2016 at 18:53

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By the time of the hot hatches, the Mini would continue to be sold for another 20 years.

Berang > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 19:02

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Out of desperation.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Berang 07/14/2016 at 19:45

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They sold 40,000 cars a year through at least 1996.

Berang > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 19:54

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Which is beside the point of my comment. It was basically the British version of the Trabant by the 1980s. Almost anything else you could buy was a better car.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Berang 07/14/2016 at 21:05

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I mean sure, but one does not continue to manufacture a product for shits and giggles. Car companies make good cars only when it makes them money. They only make cars period when it makes money. So if the shit car makes money, churn out the shit car. Nonetheless, it was made and it sold for 40 years.

Berang > Aaron M - MasoFiST 07/14/2016 at 21:35

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You do know that they sold the mini at a loss for many years right?

Eventually it became hip again, but the only reason it wasn’t axed in the 1980s was because they totally bungled up a replacement.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Berang 07/14/2016 at 21:38

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I mean yeah, Rover bungled up a lot of things. That said, it likely made more money than letting the factory sit idle, thanks to the wonder of fixed cost recovery.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Berang 07/15/2016 at 04:28

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Hmmm, that would probably mean defining the mini’s attributes. I’d say:

1. Tiny footprint (can budge on this one a bit)

2. Great interior space due to excellent packaging

3. Bloody fast/large motorsport heritage (you frequently see minis jostling with much more powerful cars in motorsport)

4. Great fun to drive

5. Affordable/common enough to be easily attainable. £2000 should get you one. Parts are dirt cheap too. Vheap back in the day as well.

There are a lot of cars that do most of this, often a lot better, but i can’t think of many that do it all.