Morris Minor
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The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971.[7] It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948.[8] Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured in three series: the Series MM (1948 to 1953), the Series II (1952 to 1956), and the 1000 series (1956 to 1971).
Morris Minor | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Morris Motors (1948–1952) British Motor Corporation (1952–1968) British Leyland (1968–1971) Thai Motor Corporation (1968–1971) |
Production | 1948–1971 1,619,958 produced [1] |
Assembly | United Kingdom: Cowley, Oxford, England Malaysia Thailand Malta Australia[2] New Zealand[3] South Africa[4] |
Designer | Sir Alec Issigonis |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Economy car[5] |
Layout | FR layout |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 86 in (2,184 mm)[6] |
Length | 148 in (3,759 mm) |
Width | 60 in (1,524 mm) |
Height | 60 in (1,524 mm) |
Kerb weight | 1,708 lb (775 kg) (four-door saloon) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Morris Eight |
Successor | Morris Marina |
Initially available as a two-door saloon and tourer (convertible), the range was expanded to include a four-door saloon from September 1950. An estate car with a wooden frame (the Traveller) was produced from October 1953 and panel van and pick-up truck variants from May 1953.[9] It was the first British car to sell over a million units,[10] and is considered a classic example of automotive design,[11] as well as typifying "Englishness".[12][13][14][15]
Although Morris launched a new model with a similar name and a similar market positioning, the Morris Mini in 1959, the Minor remained in production for more than a decade after that, and in early 2020, its 23-year production run was counted as the twenty-eighth most long-lived single generation car in history by Autocar magazine, who called it: "... a primary way Britain got back on the road after the Second World War."[16]