Explore one of the most iconic British cars. In this edition, Robin tells us about his limited edition Mini!
We’re looking to collect and share people’s stories of their first car in our project, ‘My First Car’. Each month we’ll give you a theme and then we’ll publish our favourite stories every two weeks in our Museum blog.
This month’s theme is Mini Madness and it explores two great stories about these iconic British cars!
The Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis, was launched on 26th August 1959, revolutionising the making of small cars. It sported a transverse engine and front-wheel drive, a first for small cars. The Mini was an icon of the British swinging sixties being brought into popular culture through model Twiggy and later featuring in films like The Italian Job. With more than five million Minis being made it shows just how popular the car was!
Robin, 17, Paul Smith limited edition Rover Mini 1275, Blue
This was a Paul Smith limited edition Rover Mini 1275. It and I almost did not survive when a lorry threw up a piece of timber on the A46 which fortunately hit the grill rather than coming through the windscreen. The car served me well in my years at university. I loved its compact dimensions and superb handling but I was then tempted away by the lure of an open sports car, and changed it for a Mazda MX5. I am now the happy owner of a BMW Mini Cooper although it does not have quite the same character of my earlier Mini and sometimes I wish I had kept the original.
Get in touch
Do you remember the first car you owned or the first one you drove? Do you have fond memories or a story about it you’d like to tell? We’d like to hear about cars of all ages!
Your story should be no longer than 500 words. We’d love to see some pictures of your first car too! To get involved and share your story or for further information, email community@britishmotormuseum.co.uk with the subject ‘My First Car’. We may not be able to publish everyone's stories but we will certainly enjoy reading them all!
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