23 replies to this topic

[Laurie]

 FF92D091-BF66-4A48-9FE6-A6B7925E42FE.jpeg   34.37K   12 downloads

Edited by Laurie, 27 September 2017 - 12:30 PM.

[Mini Waco]

Funny...

[panky]

Shame how the offspring turned out

[DomCr250]

Just been to MINI Coventry and they have a 1964 mini in the showroom - the sales guy said almost everybody who goes into the showroom looks at it.  I thought it was a nice touch, at least they are acknowledging the heritage.

[Laurie]

Just been to MINI Coventry and they have a 1964 mini in the showroom - the sales guy said almost everybody who goes into the showroom looks at it.  I thought it was a nice touch, at least they are acknowledging the heritage.

The new BMW / MINI / MOTORAD showroom in Cheltenham has a loop playing videos of classic minis racing behind the service counter, despite the service counter being for BMWs as well.

As you said its good theyre acknowledging the heritage x

Edited by Laurie, 27 September 2017 - 03:20 PM.

[CityEPete]

They've made better use of their heritage than rover and co did, I can't see why anyone should knock them for doing what rover should have done thirty years ago.

[MIGLIACARS]

No I disagree with the above.

Rover exhausted the mini right till the very end.

no silly engine changes with the k series engine. etc etc.

 

The mini ended as a mini pretty much as it started.

 

If rover would had changed it dramatically it would have gone on like the escort or fiesta, which at the end of its life had no look of the original one.   we should be proud of the incompetence of the rover bosses.

[mab01uk]

These are the latest videos released by BMW MINI with Mike Cooper telling the story of his father John Cooper and his part in the classic Mini's heritage.

 

MINI | Sky Documentary | John Cooper - "Genius & Works"

 

The Faith of a Few - John Cooper Works

 

Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2017

Edited by mab01uk, 27 September 2017 - 06:55 PM.

[g111mds]

Got a foot in both camps as I've got a Mini GP1 in the garage and also a Cooper SD for daily duties. Always been a fan of the classic mini, but like the BMW Mini too :)

[CityEPete]

No I disagree with the above.
Rover exhausted the mini right till the very end.
no silly engine changes with the k series engine. etc etc.
 
The mini ended as a mini pretty much as it started.
 
If rover would had changed it dramatically it would have gone on like the escort or fiesta, which at the end of its life had no look of the original one.   we should be proud of the incompetence of the rover bosses.

But now we haven't got rover or Austin Morris etc at all.

[mab01uk]

1967 - Moving on to a new Mini…Sheer Genius – 9X: the New Mini that never was.....

 

In 1967 following the development of the BMC 1100 and 1800 models, as well as his initial work on the Maxi, Issigonis turned his attention back to the Mini, and how best to replace it. Alec Issigonis took the rather unprecedented step of requesting that George Harriman allow him to step down from his role as head of new car development, so that he could concentrate his efforts on creating a replacement for the Mini. Soon, Issigonis gathered around him a small team of hand-picked engineers – as he had done previously with the Mini – in order help him with his creation. This was the way that the great man preferred to work, and he figured that if he were surrounded by people he truly trusted, the creation process would be greatly accelerated. And it was so: by the start of 1968 and very much in the background compared with wider company events, the wonderful little car began to take shape.

 

Working to the strictest set of goals, Issigonis managed to create a totally new car that owed absolutely nothing to its predecessor. What emerged was nothing if not radical and amazingly, the 9X, as it was called, managed not only to be shorter than the Mini (9ft 8in, as opposed to 10ft and a quarter inch), but also lighter. Because of some very smart thinking, the 9X was also somewhat roomier than the Mini.

Even today, these facts seem almost impossible to believe, but the one prototype produced, which can still be seen at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon is a testament to the Issigonis mastery of small car design. Interior packaging was superior to the Mini, and offered more front and rear head and legroom, although, the driving position was similarly compromised.

 

So, why was this intriguing car never built?

Following the creation of British Leyland, a new management team took control of Austin-Morris. In the eyes of Donald Stokes, many of the financial problems encountered by the entire corporation lay at the door of Austin-Morris. As a result, ex-Triumph man George Turnbull was drafted in to run Austin-Morris, with the intention of improving profitability and efficiency.

As it was, the 9X, as brilliant as it was, would need a great deal of investment to get into production (new engine, new body, new platform), and the original Mini was selling very well thank-you-very-much. Also, it was seen that the main priority lay in the middle-market (where sales of the 1800 were nowhere near acceptable) and so the 9X was shelved.

Management did continually review the car, but no matter how impressed they were when they came away from one of Issigonis’ presentations, the decision to put it into production was never made. Reportedly George Turnbull and John Barber both drove the 9X, both loved it, but would walk away…

 

Was it right to can the 9X Mini replacement?

The question remains – was the decision to can the 9X the correct one to make? Viewed from an enthusiast’s perspective, obviously not. The car was a quantum leap over the Mini – it offered so much in the way of innovation, that it would have perhaps made the larger superminis that appeared during the 1970s seem too big to be relevant. The style was largely right, although it would have undoubtedly needed a front-end facelift to be truly saleable.

From a business perspective, British Leyland could ill-afford the 9X, when their small car sales were so healthy, whilst their larger cars were suffering so much. The 9X could have been developed into a 'range' to replace both the Mini and 1100/1300, (the solution that many years later BMW would choose) but because of its cost and BLMC’s lack of funds, it needed to be prioritised…. and that seems to be what happened.

Although the 9X programme was never adopted for production, it did not stop Alec Issigonis working on the project in his new office in Longbridge – as he was now working as a consultant for BL. Throughout the Seventies, and into the Eighties, Issigonis would regularly contact BL management, requesting another look at his constantly evolving 9X project. As can be seen in the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, the final incarnation of the 9X project was an intriguing six-cylinder engined MG Metro.

Sadly, the call from upstairs never came – and, in 1987, Graham Day terminated Sir Alec’s contract.

The Full Story here:-

https://www.aronline...oncepts-bmc-9x/

 

Alec Issigonis wrote to BL boss Donald Stokes 18th April 1968:
"The greatest need in combating increased production costs over the year is the development of a new engine for a small car of the Mini type. The present A-Series engine offered a quick way of getting the car into production in 1959, but has now outlived its purpose both for weight and cost compared with European competition."

However these proposals were kicked into the long grass by British Leyland who were not interested in technical excellence or innovation at a time when they wanted Austin-Morris to return to financial stability and profit.......

The Alec Issigonis 9X engine from 1968

Edited by mab01uk, 27 September 2017 - 10:26 PM.

[Steve220]

I love both to be honest. I've not joined 'hate the Bini' bandwagon, embraced it, test drove them, ordering one next year!

[Laurie]

Im a foot in both pies sort
Ive got two Benny (see avatar), and Dave; a pepper white (same as the OEW Benny is currently) diesel convertible.

Ones a daily drive the other is a hobby toy, I wouldnt be without either x

[CityEPete]

I had a Cooper Clubman, loved it and would have bought another but the replacement isn't for me.

Edited by CityEPete, 28 September 2017 - 10:47 AM.

[MIGLIACARS]

My dad lent me his mini cooper 2006 for a day. what a horrible drive. I think he was hoping for some praise for it from me.

it was sold a few months after the purchase. it was then he admitted it was for a modern <ish> car. awful.