Innocenti 3-Cilindri / Minitre / Mini 500 / Mini 650 History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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When BL's A-series engine supply dried up after the De Tomaso takeover, Innocenti turned to Daihatsu for powertrains. From April 1982 the 3-Cilindri (later renamed Minitre in January 1984) used a 993 cc Daihatsu three-cylinder engine in the familiar Bertone hatchback body, now with MacPherson strut front suspension replacing the original Mini's rubber-cone setup.
Alongside it ran the Mini 650, using a smaller 617 cc Daihatsu twin-cylinder engine from November 1984 to 1987. The Mini 500 then carried the range from January 1988 through to March 31, 1993, when car production at Innocenti finally ceased, powered by a Daihatsu-derived 548 cc unit later upgraded to 659 cc. These cars were modest urban transport but kept the Innocenti name on new metal for over a decade after the De Tomaso takeover.
Generations
3-Cilindri / Minitre · 3-Cilindri
993 cc Daihatsu three-cylinder in the Bertone body; renamed Minitre in January 1984.
Mini 500 / Mini 650 · Mini 500
Small-displacement Daihatsu-engined city cars (650 ran 1984–87; 500 ran 1988–93) — the final Innocenti-built cars.
1993 Photo: “1993 Innocenti Small 500 0.66cc front.jpg” by Rutger van der Maar / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- 3-door hatchback
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