1959, mini Alec Issigonis (Alex? British car company (BMC) ordered Sir Issigonis to design a small car-this is the future Mini. It may not be difficult to design a car on weekdays, but in this difficult era, the Mini is destined to be a "sallow and emaciated" car, so "creatively using the limited space as much as possible to accommodate four passengers, ensuring maneuverability and low fuel consumption, and using the existing engine models" has become the theme of Issigonis's design of this car.
On August 26th, the world's first Mini rolled off the assembly line BMC. No matter in the history of automobile or racing, there is no reason why that day should not be a memorable day. It is not only an enduring classic model, but also a legendary racing culture.
Photo: Sir Alec Issigonis (Alex? Issigonis) and the first Mini.
Photo: At that time, the original engine of Mini didn't run fast, but it was definitely eating less and loading more, which was absolutely in line with the original intention of BMC.
Although the original intention of this low fuel consumption and large space was to alleviate the impact of the British oil crisis on industry, the price of 500 marks was twice as expensive as that of other small cars at that time, so its order was only 20 thousand eight months before it went on the market. Issigonis's genius design has not been recognized by the public. By chance, under the "matchmaking" of Lord Snowdon, the brother-in-law of Sir Issigonis (played by Issigonis), the Queen of England sat in the Mini driven by Sir Issigonis, and she gave the Mini a free image endorsement. Operators took the opportunity to change its propaganda concept, from economical cars to fashionable cars, and the days of Mini began to flourish. In an instant, owning a Mini has become something that can touch the fashion circle.
Photo: Stills of the movie "Mr. Bean" (translated from Chinese as Mr. Bean), taken at 1990-1995. Minicars and celebrities have brought mutual celebrity effects. In the series "Mr. Bean", Mr. Bean's original car was an orange Mini Cooper (license plate: RNT996H), but the car was scattered before the end of the program, and later it was replaced by a yellow-green Mini Cooper (license plate: SLW287R). The feature of the second Mini Cooper is the use of external locks instead of internal door locks.
Figure: As can be seen from the Mini advertisement at that time, Mini clearly positioned the market in women and fashion.
Everything is the same. When you are not famous enough, no one will look at you again. When you succeed, even the landlord and aunt will see you very pleasing to the eye. So John Cooper (John? Cooper) saw the business opportunity and proposed to make the Mini with good handling into a first-class racing car. However, this plan is not in Issigonis's plan, and it seems impossible for an economical civilian car to participate in any competition.
Photo: "Father of Mini Racing"-John Cooper.
Perhaps it was John Cooper's economic mind, but under his repeated insistence, he got a pass to make a mini Cooper through George harriman, the big boss of BMC.
196 1 10 in June, the Mini model named after Cooper was put on the market for the first time, and the first batch of 1000 vehicles were produced. This car is equipped with a dual carburetor engine with a displacement of 997cc. The front wheel is also equipped with an advanced disc brake system at that time, and the camshaft and combustion chamber have also been improved to make it reach 55 horsepower. With good handling and a relatively stronger engine, Mini Cooper's fashion route seems to have begun to deviate from the sports world.
1962, BMC, one-year-old Mini Cooper and future Mini Cooper S formed the company's first rally team, and this newborn calf won more than 153 races for BMC. 1963, BMC Company launched Mini Cooper S (for exclusive use) driven by the current situation. This car is equipped with an engine of 107 1cc, with a maximum power of 70 HP and a top speed close to160 km/h/h.
Photo: Mini Cooper's
In the early 1960s, mini-cars won trophies, including Finnish driver Rauno Aaltonen (Renault? Eltoni) drove Mini Cooper's first international race-Monte Carlo Rally. Although he lost the game because of the rollover, he still won the third place in the total score and won the championship in the level competition. In the same year, British female driver Pat Moss (Pasa? Moss) won the first Mini championship in Dutch tulip cross-country race by driving a mini car; In the Monte Carlo Rally of 1963- 1964, Paddy Hopekirk (Paddy? Hopekirk and Henry Lidden performed well in driving the No.37 car, and won the Monte Carlo crown in one fell swoop with their short and pithy Mini.
Photo: 1964 champion Mini Cooper.
After further improvement, 1965 Finnish driver Timo makinen (Modi? Makinen) and his British partner Paul East (Paul? Easter) won the Monte Carlo Rally that year by driving Mini Cooper S with 1275cc78 horsepower engine. They are the only drivers who have completed thousands of kilometers without being fined. Of the 237 participating cars, 35/237 insisted on crossing the finish line, including 3 Mini Cooper s.
Photo: Finnish driver Timo M? Kening (Modi? Makinen) and partner Paul East (Paul? Easter).
1966, three Mini Cooper S won the top three in the Monte Carlo Rally for the third team of BMC. Driver Teemo m? Kening (Modi? Makinen), Laura Aaltonen (Renault? Elton Tony) and Paddy Hopekirk (Paddy? Hopkik was crowned champion, runner-up and runner-up respectively. This made the arrogant French very jealous and protested to the organizing Committee of the competition. After investigation by the organizing Committee, the results of three cars were cancelled on the grounds that "the halogen lamps of the headlights did not meet the regulations of the French transportation department", and the Citroen team was awarded the championship.
1966' s misfortune can't hide the light of Mini Cooper. 1967 Renault? Launo Aaltonen won the Monte Carlo Rally again in his Mini.
Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper's teamed up to win more than 25 kinds of rally titles in the large-scale rally in 1960s, which was called "golden decade":
Monte Carlo Rally Women's Champion (1962)
Tulip Rally Champion (1962)
Champion of Coupe des Dames Rally (1963)
Monte Carlo Rally Champion (1964)
Monte Carlo Rally Champion (1965)
Monte Carlo Rally Champion (1967)
……
Because Mini was originally sold under the brands of Austin and Morris, it was called "Austin VII" and "Morris Mini Minor", so before 1969 became an independent brand, the same MINI may have different factory logos. However, at 1980, Min once again became a brand owned by Austin.
Photo: Morris Mini Cooper's rally car.
Photo: Austin mini Cooper's rally car.
I wonder if God has a soft spot for mini racing. Not only BMC's Mini racing has achieved excellent results, but even people who have driven Mini racing are somewhat happy. 1April, 968, Austrian Niki Lauda (Niji? Lauda) took part in the ramp race for the first time near Linz in a Mini, and won the second place. Two weeks later, he won the first championship in his career and made his first appearance when he won the championship. Later, he won three Formula One championships. Like Lauda, many Formula One champions, such as Graham Hill (Graham Hill? Hill), Jackie Stewart (Jackie? Stuart), john surtees (John? Surtees)、Jochen Rindt (Joken？ Lint) and james hunter (James? Hunter), they all drove the Mini to the track.
Of course, all beautiful things can't be occupied by Mini, and no matter how much you care for Mini, God is fair. However, this fairness is somewhat cruel when it happens to Mini.
197 1 year, the Mini Cooper series began to stop production. With the discontinuation of Mini Cooper, Mini Cooper's also withdrew from the rally. BMC became BLMC (Leyland Motor Company, UK), and it also plans to replace Cooper with a model called Metro. Of course, it failed in the end.
1986, the 5 millionth Mini drove out of the production line of the British longbridge factory.
1988, "the father of mini" Sir Alec Issigonis (Alec? Isgonis) died.
In September, 2000, the last car, the 5387862nd Mini Classic, left the production line in Longbridge, England, symbolizing the perfect ending of Mini Classic.
On February 24th, 65438, John Cooper, the "father of mini racing", also died.
Photo: The last Mini officially rolled off the assembly line amid cheers from people, but who knows what is behind their smiling faces?
1994, BMW group acquired rover group, including Mini, land rover, rover and MG, but BMW also carried a heavy burden. In early 2000, BMW resold the Land Rover to Ford and kept the Mini. In 20001year, it invested nearly 360 million euros, renamed Mini, and rebuilt the MINI manufacturing factory in Oxford, England. MINI has officially become one of the three independent automobile brands of BMW Group.
Photo: MINI Cooper(R50) and MINI Cooper S(R53) launched after BMW took over.
The new MINI is very different from the previous products. MINI Cooper is no longer a "mini" on the model. It is as big as a four-door small car, which is more than 500 mm longer than the old mini. Its space is more spacious than the old mini, the interior design is modern and the safety equipment has been greatly improved. However, the modified new MINI continues the previous unique shape, and its shape is easily reminiscent of the traditional mini design, which is quite nostalgic. At the same time, the BMW Group has also greatly improved its handling: the design with low center of gravity and wide wheel track retains the unique karting driving sense of MINI; MINI Cooper's front axle also uses McPherson suspension with excellent handling; The new rear axle intermediate arm ensures the best contact with the road surface with its advanced and accurate kinematics design.
The MINI in the new era is contaminated with BMW's sports talent, and this divine power has been colliding in the MINI. Since 2009, Prodrive (the company was founded by Richard on 1984, and it is an independent leading brand in the field of racing and automobile) has started the research and development of MINI Countryman WRC.
On October 2010165438+10, the 1.6T WRC racing car based on MINI Countryman and Mini John Cooper Works was tested for the first time.
20 1 1, the reorganized mini-team started its WRC career again in Sardinia, Italy. On April 12, the MINI WRC team held a ceremony to return to the WRC battlefield at the factory in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England, and launched a car based on the MINI Countryman production car and carefully built by Prodrive. The 1.6-liter turbocharged engine of this car comes from the MINI production model and is developed by BMW motorsport.
Photo: The mini countryman WRC racing car and the mini WRC team are at the conference site of 20 1 1.
In the same year, the fifth stop of the 201kloc-0/FIA World Rally Championship moved to Sardinia, Italy, which was also the battle for MINI to return to WRC. Spanish driver Daniel soldo (Daniel? Soldo) and his navigator Carlos del Barrio are driving car No.37, and British driver Chris Mick (Chris? Meck) and Irish partner Paul nagel (Paul? Nag) drives a car No.52 to race alone. In the end, car 52 failed to complete all the stages because of the throttle failure.
Photo: This racing model based on MINI Countryman, in addition to the appearance of racing transformation, all interior parts have been removed and replaced with anti-roll frames and racing seats. MINI Countryman is the latest model of mini family and the first model equipped with four-wheel drive system, which meets the requirements of rally car models.
Photo: MINI Countryman is also equipped with many technologies aimed at promoting environmental protection and reducing fuel consumption. For example, braking energy recovery, automatic start-stop function, shift display, auxiliary components operated as required, etc., will all exist in the form of a combination of standard configuration and specific models.
Photo: The flagship model, Mini Cooper Countryman, is equipped with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, fully variable valve distribution system, twin scroll turbocharger and high-precision direct injection technology, achieving a perfect balance between power output and fuel consumption in its class. The output power of Mini Cooper Countryman engine reaches 184Ps, and the acceleration time of 0- 100km/h is only 7.6s.
Photo: Although MINI officially continues to cooperate with Prodrive in WRC, the MINI WRC team operated by Prodrive is no longer the team of MINI manufacturers.
Photo: Mini Racing Car (R60) at WRC 2000 20 1 1.
Soon, the WRC race in Finland will start again on July 28th-30th, 20 1 1. Six cars of the mini team also returned to WRC, including two original cars owned by Chris? Mick and Danny? Soldo drives. Finnish drivers Matti Rantanen and Mattias Therman will also drive cars modified from the Prodrive. Among the six mini-cars, Daniel Oliveira and Armindo Araujo will also be included. Subsequently, Dr. Kay Segler, senior vice president of MINI, announced at the end of the 20 12 season that he would give up the follow-up competition after the end of the 20 12WRC season in view of the current difficult economic environment. (For more information, please click "No more passion? Ford /MINI quits WRC》)MINI also said that its racing car John Cooper WorksCountryman will abide by the rules of the FIA International Motor Sports Federation, and other private teams can still choose this car to participate in the WRC competition in the new season. At the same time, BMW officials also said that even if MINI withdraws from WRC rally, they will continue to focus on developing 1.6 liter turbocharged engine with British racing company Prodrive***.
MINI*** participated in the WRC competition for two seasons, and tested the MINI on 20 1 1 year. In the annual 13 sub-competition, six games were selected and two podium appearances were made. 20 12 MINI won the runner-up in the opening match of Monte Carlo Rally. In the 20 12 season, the manufacturer's team qualification was transferred to the mini Portuguese team. In the new season, MINI will no longer participate in the WRC race as a manufacturer. Although there is no mini team on WRC, there are still mini cars.
20/kloc-in February, French driver Stefan Peter hansel (Peter? Hansel) and navigator partner Jean-Paul Cottret (Jean? Paul. Kurt Ritter) won the championship for the Monster Energy X-raid team in Treboul, Germany with a total score of 38 hours, 32 minutes and 39 seconds, 42 minutes and 22 seconds ahead of the second place.
Of all the seven cars in the X-Raid team, five were MINI ALL4 cars, all of which entered the top of the total score 10, and won the first and second place in the Dakar Rally in 20 12. The MINI ALL4 Dakar racing car with personalized spraying has become a beautiful landscape in the smoke and dust.
Whether it is the air intake grille or the oval headlights, the MINI ALL4 Dakar still retains the overall style of the Countryman model, but in addition to retaining the front face and personalized painting of the MINI styling soul, the MINI All 4 Dakar racing car has little contact with the production car. Although the Dakar rally seems "barbaric", it is equally important to optimize the aerodynamic performance of the MINI ALL4 car. The two large air intakes at the top of the car and the air intakes in the side windows provide a lot of fresh air for the car, and at the same time, they can also take away the temperature brought by the cooling equipment at the rear of the car.
The MINI ALL4 Dakar racing car has a body size of 4333/ 1998/ 1966mm and a wheelbase of 2906mm, which is quite different from the measurements of production cars. The body size of the mass-produced MINI Countryman is only 4110/789/1561mm, and the wheelbase is 2595mm.
This twin-turbocharged diesel engine based on BMW's mass-produced engine has a displacement of 3.0 liters, a power output of 320Ps and a peak torque output of about 7 1.4Kgm. At the same time, the engine is equipped with a dry oil pan, which is to control the overall height and center of gravity and ensure the best lubrication under extreme conditions.
Matching the powerful engine is a six-speed sequential gearbox for Sadev brand racing cars. The chassis is made in Haggman and is also equipped with an oil-cooled Xtrac differential; Under the chassis of this racing car, protective armor covers the whole chassis and axle position, and 8- 10mm thick steel plate provides protection for the chassis of the racing car. The diameter of racing air throttle is 38mm, which limits the wildness of this crazy beast. Lightweight of electrical equipment further reduces the weight of the vehicle and minimizes the weight of the vehicle. The top speed of MINI ALL4 racing car can exceed180 km/h.
The braking system has also been fully optimized, and the six-piston AP braking assembly ensures the braking effect. The front brake is cooled by air, and the rear brake is cooled by water and air. Four shock absorbers are used on each wheel, which can be set to be adjustable in four levels.
To celebrate the French driver Peter of the mini team? Stefan Peter hansel and navigator partner Jean? Paul. Jean-PaulCottret won the Dakar Rally in 20 12 years by driving MINI ALL4 Racing, and MINI released the special edition of MINI JCW Country Dakar in 20 13 years while the iron was hot. This commemorative model will only produce 1 1, representing Peter Hansel's1/champion, and will only be sold in Peter Hansel's hometown of France.
Photo: MINI Dakar Champion Special Edition retains the original flavor of COUNTRYMAN model, with trapezoidal double-layer air intake grille and oval headlights as its iconic features. However, in addition to maintaining the front face shape of MINI soul, the whole car will be painted in all-black matte paint, and painted with green and Yoshida Rally logo, which also highlights the special identity of the car.
Photo: The 20 13 engine hood is printed with the Dakar Rally Champion logo and Stephen. Signed by Peter Hansel. The side of the car body is also printed with number 302 and the names of the driver and pilot.
Figure: In addition to the changes in appearance and interior color matching, the power system has also been improved accordingly. The vehicle will be equipped with a 1.6T turbocharged engine, with a maximum power of 2 18Ps and a maximum torque of 28.6Kgm The vehicle adopts a four-wheel drive system, and the acceleration time of 0- 100km/h is 7.0 seconds.
After Mini became a frequent visitor on the track, the Mini Challenge, first held in 2004, became the most successful and popular series of club sports events in the world.
The significance of mini challenge is equal opportunity. All drivers drive mini-cars with the same technical content. Guided by the concept of skilled mini-control and high-standard safety equipment, the mini-challenge also has a unique appeal to new drivers and enthusiastic amateur drivers.
As the only official racing car, the Mini John Cooper Works Challenge (R56) will be unveiled at the MINI CHALLENGE. This brand-new racing model based on MINI Cooper S was specially developed by MINI racing engineers for professional racing. Since taking part in the competition in 2008, the Mini John Cooper Works Challenge has attracted drivers from all over the world.
After retraining, MINI Cooper S has become a professional MINI John Cooper Works to challenge high-performance racing cars. The engine part is still a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, equipped with double scroll turbocharger and gasoline direct injection technology. When the engine speed reaches 6000 rpm, the maximum output power is 2 1 1Ps. In order to achieve nearly perfect engine performance, the maximum torque of 26.5Kgm can be maintained at the speed of 1850-5700r/min. At 2000-5000r/min, the supercharge function can increase the torque to 28.6Kgm. Because the turbocharger can achieve excellent working results at 1400r/min, drivers are no longer worried about the common turbine "lag" problem in the past.
The acceleration time of MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE from standstill to 100 km/h is only 6. 1 sec. In contrast, it only takes 3. 1 sec or 3 1 m for a car to go from this speed to a standstill.
The MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE is equipped with 17-inch lightweight rim specifications and specially developed racing tires that meet the design requirements of the MINI CHALLENGE. The suspension with adjustable shock absorber can adjust the ground clearance, shock absorber pressure (compression and rebound) and suspension response according to the different requirements of the track, and transmit the power to the front wheels through the commonly used six-speed manual gearbox.
The minimum lifting weight (including vehicle and driver) is 1 170Kg. The aerodynamic kit includes a front spoiler, a rear diffuser and an adjustable rear fender for competition. At the same time, each racing car has its own integrated elevator, which consists of four pneumatic supports protruding from the bottom of the car, and uses compressed air to quickly lift the whole car. Obviously, this allows drivers and teams to change tires in a few seconds.
There is a six-point seat belt above the bucket seat, and the well-known HANS (Head and Neck Protection Device) system from Formula One racing car is included as standard, which can protect the driver's neck position more effectively.
20 1 1, MINI also specially launched a service car based on MINI COUNTRYMAN (R60) for X-raid team, the defending champion of Dakar Rally, and joined hands with MINI ALL4 to compete in Dakar Rally 20 13. The mini COUNTRYMAN service car will provide full backup support for the X-raid team during the competition.
This set includes a silver cross-country surround and a side skirt at the front and rear of the car, highlighting the body painting of racing elements. And put on larger Goodyear Shepherd cross-country tires to ensure stable vehicle performance and improve the minimum ground clearance. In addition, the off-road modification kit can also be equipped with auxiliary lighting headlights, mudguards, waterproof pads, 18 inch alloy wheels and explosion-proof (run-flat) tires. The mini COUNTRYMAN service car equipped with the original off-road modification kit will provide full-time backup support for the X-raid team during the competition.
The model of John Cooper's works originated from Mr. John Cooper. John Cooper's first work with Mini was the classic Mini Cooper S, which won three Monte Carlo Rally titles for BMC. In 2008, JOHN COOPER WORKS officially became a sub-brand of MINI focusing on racing.
The mini-John Cooper factory WRC racing car was jointly built by Prodrive and the mini-John Cooper factory. This new chariot was built by BMW, JCW (the work of John Cooper), Prodrive, AP Racing and other manufacturers, and the appearance part was mainly taken care of by JCW. A large number of carbon fiber kits are installed in the whole vehicle, including front lip, wheel arch and side skirt. In addition, the front bumper, hood and fender are all provided with air inlets and air outlets. Since windows cannot be opened during the competition and there is no air conditioning in the car, the ventilation device on the roof is mainly used for air circulation in the car.
The tail of the mini WRC is also a product of JCW, which is also made of carbon fiber. Different tracks have different styles of tails to choose from, and all products have passed the test of wind, which can effectively guide the air while providing strong downforce.
Photo: In terms of walking, MINI WRC adopts McPherson suspension +Ohlins three-way adjustable shock absorption system, which sacrifices the interior space for more road feel. Brakes and hubs are provided by AP Racing and ATS respectively. On the gravel track, the combination of 15 inch wheel hub and 300mm front and rear four-piston caliper brake discs is used. On the road surface, the combination of 18 inch wheel hub and front and rear 355mm four-piston caliper brake discs is adopted.
Figure: In terms of power, the original 1.6T engine has also been greatly strengthened, and the dual-vortex turbocharging technology introduced by BMW Motor Sports Department has been adopted. The maximum turbocharging value of the engine can reach 2.5bar, the maximum power is 3 14Ps, and the peak torque is 42.8Kgm, which is nearly 136Ps higher than that of the prototype, while the vehicle weight is only 16ps. ..