The Mini is a two-door compact city car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original Mini is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. Its space-saving transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers. 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. The front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine layout of the Mini was copied for other "supermini" designs including the Honda N360 (1967), Nissan Cherry (1970), and Fiat 127 (1971). The layout was also adapted for larger subcompact designs.

This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge plant in England located next to BMC's headquarters and at the former Morris Motors plant at Cowley near Oxford, in the Victoria Park/Zetland British Motor Corporation (Australia) factory in Sydney, Australia, and later also in Spain (Authi), Belgium, Italy (Innocenti) Chile, Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia (IMV).

The performance versions, the Mini Cooper and Cooper "S", were successful as both race and rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967. In 1966, the first-placed Mini (along with nine other cars) was disqualified after the finish, under a controversial decision that the car's headlights were against the rules.

On its introduction in August 1959, the Mini was marketed under the Austin and Morris names, as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The Austin Seven was renamed Austin Mini in January 1962 and Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969. In 1980, it once again became the Austin Mini, and in 1988, just "Mini" (although the "Rover" badge was applied on some models exported to Japan).

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. Retrospectively, the car is known as the "Classic Mini" to distinguish it from the modern, BMW influenced MINI family of vehicles produced since 2000.

A total of 5,387,862 cars had been manufactured, nearly 1.6 million of which were sold in the UK, although the majority of these were sold at least 20 years before the Mini's demise, meaning that the majority of those sold had been scrapped before the end of the original Mini's production life.

morris mini traveller and austin mini countryman

These models were two-door estate cars with double "barn-style" rear doors. Both were built on a slightly longer chassis of 2.1 m compared to 2.038 m for the saloon. From the start of production both models had a decorative, non-structural, ash wood trim on the rear body, in the style of a pre-war shooting-brake. This gave the car a similar appearance to the larger Morris Minor Traveller and gave rise to these cars simply being called a woodie.

In October 1967 the Mk2 version was launched with the same changes as the saloon.

Approximately 108,000 Austin Mini Countrymans and 99,000 Morris Mini Travellers were built. Variations of this model were also built in South Africa, by Innocenti in Italy and by Industria de Montagem de Automoveis in Portugal.

moke

A utility vehicle intended for the British Army was built with a twin-engined 4-wheel-drive. Although the 4WD Moke could climb a 1:2 gradient, it lacked enough ground clearance for military use. The single-engined front-wheel-drive Moke enjoyed some popularity in civilian production. About 50,000 were made in total, from 1964 to 1968 in the UK, 1966 to 1982 in Australia and 1983 to 1989 in Portugal. The Moke was marketed in holiday locations such as Barbados and Macau, where they were also used as police cars. "Moke" is archaic British slang for a donkey.

clubman

In 1969, under the ownership of British Leyland, the Mini was given a facelift by stylist Roy Haynes, who had previously worked for Ford. The restyled version was called the Mini Clubman, and has a squarer frontal look, using the same indicator/sidelight assembly as the Austin Maxi. The Mini Clubman was intended to replace the upmarket Riley and Wolseley versions. At launch all Clubmans were powered by the 998cc engine as already used in the Mini 1000, with 38bhp. A more sporting model with the 1275cc single-carburettor 59bhp engine, dubbed the 1275 GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc Mini Cooper (the 1,275 cc Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275 GT for two years until 1971). The Clubman Estate replaced the Countryman and Traveller. The original "round-front" design Mini remained in production alongside the Clubman and 1275 GT in 850 and 1000 forms as lower-priced models in the new Mini range.

mini hatch

The Mini Hatch (stylised as MINI hatch, or MINI Hardtop in the US), also known as Mini Cooper, Mini One, or simply the Mini, is a three-door or five door hatchback first introduced in early 2000 by German automotive company BMW. The second generation was launched in 2006 and the third in 2014. A convertible version was introduced in 2004, with the second generation following in 2008.

The Mini concept was originally unveiled at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 1997, whilst the Mini marque was still a part of the Rover Group, owned by BMW, where it was intended to replace both the classic Mini and the larger Metro/100-series. The Mini Hatch was the first model launched by BMW under the new MINI marque that was created following BMW's divestment of the Rover Group in 2000, and the classic Mini's discontinuation that same year. The new model built by BMW is technically unrelated to the former.

The Mini is produced in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England, at Plant Oxford, and, since July 2014, at VDL Nedcar (the former DAF/Volvo plant) in Born, Netherlands. The Mini convertible is, since 2015, only assembled in The Netherlands.

Between 2001 and 2012, 2.5 million Minis have been sold.

In addition to all-electric models, Mini also offers models such as the new MINI Cooper with two petrol engine. With an output of 204 hp, the four-cylinder engine of the MINI Cooper S accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds with a maximum torque of 300 Nm. The 156 hp three-cylinder engine of the MINI Cooper C delivers a torque of 230 Nm and accelerates the vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds.

First generation R50/52/53; 2000-2006              Second generation R56/57; 2006-2013                  Third generation F55/56/57; 2013-2024           Fourth generation: 2024-present

countryman

The Mini Countryman, also called Mini Crossover in Japan, is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV, the first vehicle of this type to be launched by BMW under the Mini marque. It was launched in 2010 and received a facelift in 2014. The second generation vehicle was released in 2017.

The design of Mini's first five-door crossover echoed that of the Mini Crossover Concept. The ALL4 all-wheel-drive powertrain includes electro-hydraulic differential, positioned directly on the transmission's final drive, to vary the power distribution from front to rear. Under normal driving conditions, up to 50 percent of the engine's power goes to the rear wheels.

The second generation Countryman was introduced at the LA Auto Show in November 2016. The new Countryman is 203 millimetres  longer than the first generation, and 25-millimetre  wider. The Cooper Countryman will be powered by a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, while the Cooper S will use a new 2.0-litre turbo I4.

u25  2024-present

mini cooper

The fifth generation Mini Cooper has been revealed, and this electric car gets a raft of new technology and improved range over its predecessor. This is the all-new Mini Cooper Electric, and it’s the fifth iteration of the retro-inspired hatchback. It gets refreshed styling, a totally revamped interior and improved range over the outgoing car.

There are two versions of the new Mini Cooper Electric, called the E and the SE. The E uses a 40.7kWh battery, while the SE has a 54.2kWh battery. For comparison, the outgoing Mini Electric uses a 33kWh pack. Both versions have a single motor powering the front wheels. The Mini Cooper E has 184hp and will do 0-100km/h in 7.4 seconds, while the SE has 218hp and completes the sprint in 6.8 seconds.

The new 2024 MINI Cooper Electric will be complemented by a range of petrol-powered and all-new MINI 3-door, MINI 5-door and MINI Convertible models. These will still be made at the firm’s famous Oxford factory in the UK. They will share a modern new look, set to be previewed by the 2024 MINI Cooper Electric. 

In addition to all-electric models, Mini also offers models such as the new MINI Cooper with two petrol engine. With an output of 204 hp, the four-cylinder engine of the MINI Cooper S accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds with a maximum torque of 300 Nm. The 156 hp three-cylinder engine of the MINI Cooper C delivers a torque of 230 Nm and accelerates the vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds.