@@Kacpa2 Not only BMW, but regulations too. It's impossible for a manufacturer to produce a car like the Mini today due to stringent crash and emission protocols, plus the fact that people nowadays don't want small cars. The new 2024 VW Polo is 2.5 cm wider and only 7 cm shorter than a 2000 VW Golf Mk.IV. The Polo also has a longer wheelbase by 4.1 cm and the heaviest one only weighs 100kg less than the heaviest Golf IV.
I owned a grandkid of the Mini, an '88 Chevy Sprint Metro. Three cylinders, 48 hp, 12" wheels, 1,488 pounds wet. My go-kart never beat anything in the straights, but few could hold with us in the twisties, especially on bumpy roads. If I ever win the lottery my dream car is a Chevy Sprint Turbo; THAT would be a joy to flog!
@@thestevedoughtyshow27 Mine was a rebadged Suzuki, Chevy did that with a few models in the 80s to meet CAFE requirements. I also appreciated how easy it was to work on, everything was simple and accessible.
@@thestevedoughtyshow27 Interesting, because the Metro was an MG econobox/hatchback in the UK from the '80s. Also the Montego. The ultimate Metro was the 6R4, a purpose-built rally weapon that comes with a disclaimer listing asthma, agoraphobia and pacemakers,
@@AnthonyNewman-lp5qq It took its key design concepts from the Mini. Maximized use of space, enough power to do the designed task, very light weight, no frippery.
My first car back in 1968 when I was 17 y.o. was a classic 1963 848cc Austin Mini. Five years later I was the navigator in my uncle's 1967 Austin Cooper S, 1293 rally car. That car turned me into an adrenaline junkie for the next 2 years until we blew up the engine following it's 3rd rebore! 😂 Aahh good times! ☺️👍🏻
Great video! I was a teen in the late 70’s, when muscle cars were abundant and cheap. While I loved those cars, my friends and I all had an appreciation for the mini. Got my first chance to drive one (a Cooper S) in 1979. What a blast! Another non-muscle car that got my respect back then, was the Datsun 510. I kid in my high school had one and I loved it!
Must'ove been fun being a young car guy in the 70s! To be fair it probably was much much harder to find some performance parts for anything that wasn't a muscle car or a beetle...
@@sv_cheats1970 Maybe in The States, but many family cars could take much larger, more powerful engines, and turboes were a thing as well. I had a Ford Escort Estate at the time. It had 45bhp and weighed nearly a ton. On a good day, it could scrape 70mph, but you needed a 24hr clock to measure its 0-60 time. However, I was much more into bikes, so I didn't fettle my Escort, but there were some people who did. I had an acquaintance who had managed to source a Mexico engine for his, and that put out 95 BHP, without any reliability problems. That 1600 engine was quite spritely, but it openeed up all sorts of tuning options, and could even be swapped out for a Cosworth BDA rally unit, which could hit 185bhp, and was probably lighter than a standard 1100 engine. I doubt that many estates got the BDA treatment, but there were a lot of rally BDA engines that came up for sale because they were such a staple in the rallying scene.
I *loved* my 2011 Fit Sport. I needed to carry a rather large musical instrument, so a Miata was right out. Likewise in 1989 when I bought a CRX instead of the first gen Miata. Miata did and does have an excellent transmission but Honda has equaled it.
My wife totaled our 2011 Fit... Sad day... My dad needed to transport 4 massive mounted tires home for his big Dodge 4x4, and I offered. He told me there was no way all 4 of those tires would fit in there... He ate those words, and the Fit swallowed those tires, no problem.
My 2015 LX 6 speed is about as light and basic as modern cars in the US can get. Just a hair over 2500 lbs, tons of interior space, and it takes corners like nothing else. I cut my teeth racing go-karts starting when I was 8, so I have a firm bias for small, lightweight, and nimble cars. The original Mini and it's legend is of course one I find appealing, a shame that the new BMW ones don't excite me in the same way.
Well actually in Greek depending on how you use the last name in the phrase the 's' becomes silent, more often than not actually. The narrator probably didn't know this when making the video, but if you translate his sentences into Greek he mostly has it correctly.
I got my driver's licence in Australia in March 1975. My first car was a blue with white roof Morris Mini 850. Four speed manual transmission of course. Being an Aussie Mini it had wind up windows. Luxury! Someone rear-ended it while I was going to university, and it was written off. Originally it cost me $425 Aussie dollars, and the insurance paid out that exact amount, so I bought a beige 1963 Morris Mini 850 with sliding windows for exactly the same price. That was pretty much the only difference. Both cars had go-cart like handling, used very little petrol, and were very simple. The first one I owned had a complete brake failure going downhill when I was driving my youngest brother home from school. I frantically downshifted for engine braking and softly nudged the tow bar of a Mazda 1500 stopped at the intersection at the bottom of the hill. Commonly, Minis would stall in thunderstorms because the distributor was in front of the engine right behind the grille, while the radiator was off to the side. A can of WD-40 was always needed in the driver's side door bin. Ditto a raincoat. My other Mini adventure was really funny. The carport where my second Mini was parked at my parent's house was facing downhill. Mini handbrakes were notoriously bad, so I had put a brick in front of the driver's side front wheel. One morning I forgot to unlock the driver's side door before removing the brick. The car began rolling down the hill with me frantically trying to unlock the door and hold it back. Meanwhile, my youngest brother and sister were in the bedroom at the back of the house looking out of the window and laughing. The car ran down the hill and collided with a tree at the bottom of the yard. That was actually fortunate, because I'm sure it would otherwise have crashed through the back fence and perhaps even run all the way into the culvert heading to the railway line on the other side of the street. My dad managed to repair the damage and he always performed the regular servicing required. He was very familiar with BMC cars as he had owned both an Austin A40 and a Morris 1100. He had always serviced them. Until I bought Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4s, all my other vehicles were front wheel drive hatchbacks, with the exception of my first new car which was a rear wheel drive 1978 Toyota Corolla coupe. The Mini really was an amazing car.
My first car was an Austin Mini Super Delux in which the previous owner had installed a complete 997 Cooper engine, gearbox and front subframe. My best memory of that car is driving down the M3 in pouring rain and flying past a Jaguar E Type that was spluttering along. The look on his face was priceless!
Mr. Issigonis along with his incredible design team demonstrated their genius by their fresh and unique approach to car design. Lightness is the key for everything in a car, handling, road holding, braking, nimbless, economy, etc. The entire package must be well sorted and matched. Developing an effective suspension is probably where the greatest challenge lays.
My dad's old supervisor owned an original Canadian spec Mini (so it was actually left hand drive) in British Racing Green. He managed to upgrade the engine and tune it so it was producing around 70BHP. That sucker would FLY. There were 2 sharp 90° turns coming into my dad's work and I remember seeing his boss DRIFT around them going about 40 before entering the parking lot sideways and spinning completely around to back into his parking spot. That's still one of the coolest things I have EVER seen, and it cemented the Mini in my mind as the stuff of legend
No weight on the back. The same effect on granite belt roads in Australia. On several occasions in travelling on them in the 60's I did 180 degree spins
The Mini was the first ‘Dream Car’ I had. Never owned one, but all those things I loved about it I found in the world of Japanese Kei cars. A friend who has a classic mini and I were talking and he said that the overall vibe was very similar in both communities. We know they’re not fast or expensive, but they’re fun and that’s all we really want.
Power-to-weight ratio beats raw power every time. And it's not difficult to obtain a good power-to-weight ratio when your car barely weighs more than a motorcycle.
Our family owned an ex police pursuit Mini Cooper S in Australia. They were bored out to 1310cc & just flew. I had a straight through exhaust with a fibreglass sausage muffler & loved changing down a gear inside a tunnel, pure bliss. After 5 years I reverted to the quieter standard muffler & sold it on for about A$1,500.00 but now I couldn't buy a restored example for much less than A$40,000.00
My first car after passing the driving test in 1971 was a 1963 Austin Mini 850cc for which I paid the princely sum of £75. (I'm in the UK). The engine fried so dad and I located an 1098cc engine from a scrapyard which improved the performance a great deal. Unfortunately the single leading shoe drum brakes couldn't handle the power producing many buttock clenching moments due to brake fade.😲 . Since then I've owned several Minis (on and off) including a 1275 Cooper S, Mini van, Mini 1000 and a Mini Clubman estate.
Honda Fit was a totally good sports car! I had one for 11 years. (I'm a Honda loyalist, and my 2011 Fit felt nearly just like my '88 CRX Si. I'm very sad the dropped them from North America. Now I have an Integra which is way too wide and big)
My best friends brother had a ‘99 or 2000 Integra type R. Unfortunately it was stolen 4 different times in the early 2000’s so he ended up selling it. It was a lot of fun though
In the early 1970s, my friend owned a Mini Cooper,.....we drove it around on the country roads, outside of Cleveland, before the suburbs were built. Our fun was sliding ( or drifting) around the gravel strewn roads,....Thrilling fun.
Having owned three classic minis in the past, I have to agree, pushing minis to the limit, really teaches you how to handle yourself. And when you feel like you're 4 inches away from the road, even 40mph down a B-road feels brisk. Did find putting a concrete slab in the boot, really helped to plant it in the bends, rather than sliding Hopkirk style haha.
I loved my 63 850 Mini which I bought as a one year old ex- driving school car. The clutch needed replacing but, having never been subjected to the constant warming/cooling cycle, the engine was perfectly run in! I did sprints and hillclimbs in that car and had a lot of fun. The only thing that failed spectacularly was total brake fade coming down off Dartmoor. The remedy was to ditch the standard BMC brake linings and fit Mintex rally linings which took a rather more manly push on the middle pedal, but they never faded again and also never I had no more squirrely stops from high speed! I later fitted single Weber carb and a rally/fast road cam and got a really reliable sports saloon out of it. I have a Jag 3 litre S Type now, another car that in my view punches well above its weight price per smile😊😊😊.
Ι remember our white Mini back in 1974. Dad had a Mercedes too but the Mini was our favourite, especially when mom was driving it spiritedly. Even so, it was economical and so light that it felt fast. No problem with rust here in Greece but some issues with overheating as the radiator was not behind the front grill but on the side with a duct that supposedly pushed air which wasn't enough. Later dad exchanged it for a Datsun 120Y which was a paragon of reliability but I'll never forget that little Mini with my mom as a young woman behind the wheel
Nice job on this! By 1960, BMC discovered that the Mini (called: ADO-16, for "Austin Design Office Project No. 15) was too small for families. They began working on a larger version, ADO-16, but the initial designs were, like the Mini, and looked too "clunky." They took their design ideas to Pinan Farina in Italy, and the rest is history. The ADO-16, in all it's variants (Austin, MG, Riley, Woseley, etc) was the highest selling car in the UK, until the Ford Cortina came along. In the UK, the cars are known as 1100's, and the Mk2 versions had 1275cc engines. There was even an automatic transmission version available, that could be shifted manually, "for him" and left in 'automatic mode' "for her." The Mk1's were brought to the US in 1963, as the famous "MG1100" and were 2-door models. In 1967, they stopped being sold in the US as MG's, and in 1968, returned as the Mk2 bodied, "Austin America." Canada also received these. Roughly 75%+ of the Americas were sold as automatics, with the heavily marketed "he can drive it, she can drive it" campaign, and this was the death of the cars here. The automatics, just like the manual transmissions, ran in the engine oil, in the sump. Dirty engine oil, lack of frequent service by American drivers, and the speeds at which the cars were driven on freeways, quickly destroyed the transmissions, which in turn, sent metal debris through the engine crankshaft bearings. Few made it through the initial 12 month/12,000 mile warranty period, and almost all were off the road and in a wrecking yard or a field, by/before reaching 30,000mi. The manual transmission cars fared almost as bad, with transmission failures, cracked cylinder heads(due to how close the No.2 and No.3 cylinders were to each other in the 1275cc), all manner of overheating issues from the sideways mounted radiator, and like the cars in the UK, rust. Mini owners soon discovered that the 1100cc engine in the MG's, and especially the 1275cc engine in the Americas, was a drop-in mod for the Mini, could take all manner of performance mods, and transformed all Mini's into absolute animals. So the Americas were all gutted of their engines, and the bodies hauled away to be crushed. I found my 1970 Austin America in 1983, eventually restored it to as-new, and it is still an absolute love of my life. It's one of probably less than a dozen, still on the road and being regularly used, in the US and Canada.
Thats true of any pre-2000s and especially pre 1990s car. When they were still almost entirely mechanical or with few electronics like tumors on every subsystem and mechanism.
I grew up with minis my mother, brother, grandmother and I all had them. The points were in front of the engine behind the grill. A little square of transulacent paper hung down to, hopefully keep rain off them. You could get 45 mpg , the tank held 4 gallons, which explains why there were so many filling stations. Anyone could steal them and they did. At the time they flew though.
Big thumbs up Mister! You absolutely nailed it. No-one normally who grew up with a Mini wants to hear an American explain it (and I suspect vice-versa on US cars), I respect you fact-checked the fine details. I had one around 1999/2000 as my first car in the UK back then we all totally aware that it was very outclassed by nearly everything else. I miss that car, it really did handle like nothing else at the time, and nothing now could have that correct balance of enthusiastic driver involvement mixed with absolute affordability. Smashing upload, I appreciate the nostalgia re-ignite
In early 1980 I met a girl who drove a Mini, a 1969 model 1000cc with the sliding front windows and exterior door hinges. Later that year we got married. When we later sold it and got a newer car, I promised her that I would ensure that she gets another one. A few years later I did just that and got her a 1973 1000cc, and proceeded to modify it cosmetically: steering lowering kit, sports steering wheel, quick-release grille kit, dual side mirrors, bespoke wooden dash, windscreen washer system, speedo cluster from a Mini Clubman 1275cc and a radio/tape head unit with 4 x speakers. The only problem that we ever had with it was its tendency to stall in wet weather. Every time! As soon as I figured out a way to solve that problem, she traded it in!
Hey, cool video and nice work. I have owned two minis. The first was my first car I got in my first year in college in1992 in South Africa after selling one of my motorbikes. It was a 1967 Morris 1000s. Baby Blue. Not in excellent condition, but in very good condition. Man did it go, flat foot everywhere, through every corner, every dirt road, every drunken Friday night clubbing escapade into Cape Town. This was the best car a student could own, miles of smiles, for the driver and any passenger. Everyone and anyone could not wait to go for a drive.... Even 7 teenagers squeezed for a new year's eve trip down to the beach. The gear selector gave in after three years and I stripped out the engine and while getting it custom repaired (parts had to be made) someone who was rebuilding a Cooper and needed more "car" offered me more than I had paid for it. Sadly and with much regret I let it go. After years of working in the UK, and recovering from a divorce and COVID Lockdowns my American GF and I bought a 2020 Cooper S. She had owned a few already in the US and loved them and we needed a small car to explore the UK with. What a blast, perfect for two people to tour with, plenty of poke and almost the same smile of your face go kart handling. We had to sell it 18 monts later as we settled on our farm America. But man I am itching to sell my very capable Jeep Rubicon for another mini... Anyday now.
I don't know what it is. Was I just weird, was your content different... But I was bored by your videos and really didn't think the quality was good so I avoided clicking on them years ago. I kinda gave it another try and I don't understand. Your content is fucking awesome, have been binging you for a little bit now. Instant sub, you either found your golden era or I'm just a changed person but I wish you all the success
I had an original Mini. It went around corners like it was on rails. One point. To get the performance Cooper version took little work, the basic car was so good. BTW, versions of the Mini ended up with a 1,300cc engine.
My first car in 1996 when I was 16 was a 1963 Morris Mini Cooper with a 1275cc bored to 1300cc, twin SU down draft carbs, front disc brakes, and drums on the rear. Original Cooper S racing rims and an odd but rare combination locking hand brake. I should have died 100 times in that car or lost my license due to pushing the boundaries of what it could do (LOL), it was a mechanical nightmare, but what a lot of fun to drive. Plus it was so cheap to run AUD $15.00 for a full tank and mine had duel tanks. And still, I remember the NSW Rego license plate Number QNN-177. This was a great video to watch, awesome work Bart.
I learned to drive on a Morris Minor. When I did my road test for a licence, I did it in an Australian built Mini with Wind Up Windows and a huge Police Sergeant in the passenger seat. He fitted perfectly and the New South Wales police used lots of Minis.! Sadly, I never owned a Mini but I did have lots of Land Rovers. The most fun you can have at 10 miles per hour. Mike in Oz
I think the Fit/Jazz is the closest spiritually to the OG Mini. Small, light, not a lot of power nor designed to be sporty, but handles surprisingly well. From what I hear they make good AutoX cars
My best friend's first car was a 1967 Cooper S (in 1970 when both apprentices). I have been to 100mph in that Mini on public roads than any other car since. My friend eventually supercharged it at 1310cc and sadly wrote it off . What a great car!! I think it was the best colour combo, cream/white with maroon roof. Tony, Brisbane, Australia 🦘🦘
Yes, my '68 is a great little car. Reliable and fun to drive. I recommend Minis as a great entry-level classic that you keep longer than others. Because it costs you very little and is the first car people notice at car shows. It brings a smile to everybody.
Hi Bart , good post , I owned a couple of them many years ago , including a 1098cc Austin Cooper in old English White. We should still be making these today over here in England , with latest Engine Technology and Materials. I would buy one , as Im sure a lot more people would.
I currently own a 2022 Mini Cooper SE (yes, the electric one) and it’s the first Mini I have ever owned - it is the smallest, most cost effective EV you can currently byu in the US and driving it is a blast! It’s lightweight (for an EV), sprt tunes suspension, lots or toque and to drivetrain loss! Growing up, my uncle had a Mini classic and I absolutely loved that car! In fact, it was that car that taught me that the smaller a car, the more fun it is (simple physics) - became a "small car” enthusiast ever since.
A friend of mine had one too. The motor was sent to the UK for tuning. They managed to tune it to 140 BHP... 118 mph top speed. I guess the top speed were due to a low gearing - I don't can't remember the 0-62 mph... But it was quick and had an upgrade on the brakes - As I recall it - it got discs on all four corners. It could brake... But it had the original brakes for starters - scary as hell...
I have recently bought a 2023 sold 2024 MG3 Exite , i was astonished that it really is a Mini under the skin , from the stance to the interior , and the platform parameter, very happy to get a british classic, with a modern twist it even has the old style cold / warm up light in a mini Clubman guage binnacle. I grew up around British cars here in Australia, but couldn't afford a good mini over the years as most are very expensive , but until i looked at the MG . ( I know that the Oriental owners didnt dilute the MG Rover design or build on purpose and im thankful for that ) I was taken aback . Worth a look if you're wanting a mini in the current modern world .
Great video! One thing that is rarely mentioned but I think is a very big part of why these cars captured our imagination and loyalty was the stunning array of aftermarket go-fast(er) parts. Many will remember fondly the MiniMania parts catalogue where you could dream of the mighty upgrades to your car. You could read about their racing success and order parts from them! Most importantly, the weekend hobbyist could do these upgrades for the most part. Today, the idea of tuning is reduced to messing with your ECU. What does that teach you about how your car works? I
Issigonis wanted a flat four. BMC insisted on re-using the A engine, which was forced to share oil with the transmission. Citroen had been doing FWD, but the game-changer was the compact Rzeppa constant-speed U joint. The machine to make the first one cost a huge amount of money, which was provided by the British Nuclear Submarine budget when a designer there specified them for the control rods.
Somehow I get the point of getting thrilled by an allegedly non-sports car driving in a sporty manner: about a year ago I got myself a 2020 Hyundai Grand i10, as my first car. And, while 80 hp coming out from such an econo-box might not seem like something to write home about, being able to leave behind on the twists people driving modern-day Minis, Golfs, Audis, American muscle cars, mid size sedans, BMW and Mercedes SUVs, or any car with an apparently better weight to power ratio, is an emotion that gives a sense of personal accomplishment -one that does not come from money or status itself, but form becoming man and machine altogether. Indeed, the previous gen i10 might be regarded by many a s a grocery getter, but I can attest for it as a car that doesn't let down if driven on a spirited manner.
You are so right. It can be far more satisfying to push a small engine right to it's limits, rather than having an excess of power that you can never fully unleash.
Brilliant historical look at the Mini and the reasons for its introduction. Original mini fantastic fun. Dynamically it was light, had a relatively low centre of gravity, a short wheelbase for chuckability and change of direction, and a wheel at each corner wrt to its wheelbase and track. Along with more weight over the driven wheels for traction. If the mini lost grip at the front all that was required was a slight lift off then back comes round then on the loud pedal!! It was a revelation. Shame they are so expensive now so more people can enjoy them. I have a 1st gen r53 cooper s (bmw) and feels similar but not as light and raw and heavier obviously but still light for a modern classic and much much cheaper... Still love the original though.. maybe some day.
The rubber cone suspension was designed by Alex Moulton of Moulton Bicycle and Avon Tyres fame, but the picture you showed was of the later ‘Hydrolastic’ unit. Wish I still had my Morris Mini 850.
I accidentally stumbled upon a Mini when I was looking for a car to learn how to drive manual on. It was a 2005 Mini Cooper S, and after fixing it up a bit, I was absolutely shocked at how well the car drives and how much fun it is to drive. It is the most underrated car in existence. I have had several much more powerful cars since then but almost nothing comes close to the sheer driving pleasure delivered by the Mini. I couldn't agree with you more that you don't need much more than a lightweight, go-kart like car to have fun on spirited drives. Get a Mini !
It reminds me of how much I enjoyed driving my early cars, a 1976 VW Rabbit, a 1984 Plymouth Colt and a 1990 Honda Civic Wagon. All of them were light and had excellent controls allowing me to feel what the wheels were doing. I've had faster cars since then but I doubt I've enjoyed them as much. Partly because they are heavier and more isolated and probably because I'm older and much less bold than I was in the 80s and 90s.
7:50 When it first came out, it was badged as either an Austin Se7en or Morris Mini Minor. It was not named the Austin Mini Minor. Btw, Enzo Ferrari loved the Mini and would drive his around the hills near Maranello when he wanted a bit of relaxation/freedom.
Well, it was safer than a motorcycle and possibly safer than a number of small rear-engined cars, since the transverse engine allows more "crush space", even under a short hood. Still, it would be no match for a big American car, which would be no match for a tractor-trailer (eg. "articulated-lorry", look up the definition of "Mansfield bar" for an example of that matchup). The point is that these things are relative and people chose the risks they are willing to take against the rewards for said risks. If gasoline were $10 per gallon, a lot more people would be taking such risks here in the USA.
Owned a Ford Prefect, Bug Eye and a Mini and the Mini was fun to drive. Today I own a Smart, it has a three cylinder engine, so just as many as worked in the Mini (which had a spare cylinder most of the time). The Smart is as much fun to drive and also has a working radio and air conditioning. The Mini's A/C was done through a hole in the dash (as far as I could tell). And the Smart (now 15 years old) doesn't rust. But the Mini was fun, especially when all four cylinders worked and it was so easy to push start. Also, considering I had to reverse the seat mounts in order to fit in the Mini, it too was a two seater with a rear parcel bench....🤣🤣
I was lent Paddy Hopkirk's 1967 works cooper s that competed at the Bathurst 500 when the friend who owned it wanted to borrow my van to move his sisters furniture, it had the British spec racing engine and, if you backed off down hill would instantly oil up the plugs as it didn't have valve guide oil seals. It was fun to drive and was quick when it was firing on all 4 cylinders but it was a pain in the bum in traffic, by the same token, my brother inlaws 1293 S was a hoot, and would be at anything around a large roundabout, or through the Twisties.
My sister had a Cooper S in 1977, widened and lowered. It was such a trick car in the day. Unfortunately an Alfa hit me at a crossing from the right, the chassis was bent and couldn't be fixed anymore...that was a very sad day, it was such a nice car.
Ah what a blast. I’ve owned 2 minis, a 1100 with mild mods and an all out modded 1275 Cooper S, most fun I’ve ever had on 4 wheels, the later was a very quick point to point car. It’s hard to convey how sublime the handling of a well sorted Mini actually is, they are definitely one of the motoring worlds great experiences.
Back in the 70's I had a Cooperized Mini Woodie Wagon.....fast, fun, very responsive...and...the looks I would get when parking, then extracting my six foot six length out of the car, followed by a large German Shepherd...
Front end swap were so easy! Un bolt the sub frame, lift the car up, wheel in another, lower the car, bolt the sub frame back! My '64 took a minor 1100 in less than a six pack! This happened for me in the mid seventies
I owned an 2009 Mini Cooper S and I loved it. Most people don’t consider it a sports car because it isn’t RWD or coupe shaped. But I still think it’s a sporty car. Doesn’t need to be insanely fast. Just quick and handles like it’s on rails. That’s what a sports car is. 0-60 doesn’t matter when your speed limit is usually 40 mph to 70 mph. Just enjoying the drive is what matters.
Great video! Issigonis (it ends with an 's'!) always prioritized practicality over styling, and Moulton ride over handling. But between them they accidentally made one of the best looking and handling cars of all time, that outlived two generations of would-be "replacements", and whose brand outlived the entire British car industry and is still going strong. I bought mine over 30y ago, drove it tens of thousands of miles, and won a few rallies in it. What other first car with affordable insurance can provide that kind of experience?
The original marketing names for the BMC Mini were "Morris Mini Minor" (because it's a bit like a Minor (until 1959 the smallest Morris car) and Austin Se7en, in homage to the original Austin 7. The Austin variant did not initially carry the name "Mini". Alec Issigonis ('S' not silent as others have noted because it's a Greek name) previously worked for Morris (Nuffield Group) and not Austin prior to the Austin-Morris merger which created BMC. His previous big project was the Minor, which people seem to forget was very a advanced machine for it's 1948 launch year, and would later become Britain's first million selling car in 1960 or 61, after the introduction of the Mini. The Minor was still a 'modern' car in the late 50s having been updated to become the "Minor 1000" in 1956.
Three little niggles.........the mans name was Sir Alec IssigoNIS not Issigoni, plus when the car was first launched it was badged as the Austin SEVEN... and the Morris "mini" Minor not the other way round especially given that the Minor was a Morris product it behove them to lable its smaller sibling as a MINI Minor, oh and when was a Morris Minor EVER a FRONT WHEEL DRIVE I must have missed that one ???. Ive owned nearly a dozen Minis during over fifty years of driving but the best one I ever owned had to be my longman long throw crank mk2 1490 Cooper S, Jack Knight straight cut close ratio box, weber DCOE carb and 205 x10 Klebers on minilights which when we put it on our rolling road dyno at the Garage I was working in back then was putting out 132 horse at the wheels ( correlating to about 140 at the flywheel) in the early seventies, by God that car used to give Porches nightmares in its day. on one particular occasion I blew off a Sunbeam Tiger ( Sunbeam Alpine with an American small block V8) away from some traffic lights and it incensed him that much he chased me for about two miles but couldnt get close to me, just to rub it in we got to a largish roundabout and he tried staying with me when I didnt back off he than got it all crossed up and sideways half way around..........I just continued ALL the way round the roundabout with the inside wheel billowing smoke as it wheel spun and then came up behind HIM, he slowed right down then and I couldnt stop myself giving him a big sh"t eating grin, he then started wanting me to pull over and demanded to know what was under the bonnet..................I replied "oh just a cooking mini 1000" but for some reason he refused to accept that lol. by the way the car had been built as a clubmans rally car.
I don't think the British businessmen were wrong about the beetle. I think if it had been bought by a foreign company it would have had a very different life than the status it achieved in German and eventually global culture.
The week links in the mini was the exhaust neck kept getting broken with the rocking of the engine, the distributor in the front getting soaked by the rain plus the 10 inch wheels the tyres wore out very quickly. People wanted a car that did not need tinkering with so more reliable cars took over.
The immortal little Minis won the Monte Carlo Rally outright in 1964 and 1965. Then came back in 1966 and, demonstrating their giant-killing ability, took the first three places! However, this was such an affront (and humiliation) for the French organisers that they promptly insisted on practically disassembling the cars down to the last nut & bolt, to be able to find something (anything) they could disqualify them on. Eventually, they pronounced the headlamp bulb filaments illegal, and duly disqualified them. Then they disqualified the next finisher too, a (British) Lotus Cortina. Which allowed them to award the win to the 5th place car, which just happened to be a Citroen. So, the Minis came back in 1967, and won outright once again - a very sweet victory indeed. Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold…
Here i remember the good old times, when i was playing the PC-Game "Collin McRae Rally 2", using a 60's red Mini against Rally Cars from the 90's to beat the game on the highest difficulty settings. Light weight rules.
Growing up in the UK. I fixed many a mini and metro (the mordernised version). Hated the things. Brilliant back in the day, but compared to the R5, 205 and Golf they were slow (yes even in a corner) unreliable death traps. As for a modern grocery getter that is mad fast. Outside of the USA we have the Toyota GR Yaris and for Diy the Honda Civic, they can go 200mph or 1/4 mile in under 10 sec for $5K
At 4:53 Bart says "...front wheel drive was the way to go similar to the Morris Minor". The Morris Minor was NOT a front-wheel drive car. It had the standard north-south engine layout driving the rear wheels through a drive shaft and live axle. The Mini was the first of the line with East-West motor driving the front wheels.
Describing the Mini as a sports car interesting as it was a people's car built and designed as a small affordable car and with a bit of tweaking it became a giant killer proves you didn't have to go really fast to win a rally back in the 1960s just handle extremely well
"It's way more fun driving a slow car fast than driving a fast car slow" -Truly a rule to live by.
Indeed.
You stay out of trouble, typically, as well!
Drifting was so much fun, especially in snow, '66
driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car fast
And fast and modern cars in general feel slow When youre going fast sadly. Even at the limit modern cars tend to be catatonicly boring.
The modern " mini " is the size of a 60s van
BMW ruines the brand.
@@Kacpa2 Not only BMW, but regulations too. It's impossible for a manufacturer to produce a car like the Mini today due to stringent crash and emission protocols, plus the fact that people nowadays don't want small cars. The new 2024 VW Polo is 2.5 cm wider and only 7 cm shorter than a 2000 VW Golf Mk.IV. The Polo also has a longer wheelbase by 4.1 cm and the heaviest one only weighs 100kg less than the heaviest Golf IV.
@@Kacpa2without bmw there would be no (current) brand, and it’s done nothing to tarnish the original brand.
And what in the fresh hell is the "Mini Countryman" it's not even a Mini anymore it's just a Regular
Depends on the model. The three-door hatchback is actually not big of a car by 2024 standards.
I owned a grandkid of the Mini, an '88 Chevy Sprint Metro. Three cylinders, 48 hp, 12" wheels, 1,488 pounds wet. My go-kart never beat anything in the straights, but few could hold with us in the twisties, especially on bumpy roads.
If I ever win the lottery my dream car is a Chevy Sprint Turbo; THAT would be a joy to flog!
I had a sprint , too. It was a Suzuki not a Chevy
@@thestevedoughtyshow27 Mine was a rebadged Suzuki, Chevy did that with a few models in the 80s to meet CAFE requirements.
I also appreciated how easy it was to work on, everything was simple and accessible.
@@thestevedoughtyshow27 Interesting, because the Metro was an MG econobox/hatchback in the UK from the '80s. Also the Montego. The ultimate Metro was the 6R4, a purpose-built rally weapon that comes with a disclaimer listing asthma, agoraphobia and pacemakers,
In what way is that the ‘grandkid’ of the bmc mini?
@@AnthonyNewman-lp5qq It took its key design concepts from the Mini. Maximized use of space, enough power to do the designed task, very light weight, no frippery.
My first car back in 1968 when I was 17 y.o. was a classic 1963 848cc Austin Mini.
Five years later I was the navigator in my uncle's 1967 Austin Cooper S, 1293 rally car.
That car turned me into an adrenaline junkie for the next 2 years until we blew up the engine following it's 3rd rebore! 😂
Aahh good times! ☺️👍🏻
Great video! I was a teen in the late 70’s, when muscle cars were abundant and cheap. While I loved those cars, my friends and I all had an appreciation for the mini.
Got my first chance to drive one (a Cooper S) in 1979. What a blast!
Another non-muscle car that got my respect back then, was the Datsun 510. I kid in my high school had one and I loved it!
Must'ove been fun being a young car guy in the 70s! To be fair it probably was much much harder to find some performance parts for anything that wasn't a muscle car or a beetle...
@@sv_cheats1970 Maybe in The States, but many family cars could take much larger, more powerful engines, and turboes were a thing as well.
I had a Ford Escort Estate at the time. It had 45bhp and weighed nearly a ton. On a good day, it could scrape 70mph, but you needed a 24hr clock to measure its 0-60 time. However, I was much more into bikes, so I didn't fettle my Escort, but there were some people who did. I had an acquaintance who had managed to source a Mexico engine for his, and that put out 95 BHP, without any reliability problems. That 1600 engine was quite spritely, but it openeed up all sorts of tuning options, and could even be swapped out for a Cosworth BDA rally unit, which could hit 185bhp, and was probably lighter than a standard 1100 engine.
I doubt that many estates got the BDA treatment, but there were a lot of rally BDA engines that came up for sale because they were such a staple in the rallying scene.
Datsun 510 - thanks for the reminder! Absolute gem of a car.
Honda Fit/Jazz can be quite similar to what Mini was.
Please make a video about it if you could.
I *loved* my 2011 Fit Sport. I needed to carry a rather large musical instrument, so a Miata was right out. Likewise in 1989 when I bought a CRX instead of the first gen Miata. Miata did and does have an excellent transmission but Honda has equaled it.
My wife totaled our 2011 Fit... Sad day... My dad needed to transport 4 massive mounted tires home for his big Dodge 4x4, and I offered. He told me there was no way all 4 of those tires would fit in there... He ate those words, and the Fit swallowed those tires, no problem.
My 2015 LX 6 speed is about as light and basic as modern cars in the US can get. Just a hair over 2500 lbs, tons of interior space, and it takes corners like nothing else. I cut my teeth racing go-karts starting when I was 8, so I have a firm bias for small, lightweight, and nimble cars. The original Mini and it's legend is of course one I find appealing, a shame that the new BMW ones don't excite me in the same way.
Even the mr wagon sport
Suzuki
FYI Issigonis is a Greek name, so the final s is not silent.
Well actually in Greek depending on how you use the last name in the phrase the 's' becomes silent, more often than not actually. The narrator probably didn't know this when making the video, but if you translate his sentences into Greek he mostly has it correctly.
@@ChristosNikiforos Thanks, I didn't know that. I guess what I should have said is that his name is pronounced in English sources with the s.
@@BruceLeedar i understand now, thank you.
Just one little error . The morris minor was rear wheel drive.
I noticed that too
I got my driver's licence in Australia in March 1975. My first car was a blue with white roof Morris Mini 850. Four speed manual transmission of course. Being an Aussie Mini it had wind up windows. Luxury! Someone rear-ended it while I was going to university, and it was written off. Originally it cost me $425 Aussie dollars, and the insurance paid out that exact amount, so I bought a beige 1963 Morris Mini 850 with sliding windows for exactly the same price. That was pretty much the only difference. Both cars had go-cart like handling, used very little petrol, and were very simple. The first one I owned had a complete brake
failure going downhill when I was driving my youngest brother home from school. I frantically downshifted for engine braking and softly nudged the tow bar of a Mazda 1500 stopped at the intersection at the bottom of the hill. Commonly, Minis would stall in thunderstorms because the distributor was in front of the engine right behind the grille, while the radiator was off to the side. A can of WD-40 was always needed in the driver's side door bin. Ditto a raincoat. My other Mini adventure was really funny. The carport where my second Mini was parked at my parent's house was facing downhill. Mini handbrakes were notoriously bad, so I had put a brick in front of the driver's side front wheel. One morning I forgot to unlock the driver's side door before removing the brick. The car began rolling down the hill with me frantically trying to unlock the door and hold it back. Meanwhile, my youngest brother and sister were in the bedroom at the back of the house looking out of the window and laughing. The car ran down the hill and collided with a tree at the bottom of the yard. That was actually fortunate, because I'm sure it would otherwise have crashed through the back fence and perhaps even run all the way into the culvert heading to the railway line on the other side of the street. My dad managed to repair the damage and he always performed the regular servicing required. He was very familiar with BMC cars as he had owned both an Austin A40 and a Morris 1100. He had always serviced them. Until I bought Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4s, all my other vehicles were front wheel drive hatchbacks, with the exception of my first new car which was a rear wheel drive 1978 Toyota Corolla coupe. The Mini really was an amazing car.
My first car was an Austin Mini Super Delux in which the previous owner had installed a complete 997 Cooper engine, gearbox and front subframe. My best memory of that car is driving down the M3 in pouring rain and flying past a Jaguar E Type that was spluttering along. The look on his face was priceless!
I restored 3 mini Mokes here in Western Australia. Perfect for a sunny climate. My keeper was a mint 1275 Californian enlarged to 1340 cc .
My housemate 20-some years ago had a Moke ute bored out to 1340. I had a 240Z. I was kind of jealous.
Mr. Issigonis along with his incredible design team demonstrated their genius by their fresh and unique approach to car design. Lightness is the key for everything in a car, handling, road holding, braking, nimbless, economy, etc. The entire package must be well sorted and matched. Developing an effective suspension is probably where the greatest challenge lays.
I had two as a young fella, a '74 and a '79 I think. Everybody had the glasspack muffler straight out the center. Got rid of two bends!
My dad's old supervisor owned an original Canadian spec Mini (so it was actually left hand drive) in British Racing Green. He managed to upgrade the engine and tune it so it was producing around 70BHP. That sucker would FLY. There were 2 sharp 90° turns coming into my dad's work and I remember seeing his boss DRIFT around them going about 40 before entering the parking lot sideways and spinning completely around to back into his parking spot. That's still one of the coolest things I have EVER seen, and it cemented the Mini in my mind as the stuff of legend
No weight on the back. The same effect on granite belt roads in Australia. On several occasions in travelling on them in the 60's I did 180 degree spins
The Mini was the first ‘Dream Car’ I had. Never owned one, but all those things I loved about it I found in the world of Japanese Kei cars. A friend who has a classic mini and I were talking and he said that the overall vibe was very similar in both communities. We know they’re not fast or expensive, but they’re fun and that’s all we really want.
I loved Mini Coopers as a kid and had 2 toy versions of them (both red with a white top). Fascinating to finally learn some history about them!❤
I'm assuming you've seen The Bourne Identity, right? :3
@@jamesgizasson Yeah lol
In 1966 the Mini won outright the Gallagher 500 (later the Bathurst 500)... Australia's premier car race.
Beating V8s and 6s over 500 miles.
Power-to-weight ratio beats raw power every time.
And it's not difficult to obtain a good power-to-weight ratio when your car barely weighs more than a motorcycle.
Our family owned an ex police pursuit Mini Cooper S in Australia. They were bored out to 1310cc & just flew. I had a straight through exhaust with a fibreglass sausage muffler & loved changing down a gear inside a tunnel, pure bliss. After 5 years I reverted to the quieter standard muffler & sold it on for about A$1,500.00 but now I couldn't buy a restored example for much less than A$40,000.00
My first car after passing the driving test in 1971 was a 1963 Austin Mini 850cc for which I paid the princely sum of £75. (I'm in the UK). The engine fried so dad and I located an 1098cc engine from a scrapyard which improved the performance a great deal. Unfortunately the single leading shoe drum brakes couldn't handle the power producing many buttock clenching moments due to brake fade.😲 . Since then I've owned several Minis (on and off) including a 1275 Cooper S, Mini van, Mini 1000 and a Mini Clubman estate.
I had an 850 van that we kept in London when we visited the wife's parents. It would sleep two with the seats folded forward.
In 1973 I had a 1968 mini S
Honda Fit was a totally good sports car! I had one for 11 years. (I'm a Honda loyalist, and my 2011 Fit felt nearly just like my '88 CRX Si. I'm very sad the dropped them from North America. Now I have an Integra which is way too wide and big)
My best friends brother had a ‘99 or 2000 Integra type R. Unfortunately it was stolen 4 different times in the early 2000’s so he ended up selling it. It was a lot of fun though
In the early 1970s, my friend owned a Mini Cooper,.....we drove it around on the country roads, outside of Cleveland, before the suburbs were built. Our fun was sliding ( or drifting) around the gravel strewn roads,....Thrilling fun.
Having owned three classic minis in the past, I have to agree, pushing minis to the limit, really teaches you how to handle yourself. And when you feel like you're 4 inches away from the road, even 40mph down a B-road feels brisk. Did find putting a concrete slab in the boot, really helped to plant it in the bends, rather than sliding Hopkirk style haha.
I loved my 63 850 Mini which I bought as a one year old ex- driving school car. The clutch needed replacing but, having never been subjected to the constant warming/cooling cycle, the engine was perfectly run in! I did sprints and hillclimbs in that car and had a lot of fun.
The only thing that failed spectacularly was total brake fade coming down off Dartmoor. The remedy was to ditch the standard BMC brake linings and fit Mintex rally linings which took a rather more manly push on the middle pedal, but they never faded again and also never I had no more squirrely stops from high speed! I later fitted single Weber carb and a rally/fast road cam and got a really reliable sports saloon out of it. I have a Jag 3 litre S Type now, another car that in my view punches well above its weight price per smile😊😊😊.
Ι remember our white Mini back in 1974. Dad had a Mercedes too but the Mini was our favourite, especially when mom was driving it spiritedly. Even so, it was economical and so light that it felt fast. No problem with rust here in Greece but some issues with overheating as the radiator was not behind the front grill but on the side with a duct that supposedly pushed air which wasn't enough. Later dad exchanged it for a Datsun 120Y which was a paragon of reliability but I'll never forget that little Mini with my mom as a young woman behind the wheel
1:27 the Austin 7 is very important as the layout of pedals, gears, wheel etc. Is how almost all cars are layed out today.
Nice job on this! By 1960, BMC discovered that the Mini (called: ADO-16, for "Austin Design Office Project No. 15) was too small for families. They began working on a larger version, ADO-16, but the initial designs were, like the Mini, and looked too "clunky." They took their design ideas to Pinan Farina in Italy, and the rest is history. The ADO-16, in all it's variants (Austin, MG, Riley, Woseley, etc) was the highest selling car in the UK, until the Ford Cortina came along. In the UK, the cars are known as 1100's, and the Mk2 versions had 1275cc engines. There was even an automatic transmission version available, that could be shifted manually, "for him" and left in 'automatic mode' "for her." The Mk1's were brought to the US in 1963, as the famous "MG1100" and were 2-door models. In 1967, they stopped being sold in the US as MG's, and in 1968, returned as the Mk2 bodied, "Austin America." Canada also received these. Roughly 75%+ of the Americas were sold as automatics, with the heavily marketed "he can drive it, she can drive it" campaign, and this was the death of the cars here. The automatics, just like the manual transmissions, ran in the engine oil, in the sump. Dirty engine oil, lack of frequent service by American drivers, and the speeds at which the cars were driven on freeways, quickly destroyed the transmissions, which in turn, sent metal debris through the engine crankshaft bearings. Few made it through the initial 12 month/12,000 mile warranty period, and almost all were off the road and in a wrecking yard or a field, by/before reaching 30,000mi. The manual transmission cars fared almost as bad, with transmission failures, cracked cylinder heads(due to how close the No.2 and No.3 cylinders were to each other in the 1275cc), all manner of overheating issues from the sideways mounted radiator, and like the cars in the UK, rust. Mini owners soon discovered that the 1100cc engine in the MG's, and especially the 1275cc engine in the Americas, was a drop-in mod for the Mini, could take all manner of performance mods, and transformed all Mini's into absolute animals. So the Americas were all gutted of their engines, and the bodies hauled away to be crushed.
I found my 1970 Austin America in 1983, eventually restored it to as-new, and it is still an absolute love of my life. It's one of probably less than a dozen, still on the road and being regularly used, in the US and Canada.
Mini coopers was my childhood favorite car growing up but grew out of it. I be down to own a classic mini someday
VW beetle rocks.... versatile and easy to upgrade and maintain.
Thats true of any pre-2000s and especially pre 1990s car. When they were still almost entirely mechanical or with few electronics like tumors on every subsystem and mechanism.
I grew up with minis my mother, brother, grandmother and I all had them. The points were in front of the engine behind the grill. A little square of transulacent paper hung down to, hopefully keep rain off them. You could get 45 mpg , the tank held 4 gallons, which explains why there were so many filling stations. Anyone could steal them and they did. At the time they flew though.
The first time i saw a mini was at a sports car race. The same time i saw an AC Cobra. Both made life changing impression on a 14 yr old.
Big thumbs up Mister! You absolutely nailed it. No-one normally who grew up with a Mini wants to hear an American explain it (and I suspect vice-versa on US cars), I respect you fact-checked the fine details.
I had one around 1999/2000 as my first car in the UK back then we all totally aware that it was very outclassed by nearly everything else. I miss that car, it really did handle like nothing else at the time, and nothing now could have that correct balance of enthusiastic driver involvement mixed with absolute affordability.
Smashing upload, I appreciate the nostalgia re-ignite
He’s Canadian actually, & a true gentleman to boot.
In early 1980 I met a girl who drove a Mini, a 1969 model 1000cc with the sliding front windows and exterior door hinges. Later that year we got married. When we later sold it and got a newer car, I promised her that I would ensure that she gets another one. A few years later I did just that and got her a 1973 1000cc, and proceeded to modify it cosmetically: steering lowering kit, sports steering wheel, quick-release grille kit, dual side mirrors, bespoke wooden dash, windscreen washer system, speedo cluster from a Mini Clubman 1275cc and a radio/tape head unit with 4 x speakers. The only problem that we ever had with it was its tendency to stall in wet weather. Every time! As soon as I figured out a way to solve that problem, she traded it in!
Wow, please tell me you traded her in after that 😂
@@Sam-go3mb Still have her, but no Mini, unfortunately!
Hey, cool video and nice work. I have owned two minis. The first was my first car I got in my first year in college in1992 in South Africa after selling one of my motorbikes. It was a 1967 Morris 1000s. Baby Blue. Not in excellent condition, but in very good condition. Man did it go, flat foot everywhere, through every corner, every dirt road, every drunken Friday night clubbing escapade into Cape Town. This was the best car a student could own, miles of smiles, for the driver and any passenger. Everyone and anyone could not wait to go for a drive.... Even 7 teenagers squeezed for a new year's eve trip down to the beach. The gear selector gave in after three years and I stripped out the engine and while getting it custom repaired (parts had to be made) someone who was rebuilding a Cooper and needed more "car" offered me more than I had paid for it. Sadly and with much regret I let it go. After years of working in the UK, and recovering from a divorce and COVID Lockdowns my American GF and I bought a 2020 Cooper S. She had owned a few already in the US and loved them and we needed a small car to explore the UK with. What a blast, perfect for two people to tour with, plenty of poke and almost the same smile of your face go kart handling. We had to sell it 18 monts later as we settled on our farm America. But man I am itching to sell my very capable Jeep Rubicon for another mini... Anyday now.
Keep up the good work. Happy to have found your channel and watch everything you put out.
I don't know what it is. Was I just weird, was your content different... But I was bored by your videos and really didn't think the quality was good so I avoided clicking on them years ago. I kinda gave it another try and I don't understand. Your content is fucking awesome, have been binging you for a little bit now. Instant sub, you either found your golden era or I'm just a changed person but I wish you all the success
Great color switch at 3:28, good visual/ timeline impact.Keep up the good work.
I had an original Mini. It went around corners like it was on rails.
One point. To get the performance Cooper version took little work, the basic car was so good.
BTW, versions of the Mini ended up with a 1,300cc engine.
I liked the clips from Australia. The Mini was hugely popular here.
One of the best RUclips car histories I've seen. First time seeing your channel.
My first car in 1996 when I was 16 was a 1963 Morris Mini Cooper with a 1275cc bored to 1300cc, twin SU down draft carbs, front disc brakes, and drums on the rear. Original Cooper S racing rims and an odd but rare combination locking hand brake. I should have died 100 times in that car or lost my license due to pushing the boundaries of what it could do (LOL), it was a mechanical nightmare, but what a lot of fun to drive. Plus it was so cheap to run AUD $15.00 for a full tank and mine had duel tanks. And still, I remember the NSW Rego license plate Number QNN-177.
This was a great video to watch, awesome work Bart.
What a great film
04:50 Morris Minors are rear wheel drive 😊
I learned to drive on a Morris Minor. When I did my road test for a licence, I did it in an Australian built Mini with Wind Up Windows and a huge Police Sergeant in the passenger seat. He fitted perfectly and the New South Wales police used lots of Minis.! Sadly, I never owned a Mini but I did have lots of Land Rovers. The most fun you can have at 10 miles per hour. Mike in Oz
I've seen no mention of a third variant, the MG Sport Sedan.
I think the Fit/Jazz is the closest spiritually to the OG Mini. Small, light, not a lot of power nor designed to be sporty, but handles surprisingly well. From what I hear they make good AutoX cars
It was Lord Rootes, of Rootes Group who made statement about the VW. Rootes owned Singer, Hillman, Humber at the time.
My best friend's first car was a 1967 Cooper S (in 1970 when both apprentices). I have been to 100mph in that Mini on public roads than any other car since. My friend eventually supercharged it at 1310cc and sadly wrote it off . What a great car!! I think it was the best colour combo, cream/white with maroon roof.
Tony, Brisbane, Australia 🦘🦘
Yes, my '68 is a great little car. Reliable and fun to drive. I recommend Minis as a great entry-level classic that you keep longer than others. Because it costs you very little and is the first car people notice at car shows. It brings a smile to everybody.
Hi Bart , good post , I owned a couple of them many years ago , including a 1098cc Austin Cooper in old English White. We should still be making these today over here in England , with latest Engine Technology and Materials. I would buy one , as Im sure a lot more people would.
Was called the flying shoe box in the 1970's. My Mini Cooper was the 1275 engine size. Did some rally racing at the time. Great memories.
I currently own a 2022 Mini Cooper SE (yes, the electric one) and it’s the first Mini I have ever owned - it is the smallest, most cost effective EV you can currently byu in the US and driving it is a blast! It’s lightweight (for an EV), sprt tunes suspension, lots or toque and to drivetrain loss! Growing up, my uncle had a Mini classic and I absolutely loved that car! In fact, it was that car that taught me that the smaller a car, the more fun it is (simple physics) - became a "small car” enthusiast ever since.
A friend had a 1275 Cooper S, what a blast!
A friend of mine had one too. The motor was sent to the UK for tuning. They managed to tune it to 140 BHP... 118 mph top speed. I guess the top speed were due to a low gearing - I don't can't remember the 0-62 mph... But it was quick and had an upgrade on the brakes - As I recall it - it got discs on all four corners. It could brake... But it had the original brakes for starters - scary as hell...
@@abcdef-qk6jf Awesome power!
I have recently bought a 2023 sold 2024 MG3 Exite , i was astonished that it really is a Mini under the skin , from the stance to the interior , and the platform parameter, very happy to get a british classic, with a modern twist it even has the old style cold / warm up light in a mini Clubman guage binnacle.
I grew up around British cars here in Australia, but couldn't afford a good mini over the years as most are very expensive , but until i looked at the MG . ( I know that the Oriental owners didnt dilute the MG Rover design or build on purpose and im thankful for that ) I was taken aback . Worth a look if you're wanting a mini in the current modern world .
Great video! One thing that is rarely mentioned but I think is a very big part of why these cars captured our imagination and loyalty was the stunning array of aftermarket go-fast(er) parts. Many will remember fondly the MiniMania parts catalogue where you could dream of the mighty upgrades to your car. You could read about their racing success and order parts from them! Most importantly, the weekend hobbyist could do these upgrades for the most part. Today, the idea of tuning is reduced to messing with your ECU. What does that teach you about how your car works? I
Issigonis wanted a flat four. BMC insisted on re-using the A engine, which was forced to share oil with the transmission. Citroen had been doing FWD, but the game-changer was the compact Rzeppa constant-speed U joint. The machine to make the first one cost a huge amount of money, which was provided by the British Nuclear Submarine budget when a designer there specified them for the control rods.
The flat four was supposed to go in the Minor, not the Mini.
Somehow I get the point of getting thrilled by an allegedly non-sports car driving in a sporty manner: about a year ago I got myself a 2020 Hyundai Grand i10, as my first car. And, while 80 hp coming out from such an econo-box might not seem like something to write home about, being able to leave behind on the twists people driving modern-day Minis, Golfs, Audis, American muscle cars, mid size sedans, BMW and Mercedes SUVs, or any car with an apparently better weight to power ratio, is an emotion that gives a sense of personal accomplishment -one that does not come from money or status itself, but form becoming man and machine altogether.
Indeed, the previous gen i10 might be regarded by many a s a grocery getter, but I can attest for it as a car that doesn't let down if driven on a spirited manner.
You are so right. It can be far more satisfying to push a small engine right to it's limits, rather than having an excess of power that you can never fully unleash.
Brilliant historical look at the Mini and the reasons for its introduction.
Original mini fantastic fun. Dynamically it was light, had a relatively low centre of gravity, a short wheelbase for chuckability and change of direction, and a wheel at each corner wrt to its wheelbase and track. Along with more weight over the driven wheels for traction. If the mini lost grip at the front all that was required was a slight lift off then back comes round then on the loud pedal!! It was a revelation. Shame they are so expensive now so more people can enjoy them. I have a 1st gen r53 cooper s (bmw) and feels similar but not as light and raw and heavier obviously but still light for a modern classic and much much cheaper... Still love the original though.. maybe some day.
The rubber cone suspension was designed by Alex Moulton of Moulton Bicycle and Avon Tyres fame, but the picture you showed was of the later ‘Hydrolastic’ unit. Wish I still had my Morris Mini 850.
I accidentally stumbled upon a Mini when I was looking for a car to learn how to drive manual on. It was a 2005 Mini Cooper S, and after fixing it up a bit, I was absolutely shocked at how well the car drives and how much fun it is to drive. It is the most underrated car in existence. I have had several much more powerful cars since then but almost nothing comes close to the sheer driving pleasure delivered by the Mini. I couldn't agree with you more that you don't need much more than a lightweight, go-kart like car to have fun on spirited drives. Get a Mini !
It reminds me of how much I enjoyed driving my early cars, a 1976 VW Rabbit, a 1984 Plymouth Colt and a 1990 Honda Civic Wagon. All of them were light and had excellent controls allowing me to feel what the wheels were doing. I've had faster cars since then but I doubt I've enjoyed them as much. Partly because they are heavier and more isolated and probably because I'm older and much less bold than I was in the 80s and 90s.
I wish they weren't so damn expensive in North America.
I know its insane. I stick with the other British stuff because of it
@@bartscarstories It's why I drive Spridgets.
Expensive here in the UK as well!
@@hughwalker5628 A running and driving Mini is a minimum $12k ordeal over here. Rusty shitboxes are like $5k.
7:50 When it first came out, it was badged as either an Austin Se7en or Morris Mini Minor. It was not named the Austin Mini Minor.
Btw, Enzo Ferrari loved the Mini and would drive his around the hills near Maranello when he wanted a bit of relaxation/freedom.
The predecessor was the MORRIS Minor hence Mini Minor. Austin's small car was the Seven so continuation of name recognition.
I believe Cadillac was the first with the starter. I am extremely surprised that even though this was the sixties, this car wasn't considered unsafe.
Well, it was safer than a motorcycle and possibly safer than a number of small rear-engined cars, since the transverse engine allows more "crush space", even under a short hood. Still, it would be no match for a big American car, which would be no match for a tractor-trailer (eg. "articulated-lorry", look up the definition of "Mansfield bar" for an example of that matchup). The point is that these things are relative and people chose the risks they are willing to take against the rewards for said risks. If gasoline were $10 per gallon, a lot more people would be taking such risks here in the USA.
Owned a Ford Prefect, Bug Eye and a Mini and the Mini was fun to drive. Today I own a Smart, it has a three cylinder engine, so just as many as worked in the Mini (which had a spare cylinder most of the time). The Smart is as much fun to drive and also has a working radio and air conditioning. The Mini's A/C was done through a hole in the dash (as far as I could tell). And the Smart (now 15 years old) doesn't rust. But the Mini was fun, especially when all four cylinders worked and it was so easy to push start. Also, considering I had to reverse the seat mounts in order to fit in the Mini, it too was a two seater with a rear parcel bench....🤣🤣
I love my now 20 years old, supercharged 2004 JCW MINI Cooper S. I'm never going to sell it as it's my ever increasing in value, pride and joy.
I was lent Paddy Hopkirk's 1967 works cooper s that competed at the Bathurst 500 when the friend who owned it wanted to borrow my van to move his sisters furniture, it had the British spec racing engine and, if you backed off down hill would instantly oil up the plugs as it didn't have valve guide oil seals. It was fun to drive and was quick when it was firing on all 4 cylinders but it was a pain in the bum in traffic, by the same token, my brother inlaws 1293 S was a hoot, and would be at anything around a large roundabout, or through the Twisties.
My first was an850cc from 1971,had 4 others,all BL. Grin factor 11.
It is AMAZING how Alec Issigonis was able to do so much with so little.
Back when the Mini and the Beetle were an everybody's car and not the rich person's play thing that they became.
My sister had a Cooper S in 1977, widened and lowered. It was such a trick car in the day. Unfortunately an Alfa hit me at a crossing from the right, the chassis was bent and couldn't be fixed anymore...that was a very sad day, it was such a nice car.
BEST VIDEO AS USUAL...
Do keep up the good work though...
😊😊😊🎉🎉🎉😂😂😂
Ah what a blast. I’ve owned 2 minis, a 1100 with mild mods and an all out modded 1275 Cooper S, most fun I’ve ever had on 4 wheels, the later was a very quick point to point car.
It’s hard to convey how sublime the handling of a well sorted Mini actually is, they are definitely one of the motoring worlds great experiences.
Back in the 70's I had a Cooperized Mini Woodie Wagon.....fast, fun, very responsive...and...the looks I would get when parking, then extracting my six foot six length out of the car, followed by a large German Shepherd...
BRUCE AITKEN MY UNCLE HAD A MINI IN THE 60's IN SYDNEY. HE WOULD LET ME DRIVE IT AROUND MY GRANDPARENTS BACK YARD WHEN I WAS 12yrs OLD. LOADS OF FUN.
Front end swap were so easy! Un bolt the sub frame, lift the car up, wheel in another, lower the car, bolt the sub frame back! My '64 took a minor 1100 in less than a six pack! This happened for me in the mid seventies
I owned an 2009 Mini Cooper S and I loved it. Most people don’t consider it a sports car because it isn’t RWD or coupe shaped. But I still think it’s a sporty car. Doesn’t need to be insanely fast. Just quick and handles like it’s on rails. That’s what a sports car is. 0-60 doesn’t matter when your speed limit is usually 40 mph to 70 mph. Just enjoying the drive is what matters.
Who can forget the minis iconic appearance in the film 'The Italian Job.' The original Michael Caine version obviously!
I've owned three; a 65 shooting brake, a 77 and a79. I truly miss them, simple basic fun cars.
I remember, the Mini stunned the world in the 60s. Especially in US with all our big Detroit V8 cars. The Mini was in it's own class.
Would love to hear about how the mini racers approached drifting and cornering that allowed them to dominate
my 1967 Mini Traveler (station wagon) sends regards from Canada
My 06 Scion XA, with its Magnflow exhaust, is a hoot to rip around in. Won't set any speed records, but the sound and handling are outstanding.
XLNT video. Correct on all points, well done!
All of these people’s cars can probably survive a nuclear bomb and still function
Great video! Issigonis (it ends with an 's'!) always prioritized practicality over styling, and Moulton ride over handling. But between them they accidentally made one of the best looking and handling cars of all time, that outlived two generations of would-be "replacements", and whose brand outlived the entire British car industry and is still going strong. I bought mine over 30y ago, drove it tens of thousands of miles, and won a few rallies in it. What other first car with affordable insurance can provide that kind of experience?
The original marketing names for the BMC Mini were "Morris Mini Minor" (because it's a bit like a Minor (until 1959 the smallest Morris car) and Austin Se7en, in homage to the original Austin 7. The Austin variant did not initially carry the name "Mini". Alec Issigonis ('S' not silent as others have noted because it's a Greek name) previously worked for Morris (Nuffield Group) and not Austin prior to the Austin-Morris merger which created BMC. His previous big project was the Minor, which people seem to forget was very a advanced machine for it's 1948 launch year, and would later become Britain's first million selling car in 1960 or 61, after the introduction of the Mini. The Minor was still a 'modern' car in the late 50s having been updated to become the "Minor 1000" in 1956.
Three little niggles.........the mans name was Sir Alec IssigoNIS not Issigoni, plus when the car was first launched it was badged as the Austin SEVEN... and the Morris "mini" Minor not the other way round especially given that the Minor was a Morris product it behove them to lable its smaller sibling as a MINI Minor, oh and when was a Morris Minor EVER a FRONT WHEEL DRIVE I must have missed that one ???.
Ive owned nearly a dozen Minis during over fifty years of driving but the best one I ever owned had to be my longman long throw crank mk2 1490 Cooper S, Jack Knight straight cut close ratio box, weber DCOE carb and 205 x10 Klebers on minilights which when we put it on our rolling road dyno at the Garage I was working in back then was putting out 132 horse at the wheels ( correlating to about 140 at the flywheel) in the early seventies, by God that car used to give Porches nightmares in its day. on one particular occasion I blew off a Sunbeam Tiger
( Sunbeam Alpine with an American small block V8) away from some traffic lights and it incensed him that much he chased me for about two miles but couldnt get close to me, just to rub it in we got to a largish roundabout and he tried staying with me when I didnt back off he than got it all crossed up and sideways half way around..........I just continued ALL the way round the roundabout with the inside wheel billowing smoke as it wheel spun and then came up behind HIM, he slowed right down then and I couldnt stop myself giving him a big sh"t eating grin, he then started wanting me to pull over and demanded to know what was under the bonnet..................I replied "oh just a cooking mini 1000" but for some reason he refused to accept that lol. by the way the car had been built as a clubmans rally car.
Great video as always.
If you ever need a new subject for a video, please take a look at the french cat company matra
My Father hsd a mini. It was like driving a gocart. I owned a 1275 Metro. Great fun to drive fast. Stuck to the road like glue.
I don't think the British businessmen were wrong about the beetle. I think if it had been bought by a foreign company it would have had a very different life than the status it achieved in German and eventually global culture.
The week links in the mini was the exhaust neck kept getting broken with the rocking of the engine, the distributor in the front getting soaked by the rain plus the 10 inch wheels the tyres wore out very quickly. People wanted a car that did not need tinkering with so more reliable cars took over.
The immortal little Minis won the Monte Carlo Rally outright in 1964 and 1965.
Then came back in 1966 and, demonstrating their giant-killing ability, took the first three places!
However, this was such an affront (and humiliation) for the French organisers that they promptly insisted on practically disassembling the cars down to the last nut & bolt, to be able to find something (anything) they could disqualify them on.
Eventually, they pronounced the headlamp bulb filaments illegal, and duly disqualified them.
Then they disqualified the next finisher too, a (British) Lotus Cortina.
Which allowed them to award the win to the 5th place car, which just happened to be a Citroen.
So, the Minis came back in 1967, and won outright once again - a very sweet victory indeed.
Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold…
Never driven a classic mini, but an Autobianchi A112 which I assume is a comparable experience: just super fun!
You never forget your first mini🚘
Here i remember the good old times, when i was playing the PC-Game "Collin McRae Rally 2", using a 60's red Mini against Rally Cars from the 90's to beat the game on the highest difficulty settings. Light weight rules.
Цікаво та пізнавально про історію автомобіля. Дякую ❤️
Growing up in the UK. I fixed many a mini and metro (the mordernised version). Hated the things. Brilliant back in the day, but compared to the R5, 205 and Golf they were slow (yes even in a corner) unreliable death traps. As for a modern grocery getter that is mad fast. Outside of the USA we have the Toyota GR Yaris and for Diy the Honda Civic, they can go 200mph or 1/4 mile in under 10 sec for $5K
dad has a 74 mini club man 100bhp really fun to drive
At 4:53 Bart says "...front wheel drive was the way to go similar to the Morris Minor". The Morris Minor was NOT a front-wheel drive car. It had the standard north-south engine layout driving the rear wheels through a drive shaft and live axle. The Mini was the first of the line with East-West motor driving the front wheels.
Describing the Mini as a sports car interesting as it was a people's car built and designed as a small affordable car and with a bit of tweaking it became a giant killer proves you didn't have to go really fast to win a rally back in the 1960s just handle extremely well