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A Mini marvel!
It's a British icon beloved of everyone from The Beatles to Mr Bean. As it celebrates its 50th birthday, Grant Woodward joined members of a Leeds owners' club to discover the secret behind the Mini's enduring appeal.
ON this sultry summer's evening the scene at the White Bear in Tingley is fast resembling an outtake from The Italian Job.
Rows of gleaming bonnets with polished chrome and, whisper it, just the occasional hint of rust, line the tarmaced expanse of the pub's car park.
It's the first Tuesday of the month and the members of the Leeds Classic Mini Owners' Club are here for a drink (one pint maximum) and to swap notes on what they've done to their cars since the last time they got together.
As yet another lovingly-restored Mini rolls into the pub's car park, James Linley, a 23-year-old from Guiseley who works in recruitment, is eulogising about the joys of being behind the wheel of his 1967 Mk I.
"You can be driving anywhere and you'll get someone wind their window down and shout, 'Nice car!'
"I think it's because so many people have known a Mini at some stage in their life," he says, taking a swig from his pint. "And they still appreciate them."
James has christened his car Des, as in designated driver, because of the Don't Drink and Drive sticker he inherited on its back window.
It soon transpires that such levels of devotion are perfectly normal among Mini owners.
The club also boasts a Betsy, a Mindy and a Bully, while Minty – a spearmint-hued model – is the pride and joy of business analyst Steve Kimber.
"I passed my test in one when I was 17," says the 46-year-old, from Wakefield, going a little dewey-eyed as he recalls those first flickerings of his love affair with the Mini. "It wasn't mine, it was my mum's. I ended up writing it off in a friend of the family's field."
And how did he manage that?
"We were trying to jump walls with it," he replies, lowering his voice for fear of being lynched by his fellow members. "Well, I was only 17."
Steve is on his sixth or seventh Mini. 'Minty' is one of two Minis he currently owns.
As with many of the members, he keeps one to drive and "one in bits, to play with".
"I love them because they're easy to work on and there are just so many parts available. Plus," he adds with a grin, "at 5ft 6in, they suit my stature."
It's hard to imagine original Mini designer Alec Issigonis envisaging such enduring loyalty when he first sketched a design for what would become his iconic creation.
Ironically for a car that became a symbol of Sixties cool, the Mini was born out of austerity.
Towards the end of 1956, amid a background of petrol rationing brought on by the Suez Crisis and plummeting car sales, the motor industry was desperate for an affordable car that was cheap to run.
Horrified at the booming market for German Bubble cars, Leonard Lord, the head of the British Motor Corporation, reportedly decreed: "God damn these bloody awful Bubble Cars. We must drive them off the road by designing a proper miniature car."
By early 1957, prototypes of ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15) were running, and by the middle of the year thousands of drawings required for production were being produced.
The design – with its sideways engine, front wheel drive and gearbox under the engine to maximise space inside – was nothing short of revolutionary.
In August 1959 the car was launched as the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Mini Seven, or just Austin Mini, and soon anyone who was anyone had one.
Film star Peter Sellers had a custom-built wicker side-panelled number which featured in his movie A Shot in the Dark and Beatles John, George and Ringo were also proud owners, with George's even putting in an appearance in the Magical Mystery Tour movie.
Meanwhile it seemed every other Sixties celebrity from Twiggy to Marianne Faithfull was being photographed climbing in or out of a Mini.
The car's iconic status was cemented once and for all when, in 1969, a Michael Caine caper about a bullion heist in Rome saw three Mini Cooper Ss providing the escape route for the gold on account of their ability to navigate the gridlocked city in unconventional ways.
But the Mini was so much more than a mere fashion item; for the first time here was a car that was driven by stars and Joe Public alike.
A solid gold example of Sixties egalitarianism, breaking down the barriers between the previously stringently-enforced social classes.
"The Mini is so special because it was the first car that everyday people could afford to buy but the stars wanted to drive as well," says David Scargill, a 26-year-old LCMOC member from Beeston who is clearly something of an aficionado on all things Mini.
"How many cars can you say that about?
"In 1964 it won the Monte Carlo Rally and won it in 1965 and 1967 as well. To be the cheapest car on the road and winning the world's most prestigious rally is incredible."
David arrived tonight with his dad Gordon, who just so happens to be driving a limited edition replica of the Mini Cooper Paddy Hopkirk drove to victory in Monte Carlo all those years ago.
Like the Mini, Gordon is celebrating his 50th birthday this year.
"I had my first when I was 19," he recalls, and I twig he's talking Minis rather than children. "It was a 1967 Mini 1000 with a Cooper gearbox.
"I ran that for a few years then moved to bigger cars when the family arrived, but when you get a bit older you can indulge yourself a bit more.
"The Minis have got so much character and you can just do so many things with them."
Then father and son both gaze at the little slice of history parked in front of them.
"There's just no other car like it, is there?"
Mini timeline...
August 1959 – Launch of the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor.
1961 – Designer Alec Issigonis collaborates with Formula 1 and rally car builder John Cooper to create the more powerful Mini Cooper.
1964 – With Paddy Hopkirk at the wheel, a Mini Cooper S wins the Monte Carlo Rally.
1969 – The Italian Job is released, cementing the Mini's Sixties icon status.
October 2000 – The last classic Mini rolls off the production line at Rover Group's Birmingham plant. A total of 5,387,862 had been built. We must drive them off the road by designing a proper miniature car.”
By early 1957, prototypes of ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15) were running, and by the middle of the year thousands of drawings required for production were being produced.
The design – with its sideways engine, front wheel drive and gearbox under the engine to maximise space inside – was nothing short of revolutionary.
In August 1959 the car was launched as the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Mini Seven, or just Austin Mini, and soon anyone who was anyone had one.
Iconic
Film star Peter Sellers had a custom-built wicker side-panelled number which featured in his movie A Shot in the Dark and Beatles John, George and Ringo were also proud owners, with George’s even putting in an appearance in the Magical Mystery Tour movie.
Meanwhile it seemed every other Sixties celebrity from Twiggy to Marianne Faithfull was being photographed climbing in or out of a Mini.
The car’s iconic status was cemented once and for all when, in 1969, a Michael Caine caper about a bullion heist in Rome saw three Mini Cooper Ss providing the escape route for the gold on account of their ability to navigate the gridlocked city in unconventional ways.
But the Mini was so much more than a mere fashion item; for the first time here was a car that was driven by stars and Joe Public alike. A solid gold example of Sixties egalitarianism, breaking down the barriers between the previously stringently-enforced social classes.
“The Mini is so special because it was the first car that everyday people could afford to buy but the stars wanted to drive as well,” says David Scargill, a 26-year-old LCMOC member from Beeston who is clearly something of an aficionado on all things Mini. “How many cars can you say that about?
“In 1964 it won the Monte Carlo Rally and won it in 1965 and 1967 as well. To be the cheapest car on the road and winning the world’s most prestigious rally is incredible.”
David arrived tonight with his dad Gordon, who just so happens to be driving a limited edition replica of the Mini Cooper Paddy Hopkirk drove to victory in Monte Carlo all those years ago.
Like the Mini, Gordon is celebrating his 50th birthday this year.
“I had my first when I was 19,” he recalls, and I twig he’s talking Minis rather than children. “It was a 1967 Mini 1000 with a Cooper gearbox.
“I ran that for a few years then moved to bigger cars when the family arrived, but when you get a bit older you can indulge yourself a bit more.
“The Minis have got so much character and you can just do so many things with them.”
Then father and son both gaze at the little slice of history parked in front of them. “There’s just no other car like it, is there?”
grant.woodward@ypn.co.uk
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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