Morris Mini-Minor History

The original Mini was launched by BMC in 1959 and sold under two badges: the Austin Seven and the 'Morris Mini-Minor'. Designed by Alec Issigonis, it packaged a transversely-mounted A-Series engine driving the front wheels, with the gearbox in the sump and tiny 10-inch wheels at the corners — a layout that freed up unprecedented interior space in a car under 10 feet long and went on to influence small-car design worldwide.

The Morris-badged car kept the 'Mini-Minor' name through the 1960s while the Austin version was renamed Austin Mini in 1962. In October 1969 the badge-engineering ended and Mini became a marque in its own right, so the Morris Mini-Minor as such was sold from 1959 to 1969.