IT became a fashion accessory in the Swinging Sixties. Without it people felt unclad in the urban compound.
Fashion queen Mary Quant redesigned its interior with her famous daisy motif on the steering wheel and bonnet. It was ''worn'' by stars including Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Peter Sellers, Twiggy, Spike Milligan and Angela Rippon.
But after 41 years of continuous production, the classic Mini - which helped drive a cultural revolution - was finally deposed yesterday as the 5,387,862nd and final classic car rolled off the production line at the MG Rover Group plant at Longbridge. At a ceremony in the Birmingham factory, Lulu drove a red Mini Cooper, registration 1959-2000, off the track to music from the film The Italian Job, the starring Michael Caine which helped make the car an icon.
Paddy Hopkirk, now 67, who won the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S, said: ''It was not a good seller when it was put on the market in 1959. But long term, the Cooper put it on the map and it became the 'in' car.''
The Mini was designed in just two-and-a-half years by Sir Alec Issigonis - allegedly based on rough sketches made on the back of a cigarette packet.
The Austin Motor Company launched the first Mini on August 26, 1959. For just #496, it became the ultimate fashion accessory.
Mr John Shepherd, 78, and Mr Jack Daniels, 88, who were members of the tight-knit production and design team which worked on the Mini under Sir Alec, paid tribute to their little car's durability.
Mr Shepherd, who worked at Longbridge for 27 years and was responsible for the body and structure, said: ''I was always sceptical, but I could see its potential.''
Mr Daniels, chief design and development engineer, who retired in 1977, said: ''This is not the happiest day, it's the end of the vehicle - but I have always realised for some time that it was inevitable.''
While Longbridge takes over manufacturing the new Rover 75, production of a new BMW Mini will be switched to the Cowley works in Oxford, and Hopkirk said: ''I've seen it and driven it and I think it's a very good car. We mustn't forget that a lot of British engineering went into it, and the handling is amazing.''
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