VotW – The Mini Cooper Story: The Original

VotW - The Mini Cooper StoryThe Mini. The giant killer. The original automotive bottle rocket. Our video this week tells the story, especially of the Cooper S. “The Mini Story: The Original, the Cooper, the Legacy” is a 20 minute look into the history of this fantastic little car.

This original Mini, of course, was designed for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Motor_CorporationBMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, the Victoria Park / Zetland British Motor Corporation (Australia) factory in Sydney, Australia, and later also in Spain (Authi), Belgium, Chile, Italy (Innocenti), Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. 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.

Issigonis’ friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini in the role of a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper. The Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper debuted in 1961.

Staff