2 cycle mini chopper11/28/2023 ![]() ![]() New MINI Coopers came with lots of features and options. The new vehicle measured two feet longer and one foot wider than the original Mini model. The car that symbolized British motoring for 40 years had come to the end of the road.īMW unveiled the new MINI Cooper concept at the Paris Auto Show. Although the Mini was a rare sight in the United States, in Europe it helped define designs for both cars and city streets. A panel of 100 automotive industry experts voted the Mini as the most significant car of the century. By that time, more than 5,000,000 Minis had been produced and sold. In 2000 production on the original Mini model came to an end. BMW recognized the impact of the original Mini and planned to completely re-invent it. In 1994, BMW purchased The Rover Group, the company that was then producing the Mini. This was partly due to a great basic design, and partly due to the simple fact that BMC (and the succession of other companies it became) had other things to worry about than the design of a little car. Small mechanical adjustments were made from one year to the next, but in general, a Mini from 1959 would look practically identical to one made in 1999. Despite the changes in corporate structure, the Mini didn't change much at all. Even the British government operated the company for several years - at a considerable loss. All rights reservedĪs years passed, BMC's corporate structure changed many times. Photo © 2002 BMW AG, München, Deutschland. He called his new turbocharged design the Mini Cooper S. In 1963, Cooper made further alterations to the engine and body design. The result of the partnership was the first Mini Cooper, a car that won multiple races, including three victories at the Monte Carlo Rally. Cooper decided to go over Issigonis' head and received the blessings of BMC. Issigonis objected he felt that the Mini should be thought of as the everyman car. In 1961, a race car builder named John Cooper approached BMC with the intention of altering a Mini into a viable race car. In August 1959, the first Minis rolled off the production lines and into the possession of British motorists. Leonard Lord looked at the second generation of prototypes and decided to move the Mini into mass production. The small car also featured a center-mounted speedometer, small wheels (positioned at the corners of the vehicle, giving it a "bulldog stance") and very few bells and whistles. You might even think it was larger on the inside than the outside. The space-saving engine layout allowed Issigonis to create a passenger compartment with more room than you'd expect for such a small car. The front wheels drove the car and the additional weight in the front of the Mini gave the car more stability when taking tight turns. In addition, he mounted the engine in the front of the car, near the front two wheels. Issigonis decided to create a transverse mounted engine, which means he designed the car so that the engine was mounted sideways. The secret to the Mini's size was a revolutionary engine layout. Issigonis and his team moved from concept to production in two years, an amazingly short development cycle for an entirely new concept car. We'll look at how the MINI has evolved in a series of small changes and a couple of big transformations and we'll examine the culture that has sprung up around the car. In this article, we'll examine the history of this remarkable little machine. Then, in 2000, the Mini transformed into the MINI Cooper, a car that promises to follow in the footsteps of the original Mini. Like the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mini's design barely changed at all in the 40 years it was in production. The fans shrug it off they know they're backing the right horse. These cars can gather a loyal band of supporters and enthusiasts whose passion for the model might seem, to an outsider, to go well beyond the merits of the car itself. Occasionally, a car model design comes along that somehow remains relatively untouched for decades. In the automotive world, manufacturers tend to develop a car model and then tweak it, re-inventing it every few years to reflect the changing needs and desires of the consumer market. ![]()
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