Mini is an English automotive marque specialised in small cars introduced in 1969. Mini is the subsidiary of BMW since 1994. The original Mini was a line of iconic British small cars manufactured by the British Motor Corporation, and its successors, from 1959 until 2000. Their models included the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, the Countryman, Moke, 1275GT and Clubman. Performance versions of these models used the name Cooper, due to a partnership with racing legend John Cooper. The original two-door Mini continued in production until 2000. The current Mini range includes the Hardtop/Hatch/Convertible (three-door hatchback), Clubman (estate), Countryman (five-door crossover), Coupe/Roadster and Paceman (three-door crossover based on the Countryman).
The original two-door Mini was a small car produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. It is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. The Mini Mark I had three major UK updates: the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations including an estate car, a pickup truck, a van and the Mini Moke—a jeep-like buggy. The Mini Cooper and Cooper "S" were sportier versions that were successful as rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally four times from 1964 through to 1967.
In the 1990s, BMW was seeking to broaden its model range through the addition of compact cars and SUVs. This sparked a series of compact car concept vehicles from the company during the early 1990s. The first were the E1 and Z13, powered by an electric motor and a rear-mounted 1100 cc BMW motorcycle engine, respectively. In early 1994, BMW acquired the Rover Group from British Aerospace, which owned Mini, among other brands. BMW insisted that even a compact model must feature iconic BMW characteristics to uphold the company's standards and image. The "MINI" brand, however, did not share these standards and BMW saw this as an opportunity to create a competitively priced, yet premium, compact car. This formed BMW's plan to launch the premium BMW 1 Series and the mid-range Mini.
There are production models of MINI as follows: Mini Mark I (1959 to 1967), Mini Mark II (1967 to 1970), Mini Mark III-Mark VII (1969 to 2000), Mini Hatch/Hardtop (2001 to 2006), Mini Convertible/Cabrio (2005 to 2008), Mini Hatch/Hardtop (2007 to 2014), Mini Clubman (2008 to 2014), Mini Convertible (2009 to 2015), Mini Countryman (2011 to 2016), Mini Coupé (2012 to 2015), Mini Roadster (2012 to 2015), Mini Paceman (2013 to 2016) and Mini Hatch/Hardtop (2014 to present).
