Look behind the wheel of a 2019 BMW MINI Cooper, and you’re likely to find a 30-something driver who wasn’t born yet when the first British Mini rolled onto English streets in 1959, igniting an automotive revolution.
Ride instead with Mini collectors Bill and Mary Newman and you’ll be treated to a history lesson on the automobile voted “The European Car of the Century” with worldwide sales topping 5 million units.
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Bill and Mary Newman's 1972 Mini Cooper.
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The dashboard of Bill and Mary Newman’s 1972 Mini Cooper.
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Andrew West
Bill and Mary Newman’s 1972 Mini Cooper.
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Andrew West
Bill and Mary Newman’s 1972 and 2003 Mini Coopers.
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Andrew West
Bill and Mary Newman's 1972 and 2003 Mini Coopers.
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Andrew West
Bill and Mary Newman's 1972 and 2003 Mini Coopers.
The first Mini was launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959 in response to the Suez Canal fuel crisis. In an era populated by gas guzzlers, BMC told industrial designer Alec Issigonis to develop the smallest car possible that could hold four adults along with their luggage. He conquered this space challenge brilliantly by inventing a groundbreaking front-wheel-drive engine.
The first Mini had 10-inch wheels and measured only 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall and 10 feet long. Sliding windows left room for pockets to hold papers and personal items. Another smart feature was the boot (trunk) lid that had the hinges at the bottom, so the car could be driven without closing the lid.
The classic Mini truly was an international car. Over its lifespan, it was built in the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Chile, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The Mini was so cheeky it attracted raves from the British press and orders from celebrities, including actor Peter Sellers and Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Members of the royal family were photographed zipping around London in their new Minis.
Fashion designer Mary Quant borrowed the Mini name to label the short-short skirts she created to symbolize the kicky new freedom of the ’60s in England and across the pond.
The Mini was spotlighted as a speedy and nimble performer in several hit movies including “A Shot in the Dark” — the second film in the Pink Panther series — and 1969’s “The Italian Job” co-starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward.
Years later in “The Bourne Identity,” Matt Damon outruns the Parisian motorcycle squad in a MINI. And who can forget the green 1969 BMC Morris Mini 1000 Mark 2 playing a comic role in so many hilarious episodes of “Mr. Bean”?
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Bill and Mary Newman's 1972 and 2003 Mini Coopers.
The first Mini, called the Mk I, had three important updates: The Mk II, the Clubman and the Mk III. The Mini Cooper and the Cooper S were sportier models with racing honors, including three Monte Carlo Rally victories.
That racing reputation is one of the Mini’s attractions for Bill, who is president of The British Car Club of Southwest Florida and his wife, Mary, the club secretary.
“Before we got married,” she recalls, “we both did a Skip Barber racing course at Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, Georgia. That started the racing bug for Bill, and I was content to be crew chief.”
Although she likes to get behind the wheel herself for autocross events in Buckingham, Mary works as Bill’s crew chief when he competes in the vintage auto races the Sports Car Club of America runs at the Sebring International Raceway, a converted World War II airport. On Labor Day weekend, Bill raced his white 1971 Triumph GT6 fastback.
“Concentration is the key,” says Bill, “paying attention to where your car is in relation to the other cars around you, when to brake and when to accelerate, and your distance from the corner.”
The Matlacha car couple has owned several Minis. In 1999, they attended the Mini 40th Birthday Celebration at Silverstone Raceway in England, where several thousand Minis were shown in different body styles and configurations.
“We saw the introduction of the new MINI One, presented inside a bubble,” Mary says. She ordered the Chili Red version in 2003 and waited three years for delivery in the States. “That began my love affair with the MINI,” she remembers. “I named her ‘Chili Girl’ and I’ve driven her over 164,000 miles.”
Bill drove a 2005 Hyper Blue MINI with a British flag on its roof for years before trading it in for a red 2016 MINI Cooper S.
But despite the lure of the late-model BMW MINI models, the Newmans are rather sentimental about their show car, a 1972 Mini Clubman, painted purple with flames along the sides. Its squared-off front end was designed by a former Ford man to make engine access easier. The couple’s award-winning Clubman is right-hand drive.
If British cars intrigue you, plan to drop in at one of the monthly meetings of The British Car Club of Southwest Florida, held the second Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Famous Dave’s, 12148 S. Cleveland Ave., south Fort Myers. British car ownership is not a requirement for membership. More information is available atbccswf.com.