The Mini came about because of a fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis.
 Petrol was once again rationed in the UK, sales of large cars slumped, and the market for German bubble cars boomed, even in countries such as Britain, where imported cars were still a rarity.
The Fiat 500, launched in 1957, was also hugely successful, especially in its native Italy.

Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly detested these cars so much that he vowed to rid the streets of them and design a 'proper miniature car'.
He laid down some basic design requirements – the car should be contained within a box that measured 10×4×4 feet (3.0×1.2×1.2 m); and the passenger accommodation should occupy 6 feet (1.8 m) of the 10-foot (3.0 m) length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit.

Alec Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 with a brief from Lord to design a range of technically advanced family cars in the same innovative spirit as his earlier Morris Minor to complement BMC's existing conventional models.
Issigonis had set out design projects for three cars – large and small family cars and a very small economy car.
His initial work was on the largest car, designated XC9001, with the smallest car, XC9003, having the lowest priority despite it being Issigonis' greatest personal interest.
With Lord's dictum to produce a bubble car competitor and his revised design requirements being laid down in October 1956, work on XC9001 stopped and XC9003 became the priority.
The team that designed the Mini was remarkably small; in addition to Issigonis,  Jack Daniels (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (who had been with him at Alvis), two engineering students, and four draughtsmen worked on the project.
Together, by July 1957, they had designed and built the original XC9003 prototype, which was affectionately named the  "Orange Box" because of its colour.
Leonard Lord approved the car for production on 19 July and XC9003 became project ADO15.

The ADO15 used a conventional BMC A-Series four-cylinder, water-cooled engine, but departed from tradition by mounting it transversely, with the engine-oil lubricated, four-speed transmission in the sump, and by employing front-wheel drive.
Almost all small front-wheel drive cars developed since have used a similar configuration, except with the transmission usually separately enclosed rather than using the engine oil.
The radiator was mounted at the left side of the car so that the engine-mounted fan could be retained, but with reversed pitch so that it blew air into the natural low pressure area under the front wing.
This location saved vehicle length, but had the disadvantage of feeding the radiator with air that had been heated by passing over the engine.
It also exposed the entire ignition system to the direct entry of rainwater through the grille.
Early prototypes used the existing 948-cc A-Series unit, but this provided the ADO15 with performance far greater than its price and purpose required – a top speed  over 90 mph.
The engine was reduced to a new 848-cc capacity with a shorter stroke.
This reduced power from 37 to 33 bhp and caused a significant drop in torque, so provided more realistic performance, especially when the ADO15 body was widened by 2 inches (5.08 cm) over the XC9003 prototype, which blunted the car's top speed while improving its stability and roadholding.
Even so, the ADO15 had a top speed of 75 mph, which was better than many other economy cars of the time.

The suspension system, designed by Issigonis's friend Dr. Alex Moulton at Moulton Developments Limited, used compact rubber cones instead of conventional springs.
This space-saving design also featured rising progressive-rate springing of the cones, and provided some natural damping, in addition to the normal dampers.
Built into the subframes, the rubber cone system gave a raw and bumpy ride accentuated by the woven-webbing seats, but the rigidity of the rubber cones, together with the wheels' positioning at the corners
The Mini came about because of a fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis.  Petrol was once again rationed in the UK, sales of large cars slumped, and the market for German bubble cars boomed, even in countries such as Britain, where imported cars were still a rarity. The Fiat 500, launched in 1957, was also hugely successful, especially in its native Italy.
Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly detested these cars so much that he vowed to rid the streets of them and design a 'proper miniature car'. He laid down some basic design requirements – the car should be contained within a box that measured 10×4×4 feet (3.0×1.2×1.2 m); and the passenger accommodation should occupy 6 feet (1.8 m) of the 10-foot (3.0 m) length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit.
Alec Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 with a brief from Lord to design a range of technically advanced family cars in the same innovative spirit as his earlier Morris Minor to complement BMC's existing conventional models. Issigonis had set out design projects for three cars – large and small family cars and a very small economy car. His initial work was on the largest car, designated XC9001, with the smallest car, XC9003, having the lowest priority despite it being Issigonis' greatest personal interest. With Lord's dictum to produce a bubble car competitor and his revised design requirements being laid down in October 1956, work on XC9001 stopped and XC9003 became the priority. The team that designed the Mini was remarkably small; in addition to Issigonis,  Jack Daniels (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (who had been with him at Alvis), two engineering students, and four draughtsmen worked on the project. Together, by July 1957, they had designed and built the original XC9003 prototype, which was affectionately named the  "Orange Box" because of its colour. Leonard Lord approved the car for production on 19 July and XC9003 became project ADO15.
The ADO15 used a conventional BMC A-Series four-cylinder, water-cooled engine, but departed from tradition by mounting it transversely, with the engine-oil lubricated, four-speed transmission in the sump, and by employing front-wheel drive. Almost all small front-wheel drive cars developed since have used a similar configuration, except with the transmission usually separately enclosed rather than using the engine oil. The radiator was mounted at the left side of the car so that the engine-mounted fan could be retained, but with reversed pitch so that it blew air into the natural low pressure area under the front wing. This location saved vehicle length, but had the disadvantage of feeding the radiator with air that had been heated by passing over the engine. It also exposed the entire ignition system to the direct entry of rainwater through the grille. Early prototypes used the existing 948-cc A-Series unit, but this provided the ADO15 with performance far greater than its price and purpose required – a top speed  over 90 mph. The engine was reduced to a new 848-cc capacity with a shorter stroke. This reduced power from 37 to 33 bhp and caused a significant drop in torque, so provided more realistic performance, especially when the ADO15 body was widened by 2 inches (5.08 cm) over the XC9003 prototype, which blunted the car's top speed while improving its stability and roadholding. Even so, the ADO15 had a top speed of 75 mph, which was better than many other economy cars of the time.
The suspension system, designed by Issigonis's friend Dr. Alex Moulton at Moulton Developments Limited, used compact rubber cones instead of conventional springs. This space-saving design also featured rising progressive-rate springing of the cones, and provided some natural damping, in addition to the normal dampers. Built into the subframes, the rubber cone system gave a raw and bumpy ride accentuated by the woven-webbing seats, but the rigidity of the rubber cones, together with the wheels' positioning at the corners
Mini