Old School, New Rules
at the end of the last millennium things were changing for car design. The classic Mini was no longer a viable option, but rather than new-age futuristic-looking designs that dominated the ’80s and ’90s, the beginnings of a new wave of ‘retrofuturism’ was hitting the design studios – led by cars like VW’s re-imagining of the Beetle, with other iconic model names such as ‘Mustang’, ‘Thunderbird’ and ‘Fiat 500’ quick to follow with retro-inspired designs. So, when BMW wanted to relaunch the MINI brand as a 21st-century car that offered the same fun-loving characteristics as the original Mini, they turned to Frank Stephenson.
The man behind the Maserati MC12 and Ferrari F430, plus the MINIrivalling Fiat 500 – and, more recently, the McLaren P1 - previously held Head of Design positions at Ferrari-Maserati, Fiat and McLaren.
Martyn Collins caught up with the legendary designer to get the inside story on how this 21st-century icon came to be…
When did the design process for the new MINI really begin? How far back you were submitting designs?
May 1994 would have been the starting point, when BMW decided they
