9X (1967 to 1979) From 1967 to 1979,
Alec Issigonis worked on designing a replacement for the
Mini in the form of an experimental model called the 9X. The 9X was itself developed from the remains of a previous project in 1966 when Innocenti requested a smaller Mini for the Italian market, known as Mini-Mini and later on the Innocenti 750 - with a new in-sump gearbox and powered by an ultra-compact engine stretchable between 750-1000cc. However market research at BMC doubted there would be a market for such a car outside of Italy where it would be unable to compete with the Fiat 500 on price, its engine and gearbox though would be carried over to the 9X. Due to politicking inside
British Leyland (which had now been formed by the merger of BMC's parent company
British Motor Holdings and the
Leyland Motor Corporation), the car never reached production. The 9X addressed many of the engineering flaws in Issigonis' original design- namely its complexity, its harsh ride and its poor mechanical refinement caused by the gearbox-in-sump layout. The first fully engineered prototype had a shorter wheelbase than the Mini but was four inches shorter overall. It was also slightly wider and offered significantly more interior space plus a
hatchback body. The separate subframes of the Mini were removed and the body frame construction greatly simplified- the 9X required less than half the number of individual parts to build than a Mini. The power unit was an all-new four-cylinder design with a belt-driven
overhead camshaft. The crankcase and
cylinder head were made from aluminium alloy while the block was of cast iron, with all three sections being held together by long through-bolts. This was identical construction to the original
Austin Seven's engine and similar ideas would be revisited in the 1980s for the
Rover K-Series engine. Capacity in the prototype was 1000cc with versions as low as 750cc possible, as well as six-cylinder versions which would still be compact enough to install transversely. Power output was 60
horsepower per litre (as opposed to around 40 hp/litre for the existing
A-Series engine) and the new engine was also significantly lighter. To reduce maintenance and the number of parts the engine's
alternator was incorporated into the flywheel (a common practice on
motorcycles). The gearbox was mounted behind and below the engine in a separate casing, rather than sharing the engine's sump oil. This reduced noise levels caused by the Mini's transmission transfer gears and allowed better control of drivetrain shunt and vibration. The
Hydrolastic suspension system developed by
Alex Moulton was rejected in favour of a more conventional system with
MacPherson struts at the front and a
torsion beam axle at the back. This reduced production costs, potentially reduced warranty claim rates and allowed a more comfortable ride. The 9X was, in essence, identical in concept to later European
superminis such as the
Fiat 127, the
Peugeot 104, the
Renault 5 and the
Volkswagen Polo, but was conceived several years before the first of these cars was launched. Issigonis also drew up plans for a larger five-door 9X known as 10X on a 90-inch (2286mm) or 96-inch (2438mm) wheelbase against the three-door 80-inch (2036mm) wheelbase of the second built 9X prototype. This enlarged 10X version shared many structural, suspension and drivetrain parts with the 'Mini-sized' 9X and was Issigonis' proposal to succeed his own
ADO16 design. Issigonis would also draw up comparisons based around an extended 9X measuring at 10ft 6-inches.
Project Ant - the Barrel Mini (1968) Project Ant ran parallel to Issigonis' 9X and was a plan to keep the same space efficiency but be cheaper to manufacture, less complex and cut down on labour hours on either an eighty or eighty-four inch wheelbase. The project was cancelled in 1968; however, it would still be part of a later design competition conducted between it and what became ADO74 (then known as Project Ladybird) between 1972 and 1974. Where though Project Ant gave a good account of itself, especially when fitted with Allegro rear suspension, it was eventually decided - though not unanimously - that what was needed was a supermini rather than a new Mini.
Mini Clubman (1967-68) In 1967
Roy Haynes joined BMC from
Ford Motor Company and was tasked by then Managing Director, Joe Edwards to update the existing Mini. Several designs were looked at including a booted version based upon the Riley / Wolseley Elf/Hornet and a hatchback with a rear end resembling a
Morris Marina, which was also designed by Haynes. All of these were rejected except for the new front which was added to the existing Mini and named the Clubman.
Pininfarina Mini In 1967 and 1968,
Pininfarina designed two concept cars that were based on the
BMC 1800 and
1100 models. These aerodynamic models by
Paolo Martin were rejected by BMC, however there is evidence that BMC did a study to look at a mini version of this car without Pininfarina's assistance.
ADO74 In 1972
British Leyland began considering a replacement for the then 13-year-old Mini known initially as Project Ladybird. With the cancellation of the 9X under BMC the small car market had been left to the growing band of
superminis which, as the 9X had done, took the Mini concept and improved on it. The main improvement was from the realisation that the Mini's incredibly small size was not entirely necessary. Superminis were still much smaller than the usual
small family car but were slightly larger than the Mini, which led to significantly more useful interior space without the need for the compromises in seating position, drivetrain refinement and low equipment levels that the Mini used to create its spacious but small interior. The Italian engineer
Dante Giacosa had long been Issigonis' main rival when it came to mastery of small car design and his transverse (but no gearbox-in-sump) engine layout and the addition of a
hatchback (both ideas that Issigonis had himself seen as a way of improving the Mini on the 9X) provided the template for the new generation of superminis. British Leyland now had to catch up with the market. The ADO74 project considered various proposed car sizes, from a direct Mini replacement, a more conventional supermini and a compact saloon. Unsurprisingly the mid-sized option was chosen and styling proposals were drawn up by
Harris Mann and
Giovanni Michelotti, with Mann's design going forward. The result was over 15 inches longer than the Mini, with a wheelbase 10 inches longer. Like the 9X (and most of its would-be competitors) the ADO74 used
MacPherson strut front suspension, but with independent trailing arms at the rear, akin to the contemporary
Honda Civic. Power was to have come from the proposed H-Series later K-Series engines, which were all-new designs that owed little to the
A-Series engine though it could have just as easily been built with the A-Series initially due to the company's financial state. The ADO74 project progressed slowly - partly due to continuing corporate problems at BL and partly due to the need for numerous design changes requested by the firm's overseas sales division, Leyland International, which took the view that the ADO74 was too conventional and that it would be better to create another innovative car rather than compete directly with the established competition. The supermini market moved quickly in the early 'Seventies and the ADO74 underwent several redesigned to keep abreast of these changes in order that it wouldn't be outdated as soon as it was released. Eventually these changes became so significant that BL realized that it would be better to start from scratch. The ADO74 project was cancelled in 1973 and the ADO88 project took its place.
ADO88 This was a 'clean sheet' design using all the knowledge gained from the cancelled ADO74 proposal, with
Charles 'Spen' King in overall charge. The new car was sized to be smaller than the established superminis but larger than a Mini to allow useful improvements in refinement, practicality and safety that the market demanded. With the Mini's superb interior space for its size still one of the ageing model's key selling points the brief for ADO88 was that the car had to offer the same usable cabin volume as the competition but in a car with smaller external dimensions. Budget restrictions meant that there would be no new power units for the ADO88, which would instead use the familiar A-Series units from the Mini, along with the old car's gearbox-in-sump transmission. Tests showed that despite its age the engine could still deliver highly competitive fuel economy so it was modernised and updated to create the
A-Plus generation. The conventional suspension of the 9X and the ADO74, and the Mini's solid rubber cone springs, were replaced by the
Hydragas system recently debuted on the
Austin Allegro which offered a useful improvement in ride quality as well as being much more compact than a standard steel spring and
damper setup, which was crucial to provide the car with the required interior space. That requirement also led to the ADO88, despite the efforts of
Harris Mann. having an inevitably boxy appearance, with an almost vertical rear hatch (similar in appearance to the later
Fiat Cinquecento). This style was received very poorly in customer clinics and the project was renamed
LC8 with the aim of providing a more upmarket style and appearance to make the car more competitive. Having originally been intended as a complete Mini replacement, LC8 would now become a separate car in its own right to replace the higher-end
Clubman and 1275GT Mini models while the more basic Minis would continue (with some of the improvements from the ADO88 project such as the A-Plus engine and front disc brakes) as a budget model. The LC8 became the
Austin Metro, which was initially launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini-Metro to signify its status as a supplement to the Mini range rather than a replacement. ==1994 to present==