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Mini History in a Nutshell

  • August 1959: Introduction of the Austin Seven, Morris Mini-Minor and Morris Mini-Minor DL 2-door saloons, all with transversely mounted 848 cc engine and 4-speed manual gearbox.
  • 1960: Introduction of the Austin Seven Countryman and Morris Mini-Minor Traveller 3-door estates, both with 848 cc engine from the saloon models.
  • 1961: Introduction of the Austin Seven Super and Morris Mini-Minor Super 2-door saloons, as well as the Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper 2-door saloon, both with larger 997 cc 55 bhp (41 kW) engine.
  • January 1962: All former Austin Seven models now officially called Austin Mini.
  • March 1962: PVC seat covers replaced cloth upholstery on entry level model ("basic Mini").
  • 1962: "De Luxe" and "Super" designations discontinued. "Super de Luxe" designation introduced. Modified instrument panel now included oil pressure and water temperature gauges.
  • March 1963: Introduction of the Austin Mini Cooper 1071 S and Morris Mini Cooper 1071 S 2-door saloons, both with larger 1071 cc 70 bhp (52 kW) engine.
  • 1964: Introduction of the Mini Moke.
  • April 1964: Introduction of the Austin and Morris Mini-Cooper 998, Mini-Cooper 970 S and Mini-Cooper 1275 S. 1275 S models have 1275 cc 76 bhp (57 kW) engine. Automatic transmission available as an option for the 998 cc Austin Mini-Cooper 998 and 1275 S. Previous Mini-Cooper 997 and 1071 S models dropped.
  • October 1965: Automatic transmission now available as an option on standard Austin/Morris Mini and Morris Mini SDL.
  • October 1967: Mark 2 range launched with facelift and upgraded equipment. Austin Mini range as follows: 850, 1000, Cooper 998 and Cooper 1275 S 2-door saloons and 1000 Countryman 3-door estate. Morris Mini range as follows: 850, 850 SDL, 1000 SDL, Cooper 998 and Cooper 1275 S 2-door saloons and 1000 Traveller 3-door estate. Optional automatic transmission available on all Austin models (except 850) and Morris Mini 1000 SDL saloon.
  • September 1968: Manual four speed gear box with synchromesh on all four forward ratios introduced.
  • October 1969: Separate Austin and Morris badging now merged into Mini 850/Mini 1000 badging. Range reduced to: 850, 1000, Clubman, Cooper S and 1275 GT 2-door coupes and Clubman 3-door estate. Optional automatic transmission available on all except 1275 GT.


Website News

Thursday March 7, 2024
Added new website The Elva Experience
Friday July 7, 2023
Changed forum message score display so scores are only shown if 5 or more members have voted.
Wednesday June 8, 2022
Added "about X time duration later..." text between posts in a topic if there has been more than a week between posts (also useful when a very old topic is resurrected)
Wednesday June 8, 2022
Added New Member flag to newly registered members for increased safety (scammers almost always use a newly created account).
Wednesday June 8, 2022
Added "Topic Creator (OP)" to topic read pages to flag replies by the creator of the thread.
Tuesday April 27, 2021
Defer non-critical CSS and JS to speed up page loading
Monday April 19, 2021
New Stripe membership payment system launched
Tuesday March 9, 2021
Added three new websites: The Vintage Race Forum, The Lotus Experience, and The Small4x4 Forum
Monday March 8, 2021
Completed media file storage migration
Monday April 27, 2020
Members can now change their home site from the account edit area

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The author, Corvus Digital Corp, believes to the best of his knowledge the information contained in this website to be correct, however no warranty is made as to its accuracy. Corvus Digital Corp disclaims any liability for financial loss, property damage or injury in connection with use of this information. Any trademarked names are property of their respective trademark holder and are used for identification purposes only. Portions of this website may be copyrighted by other individuals or organizations. The opinions published by members on this website including but not limited to the forums, library and journals do not necessarily state or reflect the views of Corvus Digital Corp. Publication on this website should not be considered an endorsement.

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About This Website

This site was re-launched in August 2010 by Skye Nott as the 9th site in The AutoShrine Network.
All design and content is © Corvus Digital Corp unless otherwise noted.

This website is not in any way connected with, or authorised by, Austin, Rover Group or BMW.




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