Top 10 MINIs

The MINI might be physically small but it is a giant in the automotive world and a cultural icon.

It is undeniably one of the most recognised vehicles of all time, and six decades ago pioneered new techniques in design and packaging that form the basis for most modern cars.

Since then more than 10 million examples have been built and although BMW has owned the MINI brand since 1994, complete body shells continue to be made for every previous Mini model by British Motor Heritage, ensuring the classic shape remains on our roads for a long time to come.

This month, the MINI celebrates its 60th anniversary so, during the next week we’ll reveal 60 great facts about the diminutive four-wheeled legend, starting with -- of course -- the 10 most significant models in its history.

The Mk1 Mini set the template for almost every modern small car on the road.

Designed by Alec Issigonis and launched on August 26, 1959 by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) as the Morris MINI-Minor and the Austin Seven, the diminutive icon is lauded for democratising the space-saving transverse-mounted, front-drive engine layout that underpins the majority of what we drive today.

Andre Citroen’s Traction Avant might have pioneered the mass-market front-wheel drive concept in 1934, but the Mini perfected it with a transverse engine that liberated 80 per cent of the floorpan for occupants and cargo.

The Mini became the most unlikely motor racing hero when John Cooper -- the man behind the iconic Cooper Formula 1 team that took Jack Brabham to his first world championship in 1959 -- convinced Alec Issigonis to develop a hotted-up version for rallying.

First launched in 1963, the Mini Cooper S was a giant-killer wherever it competed, winning 32 international rallies -- including the coveted Monte Carlo Rally no less than three times -- while also chalking up touring car championships in Australia, Britain and Europe, and dominating the 1966 Gallaher 500 at Bathurst with the first nine positions.

The open-air Mini Moke was originally created for the British Army but instead became a hugely popular summer fun machine in warmer British colonies, including Australia and numerous Caribbean islands.

It had a unique twin-motor and four-wheel drive configuration, but was disregarded by the military because of its lack of ground clearance.

Following BMW’s acquisition of the Rover Group in 1994, the German brand set about re-inventing the iconic MINI brand -- and therefore creating a separate small car division that wouldn’t erode its own (at the time) rear-drive-only philosophy.

Designed by Frank Stephenson -- who had previously penned the legendary Ford Escort RS Cosworth and would later lead Ferrari and Maserati rebirth the iconic Fiat 500 and then head-up McLaren’s new road car division -- the born-again MINI hatch was launched in 2001.

While significantly larger, it successfully carried the hallmark design and dynamic elements of the original MINI into the modern era.

Hardly ‘mini’ at all, the Countryman SUV, which took its name from a wood-panelled four-seat version of the original long-wheelbase Mini van from 1960 -- expanded the new MINI range beyond the traditional small-car segment and into the booming SUV scene when it was first revealed in 2010.

The Countryman was also the first MINI model not to be built in the UK, but produced by Magna Steyr in Austria alongside the BMW X1, with which it shares its basic platform.

The hottest little hot hatch is undoubtedly (to give it its full name) the MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works GP; a hard-core, lightweight limited-edition that takes inspiration from performance car icons such as the Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari 430 Challenge.

Devoid of rear seats and with a larger turbo on its engine contributing to increased power and torque outputs of 160kW and 280Nm, the GP edition also has six-piston Brembo front brakes, adjustable coil-over suspension, semi-slick tyres and lighter carbon-fibre panels.

Only 2000 were built between 2012 and 2014, with a second-generation GP edition set to raise the temperature even higher in 2020.

A testament to how far ahead of its time the original Mini was, it remained in production for more than 40 years.

While its popularity in the UK dipped in the 1980s against more practical and modern small cars -- including BMC’s own Austin Metro, as well as new arrivals like the Ford Fiesta, Renault 5 and Volkswagen Polo -- a series of fashionable limited-editions and the revival of the Cooper S in 1989 rekindled interest and sales increased.

The Mini was unusually popular in Japan in the 1990s, and as such received a number of upgrades including -- by the end of production in October 2000 -- a fuel-injected motor and driver’s airbag.

Minis have has always prioritised economy -- whether it’s space or fuel consumption -- and nothing epitomises that better than the MINI E, which played a key role in BMW’s development of electric car technology.

First introduced in 2009 through public leasing field trials in Los Angeles, New York, London and Munich, it featured a 150kW electric motor and a 35kWh lithium-ion battery that provided a driving range of approximately 250km.

A decade later, MINI has confirmed that a full production MINI E will launch in 2020.

The MINI proved to be more than just an affordable and economical small car for the masses when it also became a blue-collar hero and family wagon with the introduction of the long-wheelbase van, pick-up and estate variants in 1960.

With an extra 700mm between the axles and barn doors at the back, the little van (and the baby ute) could carry up to 250kg in the back while the Morris Traveller and Austin Countryman featured rear seats, full glass windows and, uniquely, ash wood trim on the rear bodywork.

Building on its fashionable status and the popularity of drop-top BMW’s throughout history, it was inevitable that, under the stewardship of the German brand, MINI would go topless.

Although it’s now called a Convertible – in line with BMW nomenclature -- the Cabrio was the first all-new MINI variant introduced after the born-again hatch when it was released in 2004 and remains a mainstay of the brand to this day.