Editing Mini (section)

==Mark IV: 1976–1983==
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Mk IV
| image = 1976 Mini 1000 Front.jpg
| caption = 1976 Mini 1000
| aka = 
| manufacturer = British Leyland Ltd.
| production = 1976–1983
| assembly = {{unbulleted list | [[Longbridge plant]], Birmingham, United Kingdom | [[Seneffe]], Belgium | [[Petone]], New Zealand | [[Setúbal]], Portugal | [[Cape Town]], South Africa }}
| body_style = {{plainlist|
*2-door [[sedan (car)|saloon]]
*2-door van
*2-door [[Pickup truck|truck]]}}
| engine = {{plainlist|
*{{cvt|848|cc|L|1}} [[Straight-four engine|I4]]
*{{cvt|998|cc|L|1}} [[Straight-four engine|I4]]
*{{cvt|1098|cc|L|1}} I4
*{{cvt|1275|cc|L|1}} I4}}
| related = 
| designer = 
}}

The Mark IV was introduced in 1976, though by this stage British Leyland was working on a new small car which was widely expected to replace the Mini before much longer. It had a front rubber-mounted subframe with single tower bolts and the rear frame had some larger bushings introduced, all intended to improve the car's mechanical refinement and to reduce noise levels. Twin column stalks for indicators and wipers were introduced, as were larger foot pedals. From 1977 onwards, the rear light clusters included reversing lights.

In July 1979 the lower end of the Mini range was altered. The basic Mini 850 (which had featured in various forms since the original launch 20 years before) was withdrawn. Its place was taken by two models at slightly lower and slightly higher price points. The new base model was the Mini City, with black-painted bumpers, an untrimmed lower facia rail, part-fabric seats and wing mirror and sun visor only on the driver's side, plus unique 'City' body graphics and boot badge. Above the City was the new 850 SDL (Super Deluxe), which had the same specification as the standard Mini 1000 but with the smaller engine.
 
For August 1979 the Mini's 20th anniversary was marked by the introduction of the first true limited-edition Mini, which was the Mini 1100 Special.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minipassionmini.50megs.com/pdf/Mini%20Special%201100%20UK%201979.pdf |title=Never Before Has So Much Been Put into So Little or So Few |website=minipassionmini.50megs.com |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> This was a 5,000-car run with the 1098&nbsp;cc engine, broadly to the specification already in production for the European market as a standard model with the same name. However this was the first time a UK-market 'round-nose' (i.e. non-Clubman) Mini had been available with the 1098&nbsp;cc engine, and the UK limited edition was also fitted with unique Exacton alloy wheels – the first time these were fitted to a factory-produced Mini – and plastic wheelarch extensions. Inside was the 1275GT's three-dial instrument cluster and a leather-rimmed wheel with a rectangular centre from the Innocenti Mini hatchback.

The 1100 Special and 850 City models were phased out by 1980,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1979/1705775/mini_850_city.html|title = Detailed specs review of 1979 Mini 850 City offered since July 1979 for Europe}}</ref> and during the same year the engine was upgraded to the improved A-Plus unit from the new Metro in 998&nbsp;cc form, which was now the only engine available in the Mini. This was then followed by a number of incremental developments.

In 1978, the Mini was one of the key cars made available to disabled motorists under the new [[Motability]] scheme.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/25/newsid_2500000/2500373.stm | work=BBC News | title=1978: Motability gets moving in the UK | date=25 July 1978}}</ref>

Reports of the Mini's imminent demise surfaced again in 1980 with the launch of the [[Austin Metro|Austin Mini-Metro]] (badging with the word "mini" in all lowercase). Faced with competition from a new wave of modern superminis like the [[Ford Fiesta]], [[Renault 5]], and [[Volkswagen Polo]], the Mini was beginning to fall out of favour in many export markets, with the South African, Australian, and New Zealand markets all stopping production around this time. Buyers of small cars now wanted modern and practical designs, usually with a hatchback. The Metro was therefore in essence, the Mini mechanicals repackaged into a larger hatchback bodyshell.

Although the Mini continued to be produced after the Metro's launch, production volumes were reduced as British Leyland and its successor Rover Group concentrated on the Metro as its key supermini. The original Mini's last year in the top ten of the UK's top selling cars was 1981, as it came ninth and the Metro was fifth. The arrival of the Metro also had production of the larger Allegro pruned back before it was finally discontinued in 1982. In 1982, BL made 56,297 Minis and over 175,000 Metros. Due to their common powertrain package, the Mini received many mechanical upgrades in the early 1980s which were shared with the Metro, such as the [[BMC A-Series engine#A-Plus versions|A-Plus engine]], 12-inch wheels with front disc brakes, improved soundproofing and quieter, stronger transmissions. This not only modernised the Mini but, because many of its major subassemblies were now shared with the Metro, made it very cost-effective to produce despite falling sales volumes.

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