๏ The Mk I Mini — 1959 To 1967 ๏

The production version of the Mini was demonstrated to the press in April 1959, and by August several thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales.
The name Mini did not appear by itself immediately — the first models being marketed under two of BMC's brand names, Austin and Morris. The name Austin Seven (sometimes written as SE7EN in early publicity material) recalled the popular small Austin of the 1920s and 1930s.

The other name used in the United Kingdom, Morris Mini-Minor, seems to have been a play on words. The Morris Minor was a well known and successful car, with the word minor being Latin for "smaller"; so an abbreviation of the Latin word for "smallest" — minimus — was used for the new even smaller car.

Until 1962 the cars appeared as the Austin 850 and Morris 850 in North America and France, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner (until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). The name Mini was first used to name the car in 1961, somewhat to the surprise of the Sharps Commercials car company (later known as Bond Cars Ltd) who had been using the name Minicar for their three-wheeled vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted and BMC used the name Mini for the remainder of the life of the car.

In 1964 the suspension of the cars was replaced by another Moulton design, the hydrolastic system. The new suspension gave a softer ride but it also increased weight and production cost and, in the minds of many enthusiasts, spoiled the handling characteristics for which the Mini was so famous. In 1971 the original rubber suspension reappeared and was retained for the remaining life of the Mini.
From October 1965 the option of an Automotive Products (AP) designed four-speed automatic transmission became available.












Although they were slow at the outset, sales were strong across most of the model lines in the 1960s, with a total of 1,190,000 Mk I's being produced. The basic Mini never made money for its makers because it sold at less than its production cost. This may have been necessary in order to compete with its rivals, but it is rumoured that this was actually due to an accounting error. Some profits came from the popular deluxe models and from optional accessories, which included items such as seat belts, door mirrors and a radio that would be considered necessities on modern cars.
The Mini etched its place into popular culture in the 1960s with well-publicised purchases by film and music stars.