Happy Birthday! MINI Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Cars

Happy Birthday! MINI Celebrates 50th Anniversary


Exactly fifty years ago today, the first Mini rolled off the company's production line at Cowley, now called Plant Oxford. To mark the iconic model's birthday, the British firm displayed the first Mini Minor finished in Old English White and carrying the registration number 621 AOK, at the Oxford plant which built 602,817 Minis from 1959 to 1968, before production was moved to Longbridge.

Overall, more than six million MINIs including 1.4 million units of the new iteration of the car that was presented in 2001 and was developed by the BMW Group, have been sold since the car first went on sale in 1959.

"Little did anyone know just how popular Sir Alec Issigonis's car for the people would be – or that half a century later it would be reborn as the MINI and once again be built in Oxford," said Dr Jürgen Hedrich, Plant Oxford's managing director. "This is a momentous day in the plant and car's history. Everyone at the plant is proud to be part of both the heritage and the future of this car," he added.

MINI plans to officially celebrate the car's 50th birthday along with thousands of visitors / fans from across the world at MINI United, which is being staged at Silverstone from 22-24 May. Those interested can find more info at www.miniunited.com.





- Mini Coupé And Roadster Officially Axed, No Replacements Announced
We’ve been hearing about Mini’s plans to discontinue the Coupé and Roadster for a couple of years now, but it’s finally official. Mini has announced that production of the two models is about to come to an end at its Oxford plant...

- Mini Celebrates 3 Millionth Vehicle Built In Oxford, 2 Million Exports
Mini celebrated the 3 millionth vehicle built at its Oxford plant in the UK, as well as 2 million exports since the brand’s re-launch in 2001. Read more »...

- Mini Builds Last Current Generation Hatch Before Switching To All-new Model
With the all-new Mini Hatch revealed, it is time for the previous generation model to clear production space. Mini’s Oxford plant has built the last of the current hatch, of which over 1 million units were built since the model went on sale in...

- New Mini Celebrates 2 Million Units, British Pm Joins The Party
One Mini is born every minute - or one minute and eight seconds to be exact. That’s not a joke, but a fact. And that’s how 10 years after production of the new model began in 2001, the two millionth MINI, a White Silver Convertible with...

- Photo Album From Mini's 50th Anniversary Festivities At Silverstone
This past weekend (May 22-24), the MINI celebrated its 50th birthday with a three-day festival at the Formula One track in Silverstone, England. More than 25,000 MINI aficionados from all four corners of the world made their way to the event with some...



Cars








.