๏ The Mk III & Onwards – 1970 To 2000 ๏

The Mk III Mini had a modified bodyshell with enough alterations to see the factory code change from ADO15 to ADO20 (which it shared with the Clubman). The most obvious changes were larger doors with concealed hinges.

Customer demand led to the sliding windows being replaced with winding windows – although some Australian-manufactured Mk I Minis had adopted this feature several years earlier (with opening quarterlight windows). The suspension reverted from Hydrolastic to rubber as a cost-saving measure.

Production at the Cowley plant was ended, and the simple name Mini completely replaced the separate Austin and Morris brands.

MkIII introduced in November 1969 had wind up windows with internal door hinges except van and pickups. The boot lid lost the original hinged number plate and its recess shape and a large rear colour coded lamp was fitted in its place. Larger rear side windows.
MkIV introduced in 1976 had a front rubber mounted subframe with single tower bolts and the rear frame had some larger bushes introduced. Twin stalk indicators were introduced with larger foot pedals. From 1977 on the rear indicator lamps had the reverse lights incorporated in them.
MkV, all cars had 8.4 inch brake discs and plastic wheel arches (noted as mini special arches) but retained the same MkIV body shell shape.
MkVI is 1990 on when engine mounting points were moved forward to take 1275 cc power units, and includes the HIF carb version plus the single point fuel injected car which came out in 1991. The 998 cc power units were discontinued. Internal bonnet release fitted from 1992.
MkVII is the final twin point injection with front mounted radiator.
In the late 1970s, Innocenti introduced the Innocenti 90 and 120, Bertone-designed hatchbacks based on the Mini platform. Bertone also created a Mini Cooper equivalent, christened the Innocenti De Tomaso, that sported a 1275 cc turbocharged engine. Reports of the Mini's imminent demise surfaced again in 1980 with the launch of the Austin Mini-Metro (badging with the word mini in all lowercase). In 1981 in New Zealand, the Mini starred in a road trip movie directed by Geoff Murphy called Goodbye Pork Pie. The Mini was beginning to fall out of favour in many export markets, and South African, Australian, and New Zealand production all stopped around this time.

Through the 1980s and 1990s the British market enjoyed numerous "special editions" of the Mini, which shifted the car from a mass-market item into a fashionable icon. It was this image that perhaps helped the Mini become such an asset for BMW, which later bought the remnants of BMC as the Rover Group. It was even more popular in Japan, where it was seen as a retro-cool icon, and inspired many imitators.

In 1994 under Bernd Pischetsrieder, a first cousin once removed of Issigonis, BMW took control of the Rover Group, which included the Mini, fitting an airbag to comply with European legislation