Innocenti Mini
The Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, three-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone. A five-door prototype was developed around 1980, but was never put into production. After having been sold to De Tomaso in 1976, the Innocenti Mini ended up being powered by Daihatsu-sourced three-cylinder engines and continued in production in incrementally updated forms until 1993.
Mini assembly from CKD (1965 to 1975)
Prior to developing the Mini 90 / 120 hatchback variants of the Mini, Innocenti undertook assembly of the original Mini design using CKD kits. Introduced in November 1965 as the Innocenti Mini 850, later versions included the 1000, 1001, the Cooper, the Cooper 1300 and the Mini T, the latter being an estate car and the only non-saloon variant produced. Assembly ceased in early 1975. Only the very earliest Minis were built using CKD kits. Most of the production was built using locally sourced shells and componentry. The Innocenti Mini shells differ in many ways from contemporary English built ones.British Leyland years
Innocenti, under the ownership of the British Leyland Motor Corporation developed rebodied versions of the Mini, known as the Innocenti Mini 90L and 120L, which were released at the Turin Show in 1974. The new, Bertone-styled Mini was originally launched in two versions, the 90L and 120L – the former having the 998 cc A-series engine putting out, and the latter the 1275 cc unit, with an extra on tap. These outputs were later uprated to and respectively. As for the English-built Mini, the Innocenti received the "dry" rubber cone suspension, which provided excellent handling but at the cost of a very bumpy ride. All Leyland-engined Innocentis received a four-speed manual transmission.At one point there were even plans for the Bertone-designed Mini to replace the original English Mini, but these came to nothing. Within a year of the car's launch, BLMC went bankrupt and in May 1976 Innocenti was sold to De Tomaso and GEPI. BL retained a 5% stake. The new owners renamed the company Nuova Innocenti and continued to build the car without any real change.
Innocenti's Mini version was generally nicely equipped and had a better finish than their English brethren, leading to higher sales and a better reputation in many continental European markets, such as France. The largest improvement was the addition of a rear hatch, allowing for improved access to the luggage compartment. The drag resistance was also marginally lower than that of the original Mini, 0.41 Cd rather than 0.42.
De Tomaso
At the 1976 Turin Auto Show the sporting Innocenti Mini de Tomaso was first shown. It entered series production in early 1977 and featured moulded plastic bumpers rather than the filigrane, chromed units used for the 90/120. There were also integral foglights, a bonnet scoop, and wheelarch extensions to accommodate the alloy wheels which completed the sporting appearance. Power at introduction was, but this crept up to in 1978.Mille
In 1980, the facelifted and better equipped Mini Mille made its appearance. The Mille replaced the larger-engined 120 in most markets, and featured moulded plastic bumpers, headlights which sloped backwards, and redesigned taillights. Overall length increased by a couple of inches. There was also a "90 LS II" version introduced for 1981, and the "90 SL" for the 1982 model year. By 1982, however, Alessandro de Tomaso's deal with BL had ended. For various reasons, politico-industrial as well as due to British Leyland's reluctance to provide engines to what was a competitor in many continental markets, the decision to thoroughly reengineer the Innocenti Mini was reached. After a lot of testing, the car was finally adapted to take a three-cylinder Daihatsu engine and various other mechanical parts. Because of Daihatsu's minuscule European presence, selling engines to Innocenti would have a minimal negative impact on their own sales, instead offering a door to many European markets that they had yet to reach. Thanks to Alfa Romeo's Arna deal with Nissan a few years earlier, the Italian political resistance against Japanese companies had been lessened and DeTomaso encountered no political difficulties.Daihatsu and Fiat era
Minitre
In April 1982, at the same time as the engines were changed for Daihatsu units, the Mini's original rubber suspension was changed to a more conventional independently developed layout with MacPherson struts in the front and an independent, rear suspension with lower wishbones and a transverse single-leaf spring which also acted as a stabilizer. To indicate the new engines, the cars were renamed Innocenti Tre Cilindri, or simply "Tre". The new engines and suspension carried with them a weight penalty of about. The new Innocentis were nearly indistinguishable from their predecessors, the external changes being limited to badging and a chin spoiler. In January 1984, along with a gentle facelift, they were renamed Minitre. Most of the new parts came straight from the Daihatsu Charade. European exports, which had hitherto been managed by local British Leyland affiliates, were either halted or generally slowed down. For the first year or two, Minitres were limited to exporting to France, Belgium, and Switzerland. In 1983, the German Daihatsu importer Walter Hagen took over sales there, after a hiatus of over a year. The old Leyland-engined versions continued to be sold until stocks ran out. In spite of the new model, production dropped steadily: from 23,187 in 1981 to 21,646 the next year to 13,688 in 1983, the first year in which all cars were Daihatsu-engined. During 1984, sales shot up again as the car had regained its credibility. Carrozzeria Embo displayed a convertible version of the Minitre SE, called a Spyder, but de Tomaso decided against series production.Aside from the sporting turbocharged version, the Minitre was originally only available with a carburetted petrol engine, in three different levels of trim: S, SL, and SE. While usually fitted with a five-speed manual transmission rather than the four-speed unit used in the earlier four-cylinder cars, a two-speed semiautomatic also became available in July 1984, sold as the "Minimatic". This was the same unit as the one marketed as the "Daimatic" by Daihatsu themselves. The Matic's gearbox has the same dimensions as does the manual transmission, and is fitted with a torque converter and a planetary gear train with two gear ratios which are selected by a traditional, floor-mounted gear lever.
While the Daihatsu powertrains were considerably more expensive than the English units, Alejandro DeTomaso stated that this was more than paid for by lowered warranty claims. In 1984 he said that warranty repairs were down by 70% when Japanese-engined Minis were compared with the BL-engined ones. His biggest problem was that his service network had become overstaffed as a result of the higher quality engines. This surfeit of servicing staff may have also been a result of steadily declining production numbers, something which De Tomaso tried to ameliorate by offering a more luxurious and customisable product than did their main competitor Fiat.
The three-cylinder continued in production until 1993, and this range was also available with a diesel version of the 1-litre engine. The diesel looked the same, inside and out, as did the regular Minitre. At the time of introduction, this engine was not only the smallest passenger car diesel in the world, but also had the highest specific output of any naturally aspirated diesel engine in series production; it thus made for a surprisingly spirited performer. Introduced as part of an effort to bring Innocenti production above the threshold of profitability, around 20,000 cars annually, the Minidiesel sold very well. The diesel took thirty percent of the overall production with nearly no negative effect on sales of the petrol versions, a considerably bigger share than the expected twenty percent. It was helped by a lack of real competitors: by 1988 it still only had to compete with the 1.3 litre Fiat Uno and Panda diesels, as well as the Volkswagen Polo diesel, all of which were in a higher tax bracket and had higher fuel consumption.
990
In Turin 1986, the longer 990 was presented. This version had a wheelbase which was extended by and was available with either the naturally aspirated petrol or diesel 1 L engines. In addition to a more useful back seat, the 990 also had a more sloped windscreen for somewhat better aerodynamics. Classified as a five-seater, even two adults would still find the rear seat uncomfortable. A well balanced design, the longer wheelbase version can be hard to identify, if not for the missing pillar in the glass of the door, and the forward placement of the mirrors. The luggage space also increased somewhat, with rather than.The 990 also received bigger bumpers and a new grille with horizontal bars and the Innocenti logo, a stylised "i". The rear number plate was moved up to between the rear lights. The 990's rear seat folded and was divided down the middle.
The 990 was an adaptation of a 1982 concept executed by carrozzeria Embo, using the longer chassis of the Mini Traveller. The Embo showcar was less elegant than the finished "990", the bodywork being extended by simply adding an insert behind the B-pillar. Unlike the 990, it also had a slightly raised rear roof and a small luggage rack on the front portion thereof, á la the Matra Rancho. Excepting the turbo, the shorter 1-litre versions were taken out of production in July 1987. The 990 was available as the SL, and as a better-equipped SE version.
There was also a "Minitre Commerciale", continuing the rôle of the earlier Mini 90 Commerciale two-seater van. When the longer 990 arrived there was also a 990 C and also a 990 diesel C. In France, the earlier short wheelbase diesel van was briefly available as the "Minidiesel Société". As for the range overall, the Commerciale was somewhat hampered by its small aperture for the luggage area - especially when compared to more modern competitors.