The jury’s number two choice for the world’s greatest car might easily be dismissed by the uninformed observer as an amusing automotive trifle: the Mini.

The Mini sprang from the mind of British automotive designer Alec Issigonis. As congestion increased on London’s busy streets he recognized there was a need for a smaller car to keep things moving.

Issigonis, a brilliant designer, dived into the task of producing a car with a tremendous amount of interior space in a small package.  This had never been done before.  He and his team were determined to comfortably pack four passengers in a bold, racy car.

Issigonis wanted to design a car so unusual that it automatically became a status symbol.  Their breakthrough idea; placing the engine across the car.  The transmission was moved under the engine.  Front-wheel drive created a flat floor, providing more interior room.  Four-wheel independent suspension, with rubber cones, instead of steel springs improved the ride and handling.

The car had an astonishing amount of room.  It had ample seating for four adult passengers inside a tiny body.  This was revolutionary.

“The Mini really taught people that you could make a small car that didn’t force everybody to just about hug one another. There’s no question that virtually anything on the road in Europe and Japan…has at least a nodding debt to the Mini,” said Eisenstein.

The Mini was a hit. With a base price just under $790.00 production could barely keep up with demand.  In 1959, 20,000 cars rolled out of the factory and by 1962 over 200,000 Minis were being built. By 1972, over three million Minis were roaming the streets of the world.

BMW bought Mini in 1994 and got to work on a revamped version of this beloved icon. The new cars’ impact is immediately felt.

As an auto writer Paul Eisenstein gets to drive a lot of cars.  He’s had his hands on several of the BMWs new version of the Mini.

“It is having a huge influence getting auto makers and auto buyers in the United States right now, In the time of the SUV, to start re-thinking the idea of hip, cool, small cars. Basic transportation with a flair,” said Eisenstein.

Decades after the original Mini hit the road, the concept still hasn’t run out of gas.