All Those Minis

Do you ever just get a craving for a Mini Cooper? Do you want new or old? I think the better question should be which?

Over 40 years thanks to the British Motor Corporation, British Leyland group, Rover Group, and varying international connections; you can choose between an Austin 850, Austin Cooper, Austin Mini, Austin Partner, Austin Seven, Morris 850, Morris Mascot, Morris Mini Minor, Mini Clubman, Mini 1275 GT, Wolseley 1000, Wolseley Hornet, Innocenti Mini, Leyland Mini, or a Riley Elf.

Before General Motors was reigned king of the badge snob jobs, it seems that anything looking faintly like a Mini was worth building within the congealed corporation. Why every car couldn’t have one name like it does today befuddles me. But it’s fun to explore the sourcing connections and business decisions that stem from it.

By and large, a lot of the Minis were mechanically identical, with one or two visual characteristics to tell them apart. It ultimately came down to renaming them for different markets in other countries, so the Mini could appeal better to locals. This totally worked since the Mini Cooper went into production in 1959 and the last one rolled out of the factory in 2000.

Meanwhile, if you choose to, you could be the only person to import a classic Mini into the United States and it may be the only one with such a specific name.

-TA