MINI, For 20 Years It’s Been The Premium Segment Small Car of Choice
It has been coming, but the new MINI is now the old MINI at 20 years old. It might not seem that way, but it was in September 2000 where the modern MINI was launched at the Paris Motor Show.
This was the beginning of a successful relaunch of the car, which has become a brand in its own right. As a part of British heritage this was a significant step. the first time this was done was oddly in Paris, but the Paris show, the Mondial de automobile, is an important event in the automotive calendar.
Now under the BMW group the MINI has become a premium small car and has also sold really well. This is for good reason, the original R50 was a good car.
The thing is it wasn’t all BMW doing this. No, Rover started it in 1993, a whole year before BMW arrived on the scene. A design team at Rover led by Gordon Sked put forward a proposal for a new MINI.
Replacing the MINI was going to be a difficult task, so conventional thinking had to go out of the window. The team was instructed to be adventurous and not constrained by current thinking.
The CEO of BMW and the architect of the BMW-Rover deal, Bernd Pischetsrieder was very much aware of the value of the MINI brand. He was happy to let Sked’s team at Canley continue develop the new car. Bern made things clear that the British teams would be in charge of British projects. Independence from Munich was assured. Codenamed R69, the MINI project was given full backing.
However, BMW were interested in the design of the car and started to come up with proposals of their own. After all, they wanted the same thing, a successful replacement. Except for the main difference in that Rover were putting together a 10 foot long cheap car, whilst BMW wanted more of a premium offering.
In the autumn of 1997, selected journalists were allowed to have the first look at the new MINI 2000 study. This generated the interest in the car, something exciting was happening. Short overhangs, round headlamps and hexagonal radiator grille, were typical MINI trademarks. The modern MINI needed to be unique, offer space for four people and their luggage, provide excellent handling and ride characteristics. Just as the original had done.
Project handling went backwards and forwards between Munich and Longbridge. The saga ending with BMW finishing off the project and building the car in Cowley, now BMW Oxford.
Most people see the BMW MINI as a product of the machine in Munich. But that would be hugely unfair on all of the engineers at Rover who designed and developed the car over the years. With little more that some guidelines on suspension to start with, they did a lot of work.
The resulting collaboration was a really decent product. With the newly developed BMW-Chrysler engine too, the car was an instant hit. Great performance, handling and quality. They sold loads.
In parallel with the world premiere, national and international websites were launched, and more than 100,000 potential customers had registered their interest.
The MINI was the first premium vehicle in its class. Encompassing fun and premium build quality, safety features and a huge amount of range diversity.
The MINI went on sale in the UK on the 7th July 2001 and Germany two months later. A weekend shift was needed at the plant to keep up with the demand. The new MINI being quite the hit in Japan too, where the original is a cult classic. The 2nd of March 2002 launch date there was chosen as this is pronounced “MI-NI” in Japanese. The it was the turn of the USA, on the 22nd March where dealers had already secured orders for 22,000 cars.
What is considered the brand ambassador from the initial phase of the production rolled off the assembly line in October 2001, six months after the launch at the plant in Oxford.
Three previous owners already had already experienced loads of driving fun as they drove some 175,000 kilometres. Like many MINIs, it has a name. This one was known as Sunny, obviously a nod to its paint finish in Liquid Yellow, making it something of a rarity. In the first year of sales, only one in every fifteen MINIs in Germany were supplied in this colour. the addition of the roof and mirror caps in black even rarer.
The new mini of the second generation enthralled drivers around the world with its agile handling. Right up to the present day, “Sunny” leaves absolutely no doubt that the MINI has been designed for athletic driving and extreme cornering.
The BMW-Chrysler engine puts out 85 kW, or 115hp. This provides decent acceleration, some 20 years ago this impressed John Cooper. “The MINI Cooper puts a smile on your face,” he commented after his first test drive in the model once again named after him.
The design ethos coninued with front-wheel drive and transversely mounted four-cylinder engine at the front. The suspension now being a MacPherson front axle with equal length axle shafts. The multi-link rear axle is unique in the segment along with disk brakes all round. Anti-lock brakes, cornering brake control and electronic brake force distribution adding to the modern features. Although a large cetral spedomoter was retained there were a range of instruments above the steering wheel.
One of the key things right from the start, was a wide range of options allowing for individualising each car. This was accomplished with a wide range of features including seats and upholstery, interior trims and steering wheels. This was alongside ongside modern equipment options such as automatic climate control, heated seats, panoramic sunroof and navigation system. You could also have auxiliary headlamps, white taillights, an aerodynamic package, a range of roof trims, additional instruments and even a car phone.
Within two years of launch you could even have a Diesel engine. Another year brought a convertible. 2006 saw the third generation of the MINI introduce the Clubman estate, the Coupe and Roadster versions.
A future classic, it’s already a classic.
Many thanks to BMW for the use of the images.
Simon
If you like the original Mini then have a look at the Retromobile 2019 report and the Facebook picture gallery.