Press Release
The Range of MINI Classics.
Just five months after the MINI Classic made its debut, the first body variant, the Van, entered the market in January 1960. The body of this small two-seater van had been increased in length from 3,050 millimetres or 120.08´´ on the Saloon to 3,300 millimetres or 129.92´´, and the Van was 10 millimetres or 0.39´´ higher at its highest point.
Wheelbase was also up 10 centimetres or 3.94´´ to 213 centimetres or 83.9´´, a modification presenting no technical problems on this front-wheel-drive car, and not involving any particular extra expenditure. While the cargo area inside the Van had no windows, there were two doors at the rear. And since the C-pillars moved to the rear were at an inclined angle, the two doors moved up diagonally and remained open on their stop points after reaching an angle of slightly more than 90°.
The Mini Van proved very popular among tradesmen and was soon used by the British Post Office. This was indeed no surprise, since the Van, thanks to its very compact dimensions but generous capacity, was simply ideal for transportation requirements even on very narrow city streets.
Over the years more than half a million customers opted for a Mini Van.
The “Big Brothers”: Estate, Traveller, and Countryman.
Two further versions were then introduced in short succession on the same technical foundation: the Estate and the Pick-Up. The Estate was a small four-seater with the same dimensions as the Van but featuring glass windows all round. And like the door windows, the rear side windows came with a sliding opening and closing function.
Depending on the brand, the Estate came as the “Countryman” or “Traveller”, both names clearly alluding to the car’s target group: This model was intended to appeal above all to the rural population, as we clearly see from advertising photos with animals in the car, with young, travel-minded families, and tradespeople in the country. Indeed, the Morris Minor Traveller back in 1953 had already catered admirably for this target group, making a great name for the brand in this segment.
To present the MINI Classic in the same style as the legendary Minor “Woodies”, the Mini Traveller even came with a wooden frame behind the B-pillar on the outside, like the Morris Minor Traveller before it. But what had still been a load-bearing construction on the Morris Minor was admittedly nothing but wood trimming on the MINI Classic.
As of 1961 the Estate was also available without wood trim, and the Mini Estate in its wooden finish finally ceased production in autumn 1969 upon the appearance of the Mini Clubman, which then remained in the market as the only Estate version. The fact remains that not only the rural population loved this particular version of the MINI Classic with its superior transport qualities, since all versions of the Estate together accounted for more than 400,000 purchasers.
The worker: The Mini Pick-Up.
As of January 1961, the customer looking for a more rustic car also had the choice of the Mini Pick-Up. Built almost 60,000 times, this heavy-duty worker featured a wider B-pillar in the interest of enhanced body stiffness and an open pick-up area at the back. Access to the rear end was facilitated by a loading sill hinged at the bottom, and a cover was available to protect the goods being transported, buttoning on at the sides like on a truck and even featuring a button-open flap complete with a sight window at the rear.
Noblesse oblige: Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet.
In the second half of 1961 BMC introduced two refined versions of the MINI Classic aimed at the upper class. The names of these two derivatives were the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet, proudly boasting two characteristic features typical of upmarket saloons at the time: Instead of the discreet, round “nose”, they each came with a vertical, chrome-plated radiator grille.
At the rear both cars offered a larger luggage compartment extending out at the back and adorned by two wheel arches in trendy swallow-tail design. The interior was lavishly finished with carpets, and the driver and front passenger were pampered by a genuine wooden dashboard right in front of them.
Up to the end of production in 1969, these two upmarket versions of the MINI Classic found almost 60,000 enthusiastic purchasers.
From a military machine to a fun car: the Mini Moke.
The most open MINI Classic the world has ever seen made its appearance in 1964 – the Mini Moke. Actually this new fun car was intended to serve a very serious purpose, being conceived as a universal vehicle for military use. Indeed, the robust structure of the car, its compact dimensions and low weight met all requirements to drop the car out of an aircraft by parachute or transport it beneath a helicopter. One might say that the Moke was a bathtub with wide, box-shaped sills at the sides, plus the engine compartment and windscreen.
The seats were nothing but metal buckets with cushions inside, a folding roof attempting to provide at least minor protection from wind and weather.
All of these features were ideal for the requirements of the armed forces – had it not been for the car’s very limited ground clearance. Precisely this is why the Moke never really took off on Her Majesty’s Service, but certainly appealed to leisure-time enthusiasts the world over.
Production of this “most open MINI Classic of all times” in Britain amounted to some 14,500 units by 1968, following which production was sold to Australia and subsequently to Portugal. The overall production volume is therefore assumed to be in the range of some 50,000 units.
Coming from Germany: the Convertible.
The last version of the MINI Classic – and the only model not originating from Britain, but rather from Germany – made its appearance in 1991: Like a couple of coachwork specialists before, a dedicated dealer in Baden had cut off the roof of the MINI Classic and turned the car into an attractive Convertible.
In Britain this open four-seater entered the market at a price of 12,250 – not exactly a bargain, to put it mildly. But unlike former attempts at building a Convertible, the result this time was good, prompting Rover to buy both the car and the production facilities. As a result, some 1,000 MINI Classic Convertibles built in series were sold between 1993 and 1996.
