Jon Pressnell, author of ‘Mini - The Definitive History’, published by Haynes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the car, has a chat with us to talk about why the Mini was such a popular vehicle in the Sixties.

The Mini was THE iconic car of the Sixties. Yet I was surprised to read in your book that it was originally developed for the British Motor Corporation (BMC) by engineer Alec Issigonis in the austerity years of the late Fifties, in response to the Suez Crisis which led to oil supplies being threatened and increased demand for smaller cars.

JP: Yes, it’s one of those little ironies that it was actually developed in response to something that was really putting the screws on the country economically, but it had its heyday when we really had never had it so good! It was a child of its times. It came to life at a time when we were finally starting to move into a modern, more relaxed society. The Mini was small, cheeky, fun, and it was just right for a more laidback era which was on the point of arriving.

JP: Yes. It was joked that that was Issigonis being patriotic, and that might well have been the case. But also it made production sense to produce the car in as few colours as possible, so you can take that how you want!

However, I think the patriotic side of things is important. There was a sense of national pride about being British in those days which seems a bit alien to people who grew up in the Seventies or Eighties. The Mini was a fabulous technological achievement - and it was British! For Britain to come up with a world leader in technology like that and also of course with a car which showed the Europeans the way home on the racetrack and international rallying was really something.

What were the other reasons why the Mini became so popular?

JP: In a way, the Mini had the good fortune to arrive just when we were starting to rebel against convention and to question that easy, glib Fifties’ ‘you’ve never had it so good’ way of thinking. All of a sudden, people were going, “Maybe bigger and better isn’t actually better” and then along comes this small car that gives you all these things and you don’t have to drive about with a great, big swanky car.

The Mini was an upsetter in another way. It proved that you don’t have to have a sports car to go fast and that was important because people who would otherwise have bought sports cars went out and bought Mini-Coopers. In a way, that was another token of modernity. It was like saying goodbye to the old school tweed-jacket-and-tie way of motoring.

The arrival of the Mini coincided with a move towards a more urban culture and in a more crowded city, a smaller car was exactly what you wanted. The notion of having a second car started to become more prevalent as the Sixties progressed, and this was helped with something like the Mini.

The Mini was also part of the democratisation of the motor car. You have to remember that in the Fifties, the guys that were screwing together cars in factories around the country were cycling, or at best motorcycling, to work. As the Sixties progressed, the working classes started to be able to afford motor cars and the Mini was a vector of that, if you like.

Part 2 of the interview with Jon Pressnell will be coming soon, so keep checking this site!

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