Rethinking an Icon of Sixties Britain: The Mini and Its Place in the Post-War Motor Revolution

• Published in: Twentieth Century British History Vol. 33; no. 4; p. 523
• Main Author: Harris, Jacob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 22.11.2022
• ISSN: 1477-4674
• DOI: 10.1093/tcbh/hwac006

The Mini was launched in 1959 during Britain's motor revolution. This iconic car has long been analogized with the popular iconography of the Sixties, but I argue here that this association only scratches the surface of its more complex meanings. Rather, the Mini embodied the tension arising from a motor revolution that was transformative yet limited. By looking at how the Mini was marketed, perceived, and used (and by whom), I suggest that it was a conduit through which Englishness and national decline were mediated against the backdrop of mass motorization. It also reflected the motor-car's growing importance as a public and private space. I draw on a number of historical sources to make this argument, including automotive advertising, a source that is currently underutilized by historians. In doing so, I seek to overcome the normative tendency in academic history to overlook the car's cultural significance.