Mini: Books - History and Models (1/2)

Factory-Original Mini Mk I & Mk II - Originality guide including Cooper, Moke, Hornet, Elf, Van, Pick-Up & Estate

No car has had such a profound impact on the motoring scene as the original Mini. Designed in response to petrol shortages in the late 1950s, it was introduced in 1959 in both Austin and Morris guises, with either basic or De Luxe trim levels. Success came swiftly, and before long its makers at BMC were introducing van, pick-up and estate versions, high-performance Mini Coopers and higher equipment levels on the Mini Super.

Right through the 1960s, the success story continued, and the original formula proved so right that the updated Mk II models of 1967 were instantly recognisable as versions of the original and much-loved car.
These early Minis are as much admired and sought-after today as ever, offering their own unique blend of nimble driving pleasure with readily affordable running costs.
They are also increasingly the subject of detailed, part-number-perfect restorations, and this book is designed to help all those who aim to restore one of these early British-built Minis to their correct specification.

Within these pages, respected classic car historian James Taylor gives each major model of Mini its own section. These sections provide full details of specifications and examine individual areas of each model in depth.
They are backed up by colour photography of outstanding examples that illustrate the way these cars looked when they were new. Body panels, external trim and badging, paint colours, interior trim, dashboard, instruments and controls, under-bonnet components, engine and transmission, lights - all this and more is comprehensively covered for both Mk I and Mk II Minis.
For rapid reference to vital information, this formula has proved to be the most useful one for restorers.

With more than 300 specially commissioned colour photographs, "Factory-Original Mini" will delight and enthral the restorer and the more casual Mini enthusiast alike.

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The Mini Story

Very few cars inspire as much affection as the original Mini. It's the small car everyone loves to eulogise because it oozes energetic fun, classless minimalism and evergreen style. But it's also of massive historical importance: the 1959 Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis, set the template from which all successful compact cars have been created ever after. It was the technological wonder of its age.

The original Mini was on sale for 41 years, during which its 5.3m sales made it the best-selling British car of all time - an achievement unlikely ever to be beaten. And just when it looked like the little car would shrivel and die, BMW had the vision to reinvent it as the planet's most desirable small car range, and put it back on the serious motoring map as the MINI.
Here, award-winning writer Giles Chapman tells the whole, amazing story.

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British Leyland - The Cars, 1968-1986

In 1968, British Leyland brought together most of Britain's motor manufacturers, with the intention of creating a robust unified group that could equal the strength of the big European conglomerates. But this was not to be.

There have been many books about the politics and the business activities of British Leyland, but "British Leyland - The Cars, 1968 - 1986" looks deliberately at the cars that came from the company, both the models it inherited and it created.

The eighteen years of the corporation's existence saw a confusing multitude of different car types, but this book resolves these confusions, clarifying who built what, and when.
The book takes 1986 as its cut-off point because this was the year that the old British Leyland ceased to exist and what was left of the car and light commercial business was renamed the Rover Group.

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Mini - Toute l'histoire (Top Model)

This book traces the entire history of the company that produced the Mini, from the glory days of the British Motor Corporation to the takeover by BMW, via the descent into hell of British Leyland.

The first such comprehensive book published in French on the Mini, it covers all aspects of its history: its creators, its genesis, the different models manufactured (even those built outside the United Kingdom) without forgetting the stillborn prototypes, the derivatives and the competition.
To top it all off, it is full of anecdotes, benefits from very rich illustrations and presents in the appendix all the production figures and identification numbers.

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Mini - 60 ans

The Mini has been on the market for over six decades. This feat alone would be enough to make it unique in the history of the automobile. But the Mini has done much more by revolutionizing the technical conception and design of small cars.
When its first version was launched in 1959, it surprised everyone with the simplicity of its forms as much as with its interior, its performance and its incredible road holding.

This French book describes in detail the entire history of this exceptional phenomenon, from the adventure of its creation by Alec Issigonis to the advent of the very latest versions of the MINI. Mini, 60 years is an uncompromising tribute to the brand that happily symbolises for all generations the incomparable charm of the typically English car.

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100% Mini

This book details all the Mini models marketed by the Rover network in France and Europe. From the oldest to the most recent, more than 140 different Minis are presented thanks to unpublished data and anecdotes from internal archives and extremely rare documents.

This book meets a strong demand from fans of the British car, because it dissects each model in depth, including a good number that are very little known and never covered, such as the Mini Lapagayo, Silverbullet, Beaubourg, Printemps...
It is the perfect tool to know everything about the Mini, and to find your way through the abundance of limited series produced by the British firm.

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La Mini (1959-2000) de mon père

More than just a car, the Mini is a real social phenomenon. It is true that in 40 years of production - and 5.3 million units manufactured - it has left indelible memories to several generations of motorists.

You will discover throughout the pages not only its entire history, rich in several dozen models, but also its multiple variations, its racing career and the main derivatives built from its mechanics. Not to mention the Minis manufactured outside the United Kingdom. In short, a real saga allowing us to understand why the Mini is still the most loved British car today. Who can indeed resist its cute face?

• Richly illustrated, this book traces in detail the history and evolution of the Mini from 1959 to 2000.
• This volume of the "La voiture de mon père" collection is not only a source of in-depth information for the owner, but also a concise guide to originality.
• The technology, variants, modifications and special versions are described in detail.
• Also deals with manufacturing abroad.
• Contains 250 period photos, often unpublished.

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