The Mini is a small car that was produced by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original Mini is considered an icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (that allowed 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The Mini is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle
Between 1960 and 1967, BMC exported approximately 10,000 left-hand drive BMC Minis to the United States. Sales were discontinued when stricter federal emission standards were imposed; BMC felt that it would be too expensive to make the Mini's engine compliant. Similar legislation was later introduced in Europe, and the A-series engine, with minor modifications, proved perfectly capable of complying with it.
Despite this, a small band of enthusiasts keep the legacy of the original car alive in the U.S., where cars more than 25 years old are generally exempt from emissions regulations. Minis that were originally sold in the U.S. are becoming hard to find, so most of the restored Minis now running in the U.S. have been imported by individual enthusiasts – typically from Australia or New Zealand where the climate has limited the amount of rust formation and cars are available for relatively low prices. There is increasing difficulty in finding cars that are old enough to meet the 25 year emissions exemption and yet are still in a reasonable condition.
When production of the classic Mini ceased in 2000, BMW (the new owner of the brand) announced the successor to the Mini – which is variously called the "BMW MINI" or the "New MINI". The brand name for the new car is MINI (written in capital letters)
Use the drop-down menu below to sort through used Mini vehicles for sale now in the Denver area.
