20 Sep 07
The Riley Elf and Wolesley Hornet also arrived in 1961: they were a pair of Minis with a protruding boot, two-tone paint, traditional radiator grille, wooden dashboard and leather seats. All this extra weight meant they were the first Minis to get the bigger 998cc engine.
'This move came primarily as a result of the success of the BMC Mini Vans and the Mini Traveller,' recalls Tony Ball MBE (www.tonyball.co.uk), Austin's UK Car Sales Manager to 1966 and the man who launched the 1959 Mini; he's also singer Michael Ball's dad. 'These were comparatively well received by the car-buying public in this higher market sector, but the "badge engineering" image bedevilled the general BMC/British Leyland name and tended to restrict the sales potential. It was, however, the ongoing popularity and public affection for the Mini itself that remained constant.'
Work on the first Clubman started in 1967, above all trying to squeeze some profit out of the Mini, as the standard car was expensive to build and had been priced too low. After the 1968 creation of British Leyland a huge shake-up was put in progress, with Ford stylist Roy Haynes drafted in to style existing and new models. Having watched the MkI and MkII Cortina come and go, Leyland rapidly developed the 1971 Marina, styled by Haynes with the new corporate nose shared with the Maxi and Clubman.
BL sales director Filmer Paradise would rather have had an all-new shape for the Mini, but attempts to tack on a new boot or bring back the Elf/Hornet rear were rejected, and instead there was just a nose job. Mini fans weren't convinced, although they acknowledged that the few extra inches made life easier for mechanics wanting to work around the engine.
