More Minis and the Month of April and Into May

    Significant events in the life of the Mini from the months of April and May

Down Under Name Change
    1972, April. Australian Minis named Leyland Minis.

New Australia Model
1973, April. Australian Mini S goes on sale.

Pot Joints Pop Up
    1973 April. Inboard CV joints start.

Change the Name. More of the Same.
    1982, April. City name changed to City E, and HL name changed to HLE…so Marketing has something to do.

Sliding Roof for Europe
    1993, April. European specification British Open Classic goes on sale.

Star Theme But Not a Star
    1996, April. Equinox goes on sale. (Yawn.) Only about 750 were made. Wonder if they were all sold?

Alternative Mini Meet in the U.S.
    2009, April. Mini 50 was held the 22nd – 25th in Townsend, Tennessee.

Starting Dry Instead of Wet    
    1958, May. The decision to forego hydrolastic suspension on the XC/9003 was made on the 19th.

The Women Are First
    1962, May. First outright international win for a works Mini takes place with Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom on the Tulip Rally in a 997 Cooper, 737 ABL.

Australia Winds Down First
    1965, May. The Australian Van production changes to roll-up windows. More models start in June, and the same door/window set up was used later on South African production Minis.

Alpine Falls to Hopkirk
    1966, May. Paddy Hopkirk and Ron Crellin take an outright win on the Austrian Alpine Rally in DJB 93B.


Hopkirk Still Busy in May 1966
1966, May. Hopkirk and Crellin in GRX311D are the highest placed Works Mini on the Acropolis Rally (3rd overall, 1st in class).

Acropolis Comeback
1967, May. Hopkirk and Crellin get an overall win in the Acropolis Rally in LRX 830E.

 

 

Related Articles

.