an experiment in vintage design...: Spotlight: Mini Cooper

Today's post will be all about the car of my dreams, the Mini Cooper. Long before the days of Austin Powers, I would imagine myself driving through the countryside, wind blowing through my hair, in my very own Mini Cooper S. Although the original makers of the Mini, British Motor Corperation, ceased production of the classic Mini in 2000, BMW announced the succesor to the MINI. Read on and see why the Mini is one sweet ride...

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s,and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (that allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th Century, behind the Ford Model T.

Cross section of the vintage interior

When production of the classic Mini ceased in 2000, BMW (the new owner of the brand) announced the successor to the Mini. The brand name for the new car is MINI (written in capital letters), and it is commonly called the "BMW MINI" or the "New MINI".
The new MINI is much larger than the original Mini. It is around 58 centimetres (23 in) longer, 50 centimetres (20 in) wider, 7 centimetres (2.8 in) higher, and weighs around 1,050 kg (2,315 lb) rather than 650 kg (1,433 lb). It is now classified as compact car rather than city car.
On 3 April 2007, the one millionth MINI rolled out of the Oxford Plant after six years of production, just one month longer than it took the classic Mini to reach the same total in March 1965.