Sir Alec Issigonis, born in 1906, was a talented engineer and designer who worked for Humber, Austin and, from 1936, Morris Motors Ltd. There he worked on a number of cars, including the Morris Minor. In 1955 he was recruited by the British Motor Corporation to design a family of new models.

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The smaller of these took priority when fuel rationing was introduced during the Suez Crisis, and its development was accelerated. In August 1959, it was launched first as the Morris Mini Minor and later the Austin Seven. It wasn't until 1961 that it was renamed the Austin Mini, and 1969 that Mini became a marque in its own right.

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In between, the Mini underwent numerous changes of name and engine, and detail upgrades were made to its exterior design. Different body styles were created too, but its fundamental character and layout remained unchanged.  It was the “standard” two-door model that had the most timeless appeal.  Indeed, the final model that rolled off the production line in 2000 didn’t really look that different from the original 1959 car.

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In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroën DS and Volkswagen Beetle!

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The Mini was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, but also inSydney, Australia, Spain, Belgium, Chile, Italy, Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

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The Mini Mark I had three major UK updates – the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations, including an estate car, a pick-up truck, a van and the Mini Moke – a jeep-like buggy.

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The performance versions, the Mini Cooper and Coocc-BY-SA GFDLper "S," were successful as rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967.

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In 1966, the first-placed Mini was disqualified after the finish, under a controversial decision that the car's headlights were against the rules!

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BMW acquired the Rover Group (formerly British Leyland) in 1994, and sold the greater part of it in 2000, but retained the rights to build cars using the MINI name.

Source: Wikipedia

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