Heather Grey, Fruit-of-the-Loom T-shirt featuring a 1959 Austin 7 ‘mini’
£19.99 Size Guide
Our T-shirt sports a Farina Grey Austin 7 in ‘launch’ guise. It wasn't until 1961 it was renamed the Austin Mini, and eight years later that Mini became a marque in its own right. Although launched as an economic run around it soon found cult status with the 1960s in crowd. Slim-fit version in Charcoal also available.
- Skillfully crafted illustration – influenced by 1959 original launch material and no expense spared in printing a 4 colour front (and one colour on rear) by silk screen print
- 97% cotton, 3% polyester – fine gauge, extra soft Belcoro® yarn (165gm/m2)
- Great to wear – with features like taped neckline for extra comfort
- Beautifully finished with twin needle stitching detail
- Highly durable, great shape retention and machine washable at 40°
- Small 'Legends' logo below neckline on rear 7.5cm
The plain facts:
- Designated by Leonard Lord of BMC as project: Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 15 – hence our car registration number ADO 15
- Issigonis, was recruited by BMC in 1955 for his skills of designing small cars that meant he was a natural for the ‘mini’ task
- The 'Mini’s' development was accelerated by fuel shortages caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis – when fuel was severely rationed
- The BMC A series engine was a 848cc unit, fitted transversely and driving the front wheels through an integrated gearbox.
- The ‘Mini’ team was remarkably small: Issigonis, Jack Daniels (who had worked on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (from Alvis), and two engineering students and four draughtsmen.
- At launch only 3 colours were available, Speedwell Blue, Tartan Red and Farina Grey
- The Mini Cooper that followed paved the way for international race and rally success. Winner of the Monte Carlo rally on 3 occasions
And some rather more colourful, esoteric little snippets for the real enthusiast …
- By the year 2000 over 5 million (5,387.862) mini (all variants) had been produced and of that over 1,500.000 had been sold in Britain alone
- Awarded “Car of the Century" by Autocar magazine 1995, as well as "Number One Classic Car of All Time" by Classic & Sports Car magazine in 1996
