Anniversary of the MINI Debut
With the 2008 R55 MINI Clubman having made it’s public debut last month at the Frankfurt Motorshow, we thought it was appropriate to re-run a story that was first published on the site a few years back detailing the original “new” MINI’s debut in the US.
Hard to believe but the new MINI made it’s US debut six seven years ago this past week in New York. To give you the full favor of the time period here’s an excerpt from the article Autoweek ran about the introduction:
Frank Stephenson says he’s the luckiest guy in the world because he’s got the best job in the world. As he pulls the cover off his work for the past five years, who could argue?
Stephenson, an American who grew up in Europe, was given the responsibility of redesigning the Mini — the British automotive icon some view on par with VW’s Beetle. Walking around the car inside a film studio in New York’s Greenwich Village at its U.S. debut, Stephenson says this is a project he believes he was born to complete.
“I celebrated my 40th birthday the same day of the Mini’s 40th anniversary. So I guess it was fate,” Stephenson says. “Plus, this was the only car I’ve ever stolen — it belonged to my mother.”
Some people may cringe at being asked to change the face
of a legend, a legend that has brought smiles and affordable miles to millions. Not Stephenson. “The genetics and character of the old car had to be carried over. We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot if we didn’t keep that look,” Stephenson says. Adds Wolfgang Vollath, director of brand management for the Mini, “The Mini will put a smile on everyone’s face. The Mini is not something that’s here today and gone tomorrow.”…Unlike, say, the PT Cruiser, the new Mini is not a retro-design car drawing influence from cars of yore, but rather an update of the original, a direct successor.
“It has the genes and many of the key characteristics of its predecessor, but is larger, more powerful, more muscular and more exciting than its predecessor ever was,” Stephenson says. In fact, Stephenson’s work is the first complete redesign of the car in its 40 years. The redesign has been faithful to the car’s origin. Its shape crouches low to the ground and when you see the headlights and grille, a smile comes almost immediately. You know it’s a Mini.
[ The 41-year-old Mini gets a facelift ] Autoweek
The really cool thing about reading this today is knowing how amazing the car is to drive and how incredibly successful the MINI has been in the marketplace.
As many of you know Mr. Stephenson has moved on from MINI and is now designing cars at Ferrari, Maserati and Fiat. You can read more from Mr. Stephenson here and check out one of his sketches of the prototype new MINI (from 1998!) here (via BMWworld).
Related
[ The MINI Concepts of the 1990’s ] MotoringFile
At the same time Chrysler introduced the PT Cruiser. In the same time frame the PT has made more than 1 million cars.
In Japan, cars around 6 years old have to take the “Shaken” test, which is a severe check over and requires replacement of many components, coupled with higher taxes to keep older cars off the road. This sees many good cars go to auction for export to used car markets around the globe. Unfortunately for LHD markets, Japan is a RHD country.
<blockquote>In the same time frame the PT has made more than 1 million cars.</blockquote>
And 2/3 of those are still on lots. 😉
And those same PT’s are worth 1/3 what a 6 YO MINI is worth.:)
Great interview. Makes me nostalgic for ridiculous criticism of the R56 from Stephenson fanatics…
A great blast from the past. Good memories and a very exciting time in the Mini community.
I’d been waiting my entire adult life for that moment – I was finally gonna get a brand-new MINI at a dealer. Was absolutely worth the wait.
April 2001, New York Auto Show. The biggest crowd in the house was crammed in around the smallest, most modest display. 2 prototype Coopers were roped off – you could not get in them. One very overwhelmed young lady that was getting bombarded with questions had to repeat “No, it’s not for sale yet” about every 10 seconds. And a little booth where they took your picture and superimposed it into the car, so that it looked like you were driving it. You could pick the color of the car, from a pallete of a couple dozen. I suppose they were saving that data to see what the most popular colors would be. Sadly, although one of the 2 prototypes was painted in a beautiful non-metalic orange, that color has still not made it to production. 🙁 I told my wife that THIS was going to be my next car. She rolled her eyes. 1.5 years later I had one, now she’s got one too…
I remember calling Hasell on Long Island NY a few weeks before they opened to the public. The anticipation was amazing … then I saw an MC on top of a Suburban driving around Wall St in NYC and I had the biggest grin … had to have it.