Saturday, August 14, 1999 Published at 11:19 GMT 12:19 UK
Big bash for little car
The little car that did win over the world
Little ones always get the best birthday parties.
And the Mini, the tiny British car that took the automotive world by storm 40 years ago, is no exception.
Enthusiasts from around the world have converged on Britain this week to mark the little car's 40th anniversary.
More than 2500 Mini fans are at Warwickshire's Heritage Motor Centre for an international meeting this weekend, with trade shows, exhibitions and a hotly-contested beauty pageant.
"The judges will be looking for unique features of the car, the way it's been restored, the way it's been looked after," said event manager Jane Roche.
The drivers then motor off to Silverstone's grand prix track for a big 40th anniversary bash organised by makers BMW on August 21 and 22.
Movie-goers knew that Americans drove cars as big as whales. In that post-war era, the American lifestyle represented progress.
In Britain, however, rationing was still in effect and then the Suez crisis of 1956 threatened to stem supplies of oil.
Car manufacturers smelled danger and set their design teams the task of coming up with fuel-efficient automobiles.
With petrol in short supply, the roads had already seen energy-saving bubble cars from Germany.
In just six months, he came up with a revolutionary design where the engine went in sideways, a feature which won the little car worldwide recognition.
Now, 40 years on, it is acknowledged as both a classic and a national treasure and has been copied by every small car manufacturer ever since.
The Mini is an ergonomic marvel - small on the outside but big on the inside. It handles like a racing car yet costs a fraction of the price.
"Then we got all sorts of people to sit on them - secretaries from the offices, 6ft manual workers - and we got them to indicate what space they needed in the car.
"We measured how much space would be needed to open a map, where a pocket would be needed to stow the map. It is a very ergonomic car."
As a result, more than five million of the little motors have been sold in the past four decades. There are more than 100 Mini owner clubs and countless magazines.
Despite adding modern features such as airbags and petrol injection, the Mini remains essentially the same car of 40 years ago.
Issigonis called it "wizardry on wheels", and before his death in 1988, he said: "I thought we had to do something better than the bubble cars.
"I thought we should make a very small car for the housewife that was economical to run with lots of shopping space inside which didn't need a big boot."
The result was a car in which 80% of the space was for passengers. It even had hollowed out door pockets and wicker baskets under the seat.
No overnight success
A mere 8,000 were sold its first year. It needed BMC's publicity department to give Minis away to celebrities to make the man on the street take notice.
It had however found a niche as the solution to London parking and was favoured by the fashion conscious Chelsea set.
Influential 60s fashion designer Mary Quant said of her Mini: "It was my first car and I was very proud of. It was black with black leather seats - a handbag on wheels. Flirty, fun and exciting, it went exactly with the miniskirt."
But, the Mini's real break came in 1961 when the racing car builder John Cooper built his souped-up Mini Cooper.
It was the first British car to win the European Car Championship plus the Monte Carlo Rally three times. And at a street price of £680 the Cooper was a massive hit.
One of the family
There have been 28 limited and special editions sporting a variety of exotic names from the Ritz to the Equinox. All too have had special features from leather steering wheels to velvet seats.
The car did not turn into the massive money-spinner which had been expected. It was hugely under-priced and very labour intensive - over 3,000 nuts and bolts are in one Mini and all go in manually.
In 1968, BMC became British Leyland which tried unsuccessfully to axe the Mini. Later in 1980 it brought in the hatchback Mini Metro to supplant it.
Nonetheless the Mini continues. And although its current maker Rover is considering its future, it says it will continue making it until 2000 when it launches the new design.
The new model has been described by Chris Rosamond of Autocar magazine as "a car of striding dynamics and technology to rival the mainstream supercar like the Fiat Punto".
But with the Japanese and Americans readily paying more than £20,000 for a classic Mini, it has a hard act to follow.