Британская автомобильная промышленность никогда не гналась ни за количеством выпускаемых в год автомобилей, ни за сверхприбылями. Мы все знаем такие brands of English cars, как Роллс-Ройс, или Бентли. Они стали своеобразным символом респектабельности, достатка, успешности своих владельцев.
No less popular are such cars as the Mini, which has become almost a symbol of the English car industry. It is on its roof that the British flag is most often depicted.
Mini is a native Briton who first rolled off the assembly line back in 1958. Despite the sale of the BMW brand, Mini is a separate legal entity. a person headquartered in the UK. Nominally entering the Rover Group, the company and its products have always been perceived as something distinctive, not connected with either the Rover or the Bavarian concern.
In the survey, which was conducted in the late 90s, this car ranked second, as the car of the century. He yielded only to his American counterpart - a veteran of the Ford Model T, which was produced at the beginning of the century. Already in those days, this car looked about the same as today tuned six, finalized with his own hands.
Good old Mini times 50-60
No one knew then that after some improvement, these cars would become the winners of prestigious racing competitions.
Mini Cooper, or the birth of a legend
В те времена, когда на рынке доминировали такие brands of English cars, как Астон Мартин и Ягуар, а президенты и бизнесмены во всю разъезжали на Роллс-Ройсах представительского класса, Мини занималась производством автомобиля, который бы нравился простому народу. Если Фольксваген стал народным автомобилем Германии, то ту же роль в Великобритании занял Мини.
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The new model, dubbed the Mini Cooper, has acquired the already familiar two-tone body color, a much more powerful powerplant and disc brakes. Then very few people believed that they would buy a new car. Mini executives thought that if more than 1000 cars were sold, the project could be considered successful.
It is worth noting that the "baby" is seriously underestimated. For all the time they sold more than 150 thousand cars. And in 1963, with the advent of the new engine, the Mini Cooper began its journey to the top of sporting glory. Exactly one year later, the first historical victory in races took place - on the hardest track in Monte Carlo. The following year, the team of Timo Mäkinen and Paul Easter again won the victory for the Mini. And in 1967, at the rally in Monte Carlo, the small car again becomes the leader.
Such a brand of English cars like Mini Cooper could not go down in history. The car is seriously updated and it is still being produced.
The list of brands of English cars that can be considered "national", got another "real gentleman" - Aston Martin. He is very reminiscent of Range Rover Sport.
Aston, as an expensive wine, very much resembles some collectible American car brands. This is a manual assembly, leather and wood in the cabin, the ideal indicators of comfort. And if someone doubts that this car can drive fast, then let it look at the sports cars Aston Martin DB9 and Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
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If you list the well-known brands of English cars in the world, the list will be as follows:
- AC
- Allard
- Aston Martin
- Bentley Motors
- Caterham
- Elva
- Jaguar
- Jensen
- Lanchester
- Land Rover
- Lister
- Lotus
- MG
- Mini Cooper
- Morgan
- Morris
- Rolls Royce
- Rover
- Triumph
- TVR
- Vauxhall
And a number of others, less well-known.
And here's a video about the new Bentley Continental: