The Mini Cooper will launch the new John Cooper Works Clubman car at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. While this new 2016 version is stylish, smart and speedy, it is a massive leap from the first Mini (earlier spelled in title case) launched in the 1950s. Here we trace the five-decade long journey of the European Car of the Century, the Mini Cooper:

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pbr /The Mini Cooper will launch the new John Cooper Works Clubman car at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. While this new 2016 version is stylish, smart and speedy, it is a massive leap from the first Mini (earlier spelled in title case) launched in the 1950s. Here we trace the five-decade long journey of the European Car of the Century, the Mini Cooper:/p
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pIt all started in 1957 when the fuel prices were soaring and large, petrol-guzzling cars were losing their glamour. To keep up with the new demand of the elite, Sir Leonard Lord of the Morris Company worked with his engineer Alec Issigonis for creating a small, fuel-efficient car. This led to the birth of the first-ever Mini in 1959. This never-seen-before car in that era featured two important innovations-more room in the cockpit and for passengers, as well as more stability during a steep turn, thanks to the sideway engine. The production of this car was limited to 429,000 pieces./p pandnbsp;/p
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pThe Mini soon became a youth icon of the 1960s, as almost everyone from George Harris...