The Cooper Mini can trace its historical background to 1957 when Leonard Lord the
president of the British Motor Corporation decided to develop a smaller car. At the time Britain was in an oil crisis and fuel efficient cars became a necessity. Most of the cars that were developed to be efficient had engines that were under 700Ccc and were known as micro cars or bubble cars. Most of these had been built in Germany and were rather unsafe to drive.
Lord set the task to Alec Issigonis to create and British car that would fit in a box ten feet long, four feet wide and four feet tall. In addition to this the car also had to compromise the space of the car with a passenger area that would take up sixty per cent of the overall space. Issisgonis worked quickly and within two years the concept had become a production and the Cooper Mini had an amzing short production cycle.
The secret to the Cooper Mini's size was the engine layout, which had never been done before. The engine was basically mounted sideways into the car; in addition to this the engine was placed at the front of the car, close to the two front wheels. The front wheels of the car with the extra weight of the engine meant it gave the car better stability when it took tight turns. The engine provided enough space saving so that the passenger area was roomier than people could imagine for such a small car.
It was in 1961 that the Mini became the Mini Cooper, when a race car builder known as John Cooper requested that the Mini was made into a racing car. He approached Issigonis for his ideas, who objected as he strongly believed the Mini should be an everyman's car. Cooper did not take no for an answer however and went over Issigonis' head and received a blessing from BMC. The result of this partnership was the Cooper Mini, a car that was renowned for winning many races, including an impressive three wins at the Monte Carlo Rally. In 1963 Cooper made further changes to the engine and body design of the Mini and this new design was known as the Mini Cooper S.
At the beginning of 1960 BMC sold the Mini to the US market and within seven years a huge 10,000 Minis were sold in the States. Today the Mini is still an incredibly popular car and is considered iconic to Britain and British culture from the sixties.