In Diariomotor we return to the charge with more classic car tests. After testing the Renault 4 and the Renault 5 Turbo 2, we return to a popular classic. Specifically the classic Mini. The classic Mini is much more than a nice car, it is one of the most revolutionary cars of all time. It is a car that Every modern car owes its transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive architecture to it.. In this video we are not only going to explain its historical importance, we are going to drive it and we are going to show it to you in great detail. Fasten seat belts.
Until the end of the 50s, urban cars were practically microcars, with very low-power engines, located in the rear and in many cases derived from the world of two wheels. Cars like the Citroën 2CV or the Volkswagen Beetle already existed, but they were “giants” compared to the smaller cars that the market demanded. In the 1950s, Europe was still recovering from World War II, and the Suez Crisis threatened to choke off oil supplies to this recovering Europe. These were not times for waste, and less in the automobile sector.
The Mini not only had to be a great little car, it also had to be the cheapest car on sale in the UK.
In 1957, Sir Alec Issigonis began to lead an ambitious project of the British Motor Corporation – resulting from the merger of Morris and Austin – to develop a city car. Issigonis wanted to develop a large scale car, with a size of barely three meters, but enough space for four people and their luggage. Issigonis’ genius was the way he arranged the mechanics of it. Most of the rivals had the engine in the rear position, something that was not efficient: in front there was little space for cargo since it was still necessary to leave room for the steering system and other auxiliary mechanisms.
Issigonis decided to break the mold and mount your inline four-cylinder engine in transverse front position. Under the mechanics, and sharing oil with the engine, the gearbox was mounted. Since the car was very small, the radiator had to be mounted on the side, not on the front of the engine. Only 20% of the volume of the car was occupied by mechanics, with 80% of the remaining volume destined for passengers and cargo. Achieving this not only required a revolutionary mechanical scheme, it was also necessary to completely rethink the position of the wheels or their suspension scheme.
The Mini is the first transverse front-engine front-wheel drive car in history. Today the vast majority of cars have the same architecture.
The Mini boasted some 10 inch wheels only – Dunlop had to develop specific tires for the Mini – located at the ends of the body, with hardly any overhangs. Today they look like wheelbarrow wheels, but they were necessary to maximize the interior space of the car. Another genius of its design was its suspension scheme. This suspension employed compact independent wishbones at each wheel, and instead of shock absorbers, he used conical rubber bumpersSimple as can be – but effective in such a small car.
And there is something to be said for the Mini: although its design was the result of the maximum “function dictates form”, the car was beautiful. Its round headlights and large grille have become universal design icons., and the two-tone color scheme of the body and roof of the unit that we have tested is a cool one. The unit tested, by the way, is a Mini 850 Deluxe from 1974, manufactured in Pamplona by Authi. Authi manufactured the Mini under license in Spain since 1968and years later, its facilities would end up being acquired by Volkswagen for the manufacture of the Polo.
The tested car is a Mark III and presents some differences with respect to a Mark I, but its essence and its technical solutions do not change.
A surprisingly spacious interior
The Mini is a very small car – measures only 3.05 meters long – but its interior is designed to accommodate four adults. I settle in the front seat and do not feel a feeling of lack of space. The pillars are very narrow and the windows are large, and thanks to this I not only have great visibility, but also a “diaphanous” feeling. The dashboard is in one piece and the instrumentation is in a central position so that it would not be expensive to produce export versions with the steering wheel on the other side. The size of the steering wheel and the thinness of its rim are surprising, lacking any position regulation.
There are hardly any controls for the lights, the wipers and the ventilation. It does not even have a sound system, and the left mirror was not standard. One of the keys to the Mini was the huge number of storage spaces on board. On the dashboard itself there was space for objects and on the sides of the passenger compartment there were large storage drawers, in which the purchase could even fit. In the Mark III the front windows are conventional instead of being slidingand therefore, it does not have the lower drawer that the Mark I did have. The additional ventilation was worth the sacrifice, especially in Spain.
Alec Issigonis said that the interior had to fit 27 bottles of gin, and one of dry vermouth. His favorite cocktail was the Dry Martini.
To enter the rear seats, the seat is folded down, which only has a front hinge, without an anchoring mechanism. Surprisingly, At 6’2″, I don’t brush my head against the ceiling., but my legs are pinned against the front seat. A slightly shorter person would have no problem. Finally, we have to talk about the detail of the trunk. The Mini is a two-door, not a three-door. The trunk is not connected to the interior and the rear glass is fixed. It’s a small boot, but I’d say even more usable than a modern Mini.
A really fun car to drive
The mechanics of the Mini 850 that we have tested is not that of a Mini Cooper. Its 848 cubic centimeter engine, fed by a simple carburetor, It only develops 34 CV and its top speed is 116 km/h. Accelerating up to 100 km/h takes half a minute with ease. Its four-speed gearbox is synchronized, so there is no need to double-clutch when driving the car. However, the driving experience is radically different from that of any modern car. As with any classic, it is necessary to readjust our expectations when we drive it.
He walks very little. But the sensation of speed has nothing to do with actual speed. It is far superior.
The sound of the engine fills the cabin. It is very noisy and the car pushes very little. Its cruising speed is about 70 km/h, it is very difficult for him to overcome that speed and he gains speed with difficulty. On steep slopes it is necessary to play with the change and even the trucks will overtake us. Also, the car It lacks a servo brake and its brakes are drum. You have to press the center pedal very hard to bring the car to a stop, which luckily it does well as it only weighs 600 kilos. What is truly magical about this Mini is that it is a tremendously fun car to drive.
It has no filters of any kind: no power steering, no driving aids, and no safety systems beyond a seatbelt. It is a pure driving experience. And although it may not seem like it, it is a very agile car with surprising cornering. Its driving position especially contributes to this: we are sitting very close to the ground. But the factor that influences the most is its suspension with conical stops, which guarantees a absolutely flat cornering. Yes, it is very bouncy and even uncomfortable at times, but that is what gives it such a kart-like behaviour.
The go-kart feeling MINI is so proud of was born in this first Mini.
Conclusion: a true revolution
The Mini was a true revolution in the automobile sector. It was a car that proved that it was possible for four people and their luggage to travel in a car only three meters long. This was possible thanks to innovative packaging of its mechanics, leaving 80% of the volume of the car to the passengers. Plus, he proved that a cheap little car didn’t have to be unexciting to drive. A very special dynamic was evident in the victories of the Cooper versions in world-class rallies, beating much more powerful and faster cars. David’s triumph over Goliath.
