The first Mini wasn't called Mini. In 1959 Alec Issigonis's small car went on sale as the Austin Seven and the Morris Mini-Minor, and its winged badge still echoes the Morris one.
- Country
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United Kingdom - Active
- Since 1959
- Website
- Official website ↗
A small car born from a fuel crisis
The Mini began with a shortage. After the Suez Crisis of 1956 cut oil supplies, the British Motor Corporation asked Alec Issigonis to build a small car that was roomy, economical and affordable. He was on the project by late 1956.
On 26 August 1959 BMC revealed the result. Except it wasn’t called Mini. There were two near-identical cars with an 848 cc engine: the Austin Seven, built at Longbridge, and the Morris Mini-Minor, built at Cowley. Austin’s publicity even called its version “The Incredible Austin Seven”. Two more badges joined in 1961, when the Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf arrived with miniature versions of those brands’ radiator grilles.
An ox, a hexagon and a shield
Because the first Minis were sold under different marques, they wore different badges. According to BMW, the Morris Mini-Minor carried a red ox and three blue waves, the symbol of the city of Oxford, inside a circle with stylised wings. The Austin Mini, from 1962, had a hexagonal logo above the radiator grille. The Wolseley and Riley versions kept their own logos.
By 1969, BMW says, production had moved entirely to Longbridge and the car was simply called Mini. It got an abstract emblem of its own, known as the Mini shield, which stayed in use, with various adaptations, for decades.
The Rover years and a German rescue
Under Rover, the Mini rediscovered its past. In 1990 Rover brought back the Mini Cooper, and in early 1994 the BMW Group took over Rover Group. A concept for a new MINI Cooper appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997. According to Autocar, when BMW sold Rover in March 2000 it kept the Mini project and moved it to Oxford. The classic Mini went out of production in 2000, after more than 5.3 million had been built.
A wheel with wings
The badge you know today goes back to that 1990 Mini Cooper. BMW describes it as a return to traditional design: a chrome wheel with stylised wings, echoing the old Morris logo, with a red MINI COOPER inscription, a green laurel wreath and a white background. From 1996 the same idea went on other models, now with a green background and just the word MINI.
For the relaunch under BMW, the classic logo was modernised. The new MINI that premiered in November 2000 wore a three-dimensional version with white lettering on black. The chrome wheel and wings stayed unchanged for almost 15 years.
Then the shine came off, on purpose. In December 2017 MINI announced a flat, two-dimensional logo that appeared on its models from March 2018. It keeps the wheel and wings with the brand name in capitals at the centre, so it is still recognisable at a glance, and BMW presents it as a reflection of the brand’s tradition. You’ll find it on the bonnet, at the rear, in the middle of the steering wheel and on the key.
MINI’s performance arm got the same treatment later. In 2023 MINI unveiled a new, cleaner John Cooper Works logo at the Nürburgring, which MINI brand director Stefanie Wurst called “an expression of the boundless enthusiasm and pride we feel for John Cooper Works”.
From green laurels to pure black and white
The Rover era badges were colourful, with red lettering and green laurels or a green background. The 2018 logo goes the other way. It uses no shading and no grey tones, only black and white, which BMW says conveys authenticity and clarity and lets the logo be used anywhere.
Small cars, big moments
Few cars have changed owners, factories and badges as often as the Mini and kept their personality. These are the milestones.
Landmark Minis, decade by decade
- 1959: Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The original Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis and revealed by BMC on 26 August 1959.
- 1961: Mini Cooper. Developed by John Cooper, a close friend and business partner of Issigonis, with a 997 cc engine.
- 1964: Mini Cooper S. Paddy Hopkirk won the Monte Carlo Rally in a 1,071 cc Cooper S, the first of the Mini’s official wins there, followed by 1965 and 1967.
- 1992: Mini Convertible. The first convertible built by Rover itself, after about 30 years of aftermarket conversions.
- 2001: MINI. The first new MINI rolled off the line at Plant Oxford on 26 April 2001.
- 2010: MINI Countryman. The first MINI with four doors, the first longer than four metres and the brand’s first all-wheel-drive model.
- 2019: MINI Cooper SE. The brand’s first fully electric model, built in Oxford from November 2019.
MINI belongs to the BMW Group, alongside BMW. When BMW took over Rover Group in 1994, MINI arrived together with Land Rover, Rover and MG. For more on how badges like this one are drawn, see how car logos are designed, or browse more classic car logos.
Frequently asked questions
What does the MINI logo show?
A wheel with stylised wings and the word MINI in capitals at the centre. BMW says the wheel and wings echo the old Morris badge and reflect the brand’s tradition.
When did MINI get its current logo?
The flat black and white logo was announced in December 2017 and appeared on MINI models from March 2018. It replaced the three-dimensional chrome version introduced with the new MINI in 2000 and 2001.
Was the first Mini called Mini?
No. In 1959 it was sold as the Austin Seven and the Morris Mini-Minor. According to BMW, the car was simply called Mini by 1969, when it got its own Mini shield badge.
What was on the Morris Mini-Minor badge?
A red ox and three blue waves, the symbol of the city of Oxford, inside a circle with stylised wings.
Who owns MINI?
The BMW Group, which took over Rover Group, and with it the Mini, in 1994. MINI cars have been built at Plant Oxford since 2001.
Suez to Oxford: the winged wheel logbook
- Founded
- 1959
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany
- Parent company
- BMW Group
- Current emblem
- A wheel with stylised wings around the MINI wordmark, flat black and white since 2018
- Known for
- The original small front-wheel-drive Mini and the Mini Cooper
- Website
- Official website ↗
