A special event at the weekend in Oxford continued celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Mini, with the 10 millionth of the nameplate since it was first launched in 1959, writes Brian Byrne.
The 60 Years Anniversary Edition car had pride of place with a version of the original in a lineup of 60 cars to represent each year of production, at Plant Oxford.
Launched in 1959 and designed by Alec Issigonis, the classic Mini revolutionised the automotive world and was produced at Oxford until 1968, before moving to Longbridge, near Birmingham, where it continued to be built until October 2000. Between 1959 and 2000 more than 5.3 million classic Minis were built.
Since the brand’s rebirth in 2001 under BMW ownership, sales around the world have gone from strength to strength. Last year nearly 400,000 MINIs were sold in 110 countries across the globe.