Lot 101: Morris Minor 1000

The long story of the Morris Minor began in May 1940, when Miles Thomas the new Vice Chairman and Managing Director saw the need for Morris to develop a new small 4 seater car to be introduced after the end of World War II. This major project was placed entirely in the hands of Alec Issigonis by Vic Oak the far-sighted chief engineer at Morris. The first prototypes were called Mosquito's, probably by Miles Thomas an ex-fighter pilot in honour of the WWII fighter-bomber of that name. They varied from the production Morris Minors in just two major aspects. The prototype was 4" narrower and the engine was supposed to be a flat four but the rest of the Mosquito went forward for production. The first productions cars were seen in October 1948 after the last design and production hurdles had been overcome, the Morris Minor had finally `grown up' and was ready to leave the nest. It was without doubt an astonishing package for 1947, and was almost certainly the most advanced small car in Europe, possibly the world, at that time. It was brilliantly effective for its size, possessed almost unheard of standards of road holding and handling, yet was basically simple and cheap to make. It is worth noting that the launch of the Minor had been held back, for over 12 months, by Lord Nuffield. This head-in-the-sand mentality cost Morris some good people and could have resulted in the loss of Alec Issigonis but sanity eventually ruled. Despite this, Lord Nuffield refused to drive or endorse the Minor when it was first launched. The example offered here was built two decades after the first prototype and the model would only survive another 4 years. It is described as being in sound, usable order and has recently benefited from a new interior and a new exhaust system. Finished in black with red interior, the car is offered with an MoT through to April 2010, is eligible for, free, historic road tax and comes complete with MoT certificates dating back some 15 years.