25 years of MINI design at BMW Group: From the Classic Mini to a modern icon

MiG - Presse · Leverkusen

BMW Group celebrates a quarter‑century of MINI design evolution with a new video showing the transformation from the Classic Mini to the modern MINI. The piece examines how designers kept the original character while ushering it into a new era. The Mini remained practically unchanged for 40 years. "It was our task as designers to preserve its soul and lead it into a new era," explains Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design. MINI has created its own icons over the years. "This work never ends – we must keep pushing it forward," emphasizes Holger Hampf, head of MINI Design. Hampf also highlights personalization: "No MINI is like any other. MINI gives people the chance to express their lifestyle and tell their own story." The article outlines MINI's lasting design elements: round headlights, compact proportions, short overhangs and characteristic go‑kart handling. The current "Charismatic Simplicity" language strips designs to essentials while enabling extensive personalization, especially visible on the MINI Cooper Electric with a purist approach. Following BMW Group's 1994 Rover acquisition, designers faced the pivotal question of how to retain the original Mini's essence while modernising it – ultimately turning a practical compact car into a premium‑style icon.

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25 years of MINI Design at the BMW Group: From the classic Mini to a new icon PDF, EN, 172.47 KB