Top 10 things you didn't know about MINI

The MINI might be small and simple, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had a colourful history. Here’s ten quirky facts you might not have known about MINI.

The original Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century behind the Ford Model T, the European car of the century by Global Automotive Elections Foundation in 1999, and Car of the Century by respected British motoring magazine Autocar in 1995.

While the Mini is synonymous with being built in the UK, it has been produced in more than 15 other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Yugoslavia, Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela and, more recently, in Austria and China.

BMW paid the equivalent of $1.35 billion for the Rover Group in 1994 from British Aerospace and Honda, which owned it at the time.

While that was a huge chunk of change back then, it sold Land Rover to Ford for $2.9 billion just six years later and offloaded the remainder of the group -- essentially Rover and MG -- to a consortium for just 10 pounds.

The latter two brands are now owned and have been revived by China’s biggest car-making group, SAIC.

Bernd Pischetstrieder, Chairman of the Board of BMW in 1994 when the German brand acquired the Rover Group, is a first cousin once removed of MINI designer Alec Issigonis.

The first Mini was created under the project name ADO15, which is an acronym for Amalgamated Drawing Office 15 -- indicating it was the 15th project designed by the British Motor Corporation following the merger of Austin and Morris to form BMC in 1952.

Issigonis had initially specified tiny 8.0-inch wheels and tyres for the Mini, but Dunlop rejected the proposal and a compromise was proposed for 10-inch tyres.

The storage bins in each door were designed to carry the ingredients of Issigonis’ favourite drink, a dry Martini, with a bottle of Vermouth in one door and a bottle of Gordon’s Gin in the other.

The original Mini’s panels were seam welded on the outside and feature door hinges on the exterior to maximise interior space.

The last original Mini was built on October 4, 2000 (a red Cooper Sport) and was presented to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust. A total of 5,387,862 were built between 1959 and 2000, making it the most popular British-built car in history.

The highest price paid at auction for a Mini is $180,000 in 2007 for an original works-prepared Mini Cooper S that won the 1965 RAC Rally in the UK with Rauno Altonen behind the wheel.