1956 
A fuel crisis looms over Britain as Egypt seizes the Suez canal. Car sales plunge and, with petrol rationing in force, buyers turn in droves to crude bubble cars. The British Motor Corporation re-hires Morris Minor designer Sir Alec Issigonis, by now with Alvis.
1957 
Issigonis, a maverick 51-year old engineer, shows Sir Leonard Lord he  knows just the sort of economy car the world needs with a series of sketches. But he'll only design it if he is given a free hand. Lord eagerly agrees.
1958 
The Mini rapidly takes shape around Issigonis's concept. Leaps of engineering imagination include siting the gearbox under the engine, front-wheel drive with the power unit mounted transversely, and rubber cone suspension designed by rubber expert Alex Moulton.
That's what the British Motor Corporation (BMC) thinks at the end of the fifties when the Mini-project gets started. There are no real small cars at the time. The Suez-crisis, with the subsequent shortage of fuel, creates the demand for a small, fuel-economical car. Germany is the first provider, with the introduction of the so called Bubble Cars. Small, motorbike-like 'cars', most of them threewheelers. Sir Leonard Lord, head of BMC, can't stand them. He orders the development of a small British car; that is big enough to accomodate 4 people and must be smaller than a Morris Minor and the Austin A35, the current BMC models.
Alec Issigonis
Alec Issigonis is given the job of creating this car. He has already a proven track-record as the designer of the Morris Minor. Another requirement is that he should use an excisting BMC engine. The tested, but somewhat older A-series engine of Austin qualifies for this. He places the engine transverse, with frontwheeldrive, very unusual for the time. At first, Issigonis wants to put the carburettor on the front, and the ignition and electrics at the back, but as this causes problems with the carburettor, he decides to turn the engine 180 degrees. The radiator is placed on the left side of the motor. Because of this, water can easily reach the ignistion-system, and that's why Minis often have a hard time in heavy rain.
Leonard Lord drove a prototype Mini for 5 minutes and was so enthousiastic, that he orders Issigonis to have it production-ready within a year. And this is done, despite him hurting his back when he gets out of the Mini. The first Mini is not a massed produced car. Factoryworker Albert Green puts it together within 7 hours almost by hand. An achievement, cosidering there are at least 3016 bolts and screws in it. He was offered to buy it, but he doesn't want it. The Mini with registration 621 AOK was eventually brought to the British Motor Heritage Centre, where I made the picture right. In 1959, the assembly-line could produce a Mini within 2 hours.
AutoCar & Motor Magazine concludes: "Considering it's size a remarkable space inside, a good price-performance ratio and lively performances". The Mini is badged in two varieties: the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Seven. Both cars are, apart from some cosmetics, identical, but badging is very popular in those days. The Mini has all kinds features which makes it different to other cars of the time; the speedo is placed centrally, starterbutton on the floor, big side pockets which can hold 9 bottles - the Mini has sliding windows, this saves space in the inside of the door. 
1959 
The Mini is revealed in August, badged as either Austin Mini Seven or Morris Mini Minor. Reaction is mixed because it's spartan and decoration-free. But, at 10ft long with four proper seats, it's clearly a masterful package. The price is unbelievably cheap; £496, cost-trimming measures include sliding windows and external body welds. Issigonis, a chain-smoker, includes an ashtray but, because he likes silence, no radio.
1960
Over 116.000 Minis are sold (Longbidge can make many more) but the public is still a bit weary. The first new derivatives are unveiled: a tiny van with a longer wheelbase and double doors at the back, and a similar estate with glued on woodtrim. Ford buys a Mini, dismantles it, and calculates -rightly- that BMC is making it at a loss.
1961 
The Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet are identical small luxurious Minis, with traditional grilles and an extented boot with tiny fins either side. F1 car constructor John Cooper realises Mini has incredible handling and roadholding. He ties up a deal with BMC to make 1000 Mini Coopers so it can qualify for production car races. It goes on sale with a power hike to 55bhp from bored-out 977cc, and tiny disc brakes.
1962 
A Mini Cooper wins Holland's Tulip Rally, driven by Stirling Moss's sister Pat. Rauno Aaltonen is running second in the Monte Carlo Rally, until his Cooper flips over.
1963 
Even hotter Mini Cooper S has 70bhp from 1071cc, can hit 100mph and has greased-lightening accelleration. Paddy Hopkirk powers one to a Tour de France win. Peter Sellers has his Cooper customised with wickerwork painted on the side. Stars from Margot Fonteyn to Ringo Starr join the trend as the Mini becomes hip.
The doors are opened with a leather cord. This reduces costs, according to BMC, In the 1973 and 1991 models, Porsche adopts the same system, but then to reduce weight. But for all the positive reactions, the new buyer also encouters a number a problems. There is lots of ciritisism about the way the car leaves the factory. "The finishing is poor", concluded Autocar in early 1960. Carpets are laying all over the place, the sliding windows jam and the opening of the doors using cords is too simple. The Mini also doesn't like rain; the ignition malfunctions and the occupants are often with their feet in water. This leaking was never noticed, as the Mini was always tested in good weather.
John Cooper & Alec Issigonis
Issigonis later admitted this leaking was due to him designing the floorpanels the wrong way round. The Mini also likes oil, lots of it. The Mini is sold in the USA, but flops. Sales in Europe are behind expectations the first year. The consumer still has to get accustomed to this new design, with all it's features that are so different to wat is around in those days. Only 20.000 are produced the first year. The price is 496 pounds, which is a steal. In 1960, things are slightly better. Every day, 400 Minis roll off the assembly line. A 100.000 are sold that year, with a 100% production increase the next year. Especially the UK discovers the Mini. VIPS see it a statusmodel, and this catches on to the ordinairy public. 
Peter Sellers (right) buys one, so do the Beatles , Charles Aznavour, King Hussain of Jordania, Dudley Moore and Steve McQueen. Queen Elizabeth is pictured sitting in one, as she is chauffeured by Issigonis for a testdrive. Issigonis builds a special Mini for Enzo Ferrari, but he sends it back. The steeringwheel is on the wrong side, says the Italian. Another one is sent to him and he buys another two. When asked what he thinks about the Mini he replies: "I race it through the mountains". Apart from this status-aspect, there are also practical reasons for buying it. The Mini is very fuel-efficient, it's easy to park and steers well. And the ratio betweens it's size and interior-space is remarkable.
But it's sportive character is the best seller. It has a topspeed of 115km, not bad for a car with 34bhp. Almost straight after the introduction of the Mini, tuning-companies are jumping on it. Issigonis doesn't like it, 34bhp is more than enough for a 600 kilo car he thinks. But a year after the introduction, the Mini Cooper enters the market. This is the breakthrough for the Mini. Racecar designer John Cooper has upgraded the engine to 55bhp. The 997cc engine gets the Mini to a topspeed of 140 km. The Mini has miniature discbrakes which have been specially designed for Cooper by Lockheed. Extra dials and a different colorscheme provide the finishing touch. BMC hopes to sell a 1000. They sell over 150.000.
1964
The Mini Moke goes on sale. Intended as a field car that can be parachuted to a war zone, the Army rejects it due to lack of ground clearance. But it is a cheap, open, four seater fun car. The same Cooper S that Hopkirk took to victory on the Tour de France wins the Monte Carlo Rally. All Minis get Moulton's liquid-filled Hydrolastic suspension to improve ride, and switches are moved because you can't reach them once belted in.
1965
Second Monte Carlo Rally winfor the Mini, this times it's Timo Makinen. 
1966
Timo Makinen and Paul Easter are disqualified from what would have been the Cooper S's third Monte Carlo victory for having non-regulation heaslam setting. Win number three comes in 1967.
1967
Turning circle reduced from 32ft to 28ft as part of a Mini MKII package. Third Monte Carlo Rally win.
1968 
9X, a super mini with a hatchback that Issigonis has spent years planning, is abandoned. John Rhodes smokes his Cooper S to British Touring Car Championship victory. Hydrolastic suspension is replaced by the old rubber setup because it's cheaper - and hydrolastic is banned in Germany. 
1969
The Austin and Morris prefixes are dropped as Mini becomes a marque in it's own right. To celebrate, wind-up windows are fitted, although they've been available on Italian, South African and Australian-built versions for some time. The Clubman has a squared-up and new dashboard, while the 1275GT is a new sporty edition. Alec Issigonis is knighted. Minis feature in the film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine.
The Cooper becomes the trendy car to be seen in. It also leads every potential rally-driver to the circuit. Drivers such as James Hunt, Jackie Stewart, and Niki Lauda start their race-career in Mini Coopers. John Cooper is doing well; he gets two pounds for every Cooper sold. A car doesn't need a big engine to be a sportscar. This theory is proven time and time again by the Mini. It surprises friend and foe time and time again; it's small wheels get more hot than those of a formula 1 car, even so hot, that you can bake an egg on it. The development of the engine is by no means over. BMC introduces the Cooper 'S' with a 1071cc engine. 
This in answer to the Ford Cortina GT, but the Mini Cooper S still outdrives all bigger, heavier cars. The Cooper-variant does so well, that BMC decides to start a special rally-team. The Mini wins it's first rally in 1963. But the Rally Monte Carlo is the rally to win.
In 1964, the Mini (33 EJB, see left) with driver Paddy Hopkirk wins the Monte Carlo Rally outright. It repeats this in 1965, 66 and 67. More on the Monte Carlo Rally in the special section I made. In the years 1965, 66 and 67, the Mini wins 22 victories in important international rallies. Of those, Rauno Aaltonen takes 8. In 1994, Paddy Hopkirk again entered the Monte Carlo Rally, this time with a new Cooper, but with the same startnumber: 37.
Issigonis is not sitting still. He designs cars to further strengthen the success of the Mini. In 1960, the Mini-van is introduced, followed by a stationcar-design called the Morris Mini Traveller, or the Austin Seven Countryman. These variants have wooden panels along the sides of the car. A pickup-version of the Mini is introduced in 1961, and is very popular with farmers. The Fireservice and Royal Mail also make use of this Mini. The Mini is overall very Popular with the Government; the Police buys hundreds of Minis as surveillance cars. Tuning-companies are having the time of their life. VIP's let their Minis being modified by companies like Wood and Picket, Hooper and Radford for thousants of pounds.
The marketing-department of BMC is not happy with all these little companies, taking away their share. They introduce the luxury models Wolseley Hornet and the slightly more expensive Riley Elf in 1961. They are different in the sense that they have a different grille and boot. They are however, not a success, and are dropped in 1968.
In 1962, no-one speaks of the Austin Seven or Morris Mini Minor. The name 'Mini' is now so common that BMC adopts it that year. The Morris however keeps it's full name until 1969, when BMC becomes British Leyland.
1971
British leyland decides it doesn't want to keep paying John Cooper a royalty on each Mini Cooper sold, and so the last of more than 150,000 is made. Annual mini production peaks at 318,475.
1976
In Italy, Innocenti launches it's own hatchback based on a Mini floorpan. Although there is a plan to make 5000 a year in Britain, The Mini 90 and 120 remain an Italy only confection. The Mini 1000 Limited Edition is the first of dozens of showroom appeal models to come.
1979
The old magic is still there - a Mini wins the British Saloon Car Championship outright.
1980
The much heralded Austin Mini Metro is launched, using Mini subframes in a hatchback body. Eighteen years later, as the Rover 100, it stops production - outlived by the Mini itself.
1984
All Minis get 12inch wheels and front disc brakes as standard.
1985
Rover takes control of Mini Sales in Japan, a prelude to a massive explosion of sales there.
One of the last Mini-clones is the Mini Moke, which appears in 1964. Originally designed for the Army. It must be light and should be able to survive a landing by parachute. But it doesn't work. The wheels are to small and frontwheeldrive alone is not suitable for the terrain it's designed for. It would have died a silent death if the public wouldn't have picked it up. It turned out to be an excellent export-car, being used in seasideresorts as Nice in France. Brigitte Bardot drives one, and calles it her 'petit Anglais'. America and especially Australia are buying in bulk. In 1968, the production is moved to Australia, to maximise production-capacity.
Publicity shot, late 60's
The Mini is also produced in other countries. They are produced in Belgium at Seneffe, and at Innocenti in Milan. British Leyland buys the factory after the owner Innocenti dies for 3 million pound. Innocenti minis are however not fames for their quality, as they use recycled steel for production. They rust even worse. The Innocenti factory builds a new body, designed by Bertone, using the Mini-structure. these appear on the market as the Innocenti 90 or 120. De Tomaso introduces a Italian successor to the Mini Cooper in 1976. It has a top of 160km with a 1275cc engine producing 74bhp. The design is modern, and can be delivered in any color, as long as it is rustbrown. Technically, the Mini keeps improving. The Riley and Wolseley all have the so called hydrolastic suspension, copied from the Austin and Morris 1100. Fluid is being stored in rubber cones, which results in a more comfortable ride. BMC adopts it and the dry suspension disappears, but only for a few years. In 1965, the year the 1 millionth Mini rolls off the assemblyline, BMC introduces a 4 speed automatic gearbox. The system is ingenius, but doesn't work too well. When fast cornering, the oil jumps to one side, which result in the revving going into the red. Several adaptions are being made before it's put right. Only in 1967, the normal Mini receives next to a 848cc engine, a 998cc one. It also receives a synchroniser on the first gear. In 1967, the Mark II was introduced. 
Despite the fact that the Mini sells extraordinairy - 318.475 are sold in 1971 alone, the 3 millionth Mini rolls out of the factory in 1972 - British Leyland anticipates the end of the Mini. Issigonis has already designed a successor in 1968, the 9X, a hatchback. But this project is cancelled due to lack of funding. Ford and VW are to score very well with similar designs in later years. In 1969, a 'compromise'-model is introduced: the Mini Clubman. The Clubman, which simultaniously replaces the Elf, Hornet and Cooper, has a proper interior, with dials in front of the driver. The Mini Clubman Estate replaces the Countryman and Traveller. Standard, the Clubman has a 998cc engine.
1986
The five millionth Mini is driven of the Longbridge production line by Noel Edmonds.
1988
Sir Alec Issigonis dies aged 88.
1990
Rover takes the wraps off a new Mini Cooper. Initially a Limited Edition with Cooper's signature on white bonnet stripes, it is soon the best selling Mini. Cooper Garages also markets it's own Mini specials, later devising a hot latter-day Cooper S.
1992
The biggest 1275cc engine is now the only choice. A catalytic converter is fitted.
1993
The Mini Cabriolet goes on sale at £12,000. Development with Karmann in Germany, 414 are made.
1995
Autocar, celebrating it's 100th birthday, names the Mini as Car of the Century.
The complete production of the Mini is being transferred to Longbridge, to free the Cowley-factory for the Austin Maxi and Morris Marina. John Cooper still gets two pound for every Cooper sold, that's why British Leyland (BL) decide to axe the Mini Cooper in 1971. During the seventies, BL keeps on trying to find a successor. After a number of failures, the Austin Mini metro is introduced in 1980. Originally intended to replace the Mini, it is being produced alongside it. Technically, the Metro resembles the Mini, but optically, it is completely different. Still, it doesn't really catch on. By 1980, the Clubman an Cooper replacement Clubman 1275GT are axed, as are the Pick-Up, the Estate and the Mini Van in 1982. This only leaves the orginal Mini. As from 1979, only with a 998cc engine.
The late seventies and eighties see a steady decline in Mini sales and production. The Mini faces stiff competition. To renew interest in the Mini, BL and later Austin Rover produce special edition Minis. These are not different from normal minis technically, but only have cosmetic differences, like color, decals and interior. It works to a certain extent. But still it looks that the days of the Mini are over. Rover did a study to define the average Mini driver; it doesn't excist. Minis are mostly bought by women, 70%. According to the Rover Group, 56% of the drivers are married, 13% are younger than 24 and 16% are older than 65. The main use for the Mini is as a second car to be used in the city. The Mini Driver is true to its origins; 76% of buyers has previously owned a car from Rover.
The Mini has become a classic, together with the likes of the Volkwagen Beetle and Citroen 2CV. No more so than in Japan, where they go absolutely crazy for them. In 1991, more Mini were sold in Japan than anywhere else, even the UK. The demand form Japan grew very strong for the Cooper. John Cooper eventually put a kit on the market to improve the standard Mini-engine. This proved so successful, that Rover invited John Cooper for a 'chat', resulting in the Mini Cooper reappearing again in 1990. This limited edition Mini proved so successfull, that Rover started to produce them standard next to the normal Mini. And this is what really saved the Mini. October 4, 2000 saw the last Mini rolling off the production line. In 1992, the Mini and the Cooper got a 1.3 injection, 63bhp (52 in a standard Mini) engine to meet the emission demands. The production has been stabelised to 40.000 a year. Now, 40% of all produced Minis are Coopers. A cabrio is briefly intoduced which sells very quickly. The Mini is back in the nineties. Two magazines are started entirely devoted to Minis. The already substantial amount of Mini Clubs is enlarged by dozens more, and by the late nineties, there is no stopping the Mini. That is, until BMW, the new owner of Rover, decides to call it a day. The Mini will finally be replaced by a New Mini in 2001. This ends a run of over 40 years of production, but ......
1997
In the last major revamp, the Mini - now available in just 1.3 injection or Cooper forms, and starting at almost £9000 - comes with a driver's airbag as standard.
1999
Rover announced production will end in 2000. Production is likely to top 5.4 million cars, making it Britain's single best-selling car ever. Bodies will continue to be made for spares.
2000
The all-new MINI(tm) is unveiled in Paris, and a month later in the UK.
The Mini lives on ....
 The Heritage Centre will still produce the Mini body shell, which means we haven't seen the last of these Minis yet !