The role model for the Mini?
02/11/2021
When the Mini, then still called the Austin Seven, was introduced in 1959, it was considered a sensation. No one had ever placed the engine-transmission unit and drive unit in the front of a car in such a space-saving way.
Really?
The Noël Benet, whose De Dion-Bouton engine transmitted its power to the front wheels via an underlying gearbox and two drive shafts, was already available around 1900.
To be fair, it has to be said that the Noël Benet only had one cylinder and certainly did not have a convincing use of space, especially as its body was more like a carriage.
Nevertheless, the automobile can be regarded as innovative, even if it was not commercially successful.
Only a few examples were built, and presumably only one of them survived. In the 1970s, it was exhibited at the Musée de Rochetaillée in France, which was featured in issue 48/1972 of Automobil Revue.
