What would have happened if ...
05/23/2016
British Leyland would not have rejected this car in 1969 and included it in the production program as the successor to the Mini?
The Mini 9X, as this prototype was called, was developed by none other than Alec Issigonis, who had also designed the original Mini.
The 9X prototype had considerably more space for four people and luggage than its "predecessor". A new engine and gearbox had been developed to save 40% weight. There were new independent suspensions at the front and rear and a large trunk lid at the rear, as was later found on the Golf.
Yes, the new Mini 9X was better in all respects and also five percent cheaper to produce. But the Leyland management didn't want it and let the project die, perhaps because they didn't like the car or because they had more pressing problems than replacing the group's best-selling car.
In any case, the competition seized the opportunity and produced cars exactly like the Mini 9X.
Today, it is hard to imagine that the iconic original Mini would have been replaced by this rather boring-looking car. Visitors to the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este were all the more surprised when BMW
presented this Mini (from the British Heritage Trust) as part of the brand's 100-year history last weekend.
