When the original Austin Mini was launched in 1959, it wasn't called Mini, it was the Austin Seven. Not for the first time a new, advanced model was given a name which harked back to the hugely successful small car of 1922-1938 which had restored Austin's fortunes after World War I and established it as a true mass-producer. That's because when the new FWD revolution was launched in 1959, it had been only eight years previously that another Austin Seven had been introduced with great fanfare. It too was seen as a revolutionary and advanced, clean-sheet design. That was the car we now generally refer to as the Austin A30 and tend to view as a quaint relic of a bygone age.
From our perspective, it's easy to see how the Mini was seen as a groundbreaking design, but perhaps harder to understand just how transformational the A30 was. However, it is worth remembering that when the A30 was being conceived, BMCrecognised that a completely new and modern small car would soon be needed, for the home market in particular.
