Editing Mini (section)

==Mark I: 1959–1967==
{{See also|Mini (Mark I)}}
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Mini "Mark I"
| image = File:1959 Morris Mini-Minor Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon.jpg
| caption = 1959 Morris Mini Minor
| aka = {{plainlist|
*Austin 850
*Austin Mini
*Austin Partner<ref>[http://www.minipassionmini.50megs.com/articles/modelrange.htm#austin Mini Model Range 1959-2001- Austin, www.minipassionmini.50megs.com] Retrieved 11 August 2016</ref>
*Austin Seven
*Innocenti Mini<ref name=minimania>[http://www.minimania.com/Mini_Identification_1807 ''Italian Minis''], Minimania.com, Retrieved 12 August 2015</ref>
*Morris 850
*Morris Mini Minor
*Riley Elf
*Wolseley Hornet}}
| production = 1959–1967
| assembly = {{plainlist|
* United Kingdom
* Australia
* New Zealand}}
| body_style = {{plainlist|
*2-door [[sedan (car)|saloon]]
*2-door [[Station wagon|estate]]
*2-door [[Panel van|van]]
*2-door [[Pickup truck|pickup]]}}
| engine = 848–1275&nbsp;cc [[BMC A-Series engine|''BMC A-Series'']] [[Straight-four engine|I4s]]
| related = 
| designer = [[Alec Issigonis|Sir Alec Issigonis]]
}}

The production version of the Mini was demonstrated to the press in April 1959, and by August, several thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales.<ref name="autocar59">{{cite journal |title=Happy Events (Editorial) |journal=The Autocar |year=1959 |issue=3315 |page=45}}</ref> The Mini was officially announced to the public on 26 August 1959. Some 2,000 cars had already been sent abroad and were displayed that day in almost 100 countries.<ref>"B.M.C. Baby Cars Set Up A New Standard in Cheap Motoring". ''The Times'', 26 August 1959; p. 10; Issue 54549</ref> The key dimensions were:
* wheelbase: {{cvt|6|ft|8|in|mm|0}}
*front track: {{cvt|3|ft|11.75|in|mm|0}}
*rear track: {{cvt|3|ft|9.9|in|mm|0}}
*length: {{cvt|10|ft|0.25|in|mm|0}}
*width: {{cvt|4|ft|8|in|mm|0}}
*height: {{cvt|4|ft|7|in|mm|0}}
*unladen weight: {{cvt|1290|lb|kg}} (approx)<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cars of BMC | first=Graham | last = Robson |date=1987 |publisher=Motor Racing Publications |isbn=0947981144}}</ref>

The first example, a Morris Mini-Minor with the registration 621 AOK, is on display at the [[Heritage Motor Centre]] in Warwickshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miniworld.co.uk/news/621_AOK_50th_anniversary__Mini_news_and_updates_article_282167.html |title=621 AOK 50th anniversary &#124; Mini news and updates |publisher=MiniWorld |date=8 May 2009 |access-date=11 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920235619/http://www.miniworld.co.uk/news/621_AOK_50th_anniversary__Mini_news_and_updates_article_282167.html |archive-date=20 September 2009 }}</ref> Another early example from 1959 is on display at the [[National Motor Museum, Beaulieu|National Motor Museum]] in [[Hampshire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/?location_id=335&item=44&offset=0 |title=List of Vehicles&nbsp;– The National Motor Museum Trust |publisher=Nationalmotormuseum.org.uk |access-date=11 October 2010}}</ref>

The Mini was marketed under BMC's two main brand names, Austin and Morris, until 1969, when it became a marque in its own right.<ref name=marque/> The Morris version was known to all as "the Mini" or the "Morris Mini-Minor". This seems to have been a play on words: the Morris Minor was a larger, well known, and successful car that continued in production, and ''minor'' is [[Latin]] for "lesser", so an abbreviation of the Latin word for "least"&nbsp;– ''minimus''&nbsp;– was used for the new even smaller car. One name proposed for the almost identical Austin version was Austin Newmarket, but it was sold as the Austin Seven (sometimes written as ''SE7EN'' in early publicity material&nbsp;– with the '7' using the letter V rotated anticlockwise so it approximated the number 7), which recalled the popular small [[Austin 7]] of the 1920s and 1930s.

Until 1962, the cars appeared in North America and France as the Austin 850 and Morris 850, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner (until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). It was introduced in Australia as Morris 850 only (not "Austin"), and then later as Morris Cooper and Morris Cooper S versions, as well. The Morris name Mini (Mini-Minor) was first used for Austin's version by BMC in 1961 when the Austin Seven was rebranded as the Austin Mini,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/mini_brochures.htm |title=mini_brochures |publisher=Mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk |access-date=5 December 2010}}</ref> somewhat to the surprise of the [[Sharp's Commercials]] car company (later known as Bond Cars), who had been using the name [[Bond Minicar|Minicar]] for their three-wheeled vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted,<ref name="bondcars">{{cite web |url=http://www.bondownersclub.co.uk |title=Discussion in Bond Owners Club forums |publisher=Bondownersclub.co.uk |access-date=11 October 2010}}</ref> and BMC used the name "Mini" thereafter.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mini Road Test Book: Mini Gold Portfolio 1959–69 |isbn=1-85520-300-6|last1=Clarke|first1=R.|date=7 May 1995|publisher=Brooklands Books Limited }}</ref>

In 1964, the suspension of the cars was replaced by another Moulton design, the [[Hydrolastic]] system. The new suspension gave a softer ride, but it also increased weight and production cost. In 1971, the original rubber suspension reappeared and was retained for the remaining life of the Mini.

From October 1965, the option of the unique [[Automotive Products]] designed four-speed [[AP automatic transmission|automatic transmission]] became available. Cars fitted with this became the Mini-Matic.

Slow at the outset, Mark I sales strengthened across most of the model lines in the 1960s, and production totalled 1,190,000.<ref name="sales"/> [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] purchased a Mini and dismantled it to see if they could offer an alternative. Ford determined that the BMC must have been losing around £30 per car, so decided to produce a larger car&nbsp;– the [[Ford Cortina|Cortina]], launched in 1962&nbsp;– as its competitor in the budget market. BMC insisted that the way company overheads were shared out, the Mini always made money.<ref>{{citation | last = Laban | first = Brian | year = 2005 | title = The Little Book of Mini | isbn = 9781905009220 | publisher = Green Umbrella Publishing | page = }}</ref> Larger profits came from the popular De Luxe models and from optional extras such as seat belts, door mirrors, a heater, and a radio, which would be considered necessities on modern cars, as well as the various Cooper and Cooper S models.

The Mini entered into popular culture in the 1960s with well-publicised purchases by film and music stars.<ref>{{cite book |last=Golding |first=Rob |year=2007 |quote=Initial sales were worryingly slow. Then to the rescue came the rich and fashionable&nbsp;... The Beatles, Princess Margaret with Lord Snowdon, Peter Sellers and Mary Quant, Harry Secombe and Graham Hill were all seen around town in Minis. |page=33 |title=Mini 50 Years |publisher=Motorbooks |isbn=978-0-7603-2627-5 }}</ref>

The Cooper S version was also used by some British police forces as both a uniform and plainclothes car.<ref>Paraphrase. Walton, Jeremy. ''Mini Cooper and S'' (St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 204), p.55 caption.</ref>

<gallery widths="220px" heights="150px">
File:Austin Seven 1959.jpg|1959 Austin Seven
File:1959 Morris Mini-Minor 850cc Rear (1).jpg|Morris Mini-Minor rear
File:Mini Original 1959.jpg|The first Morris Mini-Minor sold in Texas being delivered to a family in Arlington, Texas, in 1959
</gallery>
{{Clear}}