Mini Variations
In addition to the Mini and Mini Cooper, four other badge names owned by British Motor Corporation were used on the Mini, these being the Austin, Morris, Wolseley and Riley. In later years the ERA badge was used for a very special low volume turbo-charged version.
Over the years many different body types were available. Pick-up, van, estate and cabriolet versions were produced along with Wolseley and Riley versions which had their own distinctive vertical grills and tail fins. Perhaps the most unusual model was the Mini Moke which was an open-air utility vehicle originally designed for agricultural and military use but which eventually found favor as a fun vehicle. The Moke was also used as a test-bed for a bizarre four wheel drive design which was fitted with a separate engine at each end of the car. This idea was eventually abandoned.
The Mini proved to be an accessories "Gold Mine" . A huge market unfolded as customers demanded the ability to personalize their Minis with every conceivable body, chassis and engine tuning accessory.
Between 1959 and 2000 some 5.3 million Minis were produced in various plants in Birmingham and Oxford, U.K., Belgium, Italy and Spain.