INTRODUCTION
ROOTS TO
THE ROAD.
The year was 1957, and in post-World War II England the Suez Crisis had sent fuel prices soaring, leading many to wonder if the large, gas-guzzling vehicles of the day made much sense anymore.
So, Sir Leonard Lord of the Morris Company issued his top engineer, Alec Issigonis, a challenge: design and build a small, fuel-efficient car capable of carrying four adults, within economic reach of just about everyone. As fate would have it, the challenge of fitting so much function into such a small package inspired a couple of historic innovations.
Issigonis created more room in the cockpit by pushing the wheels all the way out to the corners and turning the engine sideways, giving the car more stability on tight turns and more passenger space on the inside. The world had never seen a car quite like it. And when the first MINI launched in 1959, it quickly became the essence of culture.