A lot of non-car people only know the mini as Mr Bean's car and, as Mr Bean is supposed to be an object of derision, they view the mini that way too. How sad.
Ignoring it's looks, the mini is responsible for the way many cars are built today. If you drive a Corolla, a Pulsar, a Lancer, or an Excel - the basic mechanical design of your car is much the same as the mini. Additionally, if you drive a Prelude, a Celica, a Camry, a post-850 Volvo or just about anything not made by BMW, Mercedes, or a Falcon or Commodore, they are all derived from the mini. It wasn't the first front wheel drive car, but it was the first to put the engine across the car, instead of parallel with the long axis of the car, an idea that allowed the rest of the design to be so revolutionary.
It was the brainchild of Sir Alec Issigonis who came up with his ingenious idea while sipping on a gin in a hotel in Cannes -- a very civilized approach to engineering.
The design has many cunning features. During the painting of the shell, a rod was inserted straight through the car allowing the shell to be spun round as it was painted.The speedometer was originally put in the middle of the dashboard, cleverly covering the hole where the pole went.
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