This car is the first Morris-badged Mini and left the Cowley factory line on 8th May 1959. It was the company’s press car for many years and remains an icon in the Mini family.

When the Mini was launched on 26th August 1959, it was a complete departure from established ideas about small car design. Its creator, Alec Issigonis, designed the engine to be installed transversely, with the gearbox in the sump. Combined with front wheel drive, fully independent suspension and small wheels, the layout allowed the interior to be unusually spacious.

It was a brave decision by the British Motor Corporation to put such a revolutionary car into production. Their reward was to become, for a time at least, world leaders in automotive design. Not only were more than five million Minis made in the forty-one year production run, but the transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout has become the accepted standard for small cars.

Unusual features of the early Minis were the sliding side windows, roomy door pockets, a long straight gear lever and the separate floor-mounted starter button. In most other respects the 1959 model would be instantly familiar to owners of 1990s Minis.