Mini Clubman (1969 – 1980)

Mini Clubman and Mini Clubman Estate built in body shell with internal hinges and wind up windows with redesigned and new front look. The first appearance of the two clock instrument binnacle. Clubman model used hydrolastic suspension until 1971 whereas Clubman Estate used dry cone suspension throughout production. Clubman estate similar in appearance to the Austin Countryman/Morris Traveller but wood panels not an option.

In 1969, under the ownership of British Leyland, the Mini was given a facelift by stylist Roy Haynes, who had previously worked for Ford. The restyled version was called the Mini Clubman, and has a squarer frontal look, using the same indicator/sidelight assembly as the Austin Maxi. The Mini Clubman was intended to replace the upmarket Riley and Wolseley versions. A new model, dubbed the 1275GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc Mini Cooper (the 1275 cc Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275GT for two years until 1971). The Clubman Estate took over where the Countryman and Traveller left off.

Production of Mini 1275 GT with same facelift bodyshell as the Mini Clubman. Rostyle steel wheels were changed to 12 inch in 1974 to cover front disc brakes which is 7.5 inches disc. Features close ratio gearbox and additional rev counter.Mini 1275 GT with engine size 1275cc. Production of the Clubman and 1275GT got off to a slow start because the cars incorporated “lots of production changes” including the relocation of tooling from the manufacturer’s Cowley plant to the Longbridge plant: very few cars were handed over to customers before the early months of 1970. Early domestic market Clubmans were still delivered on cross-ply tyres despite the fact that by 1970 radials had become the norm for the car’s mainstream competitors. By 1973 new Minis were, by default, being shipped with radial tyres, though cross-plies could be specified by special order, giving British buyers a price saving of £8.

The 1275GT is often incorrectly described as the “Mini Clubman 1275GT“. The official name was always just the “Mini 1275GT“, and it was a separate, distinct model from the Clubman (albeit, it shared the same frontal treatment as the Mini Clubman, and was launched at the same time). In 1971, the 1275 cc Mini Cooper S was discontinued in the UK, leaving the Mini 1275GT as the only sporting Mini on sale for the rest of the decade. Innocenti in Italy, however, continued making their own version of the

Mini Cooper for some time, and In Australia from mid 1971 to the end of 1972, the Clubman GT was locally produced. This was essentially a Cooper S in Clubman body, equipped with the same 7.5-inch (190 mm) disc brakes, twin fuel tanks, and twin-carb Cooper S 1275 cc engine. While the UK built 1275GT was not nearly as quick as a 1275 Mini Cooper S, it was cheaper to buy, run, and insure. It was the first Mini to be equipped with a tachometer. It also featured a standard-fit close-ratio gearbox. Performance of the 1275GT was lively for the time, achieving 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 12.9 seconds, and the excellent midrange torque offered a 30–50 mph (48–80 km/h) time in top gear of only nine seconds. The bluff front, however, meant that the model struggled to reach 90 mph (140 km/h). The 1275 cc A-series engine could be cheaply and easily tuned, though the cheap purchase price and prominent “sidewinder” door stripes meant that this model developed a reputation as something of a “boy-racer special” during the 1970s and into the 1980s.

The Mini Clubman and 1275GT were responsible for two motoring “firsts”: they were the first vehicles to use a flexi printed-circuit board behind the dash instruments (universal nowadays, but technically advanced for 1969). Secondly, the 1275GT was the first vehicle to be offered with run-flat tyres; from 1974 this model could be ordered with optional Dunlop Denovo tyres on 12-inch (300 mm) diameter rims. In the event of a puncture, the Dunlop Denovo tyre would not burst and quickly deflate, but could continue to be used safely at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). This was a useful safety feature, although the increased road noise and relatively poor grip of this tyre meant that many 1275GT buyers ignored this option.
Throughout the 1970s, British Leyland continued to produce the classic 1959 “round-front” design, alongside the newer Clubman and 1275GT models. On the Australian market however, all Minis (including the commercial derivatives) gained the Clubman front. Clubman sedans were marketed in Australia under the Morris Mini Clubman name when introduced in August 1971, and as the Leyland Mini from February 1973.


The long-nose Clubman and 1275GT offered better crash safety, were better equipped, and had vastly better under-bonnet access, but they were more expensive and aerodynamically inferior to the original 1959 design. The Mini Clubman and 1275GT were replaced in 1980 by the new hatchback Austin Metro, while production of the original “round-front” mini design continued for another 20 years. At the end of Clubman and 1275GT production, 275,583 Clubman saloons, 197,606 Clubman Estates and 110,673 1275GTs had been made.

Design and development of Mini Car

During the year 1956, in response to fuel rationing brought on by the Suez Crisis, Greek-British car designer Alec Issigonis is told by his employers at BMC (British Motor Corporation) to bring his latest small mini car project, codenamed XC/9003, to fruition as soon as possible.

After a year, 1957, the first prototypes of the small car begin testing, gaining a new codename, ADO15. Designed as project ADO15 (Austin Drawing Office project number 15), 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, the market for German Bubble cars boomed.

Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly decreed: 'God damn these bloody awful Bubble Cars. We must drive them off the road by designing a proper miniature car'. He laid down some basic design requirements: the Mini car should be contained within a box that measured 10 × 4 × 4 ft (3 × 1.2 × 1.2 m); and the passenger accommodation should occupy 6 ft (1.8 m) of the 10 ft (3 m) length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit.

Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 and, with his skills in designing small cars, was a natural for the task. The team that designed the Mini was remarkably small: as well as Issigonis, there was 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. Together, by October 1957, they had designed and built the original prototype, which was affectionately named 'The Orange Box' because of its colour.

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. 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 precious vehicle length, but had the disadvantage of feeding the radiator with air that had been heated by passing over the engine.