Has Mini Lost Its Soul Since The BMW Takeover
The original Mini was produced from 1959 until the turn of the millennium in 2000. Over the years it gained iconic status, representing British motoring at its best and cementing itself in pop culture thanks to films such as The Italian Job. Now the Mini marque lives on in the form of the New MINI, the all–capitals re–imagining of its predecessor created by German manufacturer BMW for a new generation of drivers.
At first the New MINI was greeted with a degree of animosity, which was arguably inevitable given the reverential treatment of the original. But more than a decade after it first arrived, it is easier to decide whether or not the Mini brand lost its soul following the BMW takeover. You can pick up both an original and contemporary used Mini for sale online with each having positive and negative aspects, but can these really be factored into what is such an unavoidably subjective argument?
The original Mini was designed as a result of necessity. A fuel crisis in the mid–1950s saw falling car sales and a small, economic car was urgently required by BMC. Every design aspect centred around the idea of keeping things small and saving space for passengers and luggage, resulting in unusual suspension configuration and the revolutionary use of front wheel drive. Of course the bug–eye headlamps and ageless looks would help it to become an international hit, while its rallying pedigree with the Cooper S variants would give it a sporting edge never originally envisioned.
Jump forward to 2001 and the arrival of the New MINI. As with the original, it was very much a product of its time, following on from the economic prosperity of the 1990s and the positive outlook of the new millennium. Far larger and more powerful than the range it was replacing, the New MINI has similarly become something of a classless fashion statement, in addition to building a reputation for reliability and utility.
Endowing a car with the concept of something as ineffable as a soul is problematic, but perhaps inevitable when considering the passion surrounding this marque. To be fair to BMW, had it attempted to recreate the original Mini to the very last detail, it would have been heavily criticised for simply emulating a classic.
As it stands it has built a reliable, hugely popular, modern, compact car which bears a venerable brand and has helped it to evolve rather than left it to stagnate. Subsequent iterations such as the Clubman, Countryman and Coupe have been met with mixed reviews, but even for those who question whether the Mini brand has been led astray, there are some undoubted positives.
Certainly foreign ownership of an intensely British marque may rancour but few would argue the near inevitability in the context of today’s global manufacturing industry. Mass produced it may be, yet even for the purists, if nothing else, the countless millions spent marketing the new MINI serve to keep alive the marque in an industry where this has so rarely been achieved (remember Triumph anyone?).
The legacy of the original Mini and the reinvention of the marque into the 21st century will ensure that enthusiasts the world over will be helping to maintain and restore older models for generations to come.
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Monday, 25-Jul-2011
Has Mini Lost Its Soul Since The BMW Takeover
