It could have bloody worked - cars which could have been...

[MiniMinorMk3]

Yes they are one and the same.

 

Full story here

Mini-based ADO70 Calypso prototype – front-wheel drive fun, Italian style (aronline.co.uk)

 

By the way, the X1/9 was based on the 1969 Bertone Autobianchi A112 Runabout

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

6 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

This photo was shared elsewhere on here - the ADO 70 is a new one on me.

 

 

 

 

By the way, The ADO70 was not the first Mini based sports car concept. The ADO34, 35 and 36

There was also a one off badge engineered version of a Mini Saloon

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 16/03/2023 at 12:10, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Fiesta Breadvan hearse anyone

FIFY

[lesapandre]

16 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

By the way, The ADO70 was not the first Mini based sports car concept. The ADO34, 35 and 36

There was also a one off badge engineered version of a Mini Saloon

It really was a no-brainer to put the MG badge on the Mini and sell even more. It would probably have worked best in the US where MG had a sports profile.

Give it twin carbs - a 'crackle-finish' dash - sports seats and some wheels and badges and jobs a good-un.

BMC were happy to put the MG badge on the Austin Cambridge so why not the Mini which was much more sporty?

Funny old BMC.

[quicksilver]

3 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

It really was a no-brainer to put the MG badge on the Mini and sell even more. It would probably have worked best in the US where MG had a sports profile.

Give it twin carbs - a 'crackle-finish' dash - sports seats and some wheels and badges and jobs a good-un.

BMC were happy to put the MG badge on the Austin Cambridge so why not the Mini which was much more sporty?

Funny old BMC.

Was it though? Wouldn't the MG Mini be basically the same thing as the Mini Cooper? I can't imagine John Cooper being very pleased with his brainchild getting an internal competitor, and the name 'Mini Cooper' has become more iconic than MG ever has so BMC would have been foolish to throw that away.

[lesapandre]

22 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

This photo was shared elsewhere on here - the ADO 70 is a new one on me.

The door looks like the swage line needs continuing, but the proportions look great otherwise. Lots of influences from GM and Lancia too. When was the X19 introduced? 

I wonder if this is the same car?

Michaelotti design. Better detailing and earlier than the Marina too. Why BLMC didn't use Michaelotti to tidy that car up who knows. Would have been a better car up against the snazzy new Cortina MK3.

[lesapandre]

5 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Was it though? Wouldn't the MG Mini be basically the same thing as the Mini Cooper? I can't imagine John Cooper being very pleased with his brainchild getting an internal competitor, and the name 'Mini Cooper' has become more iconic than MG ever has so BMC would have been foolish to throw that away.

We cry over spilt milk. Who knows. If they had made some MG's I'm sure we'd be enjoying them today.

They ditched Cooper later to save money and Stokes sidelined MG too in favour of Triumph.

The past is another country etc.

[MiniMinorMk3]

22 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Michaelotti design. Better detailing and earlier than the Marina too. Why BLMC didn't use Michaelotti to tidy that car up who knows. Would have been a better car up against the snazzy new Cortina MK3.

The ADO70 was not a Michelotti design. 

From the link I posted above

Quote

The ADO70 Calypso was conceived by Harry Webster as a fun car for the US market. However, the project foundered when the prototype met with an apathetic reaction by Leyland’s management, and the required funds were not forthcoming. Although generally known as the Michelotti Mini, it should be noted that it was built – rather than designed – by the Italian company.

Harry Webster tasked designers Paul Hughes and Rob Owen to sketch a Midget replacement based on the Mini, and they quickly came up with a two-seater, targa-topped design that mimicked the Porsche 914 (and original Triumph Bullet and later TR7). On paper, it looked crisp and promising

 

[lesapandre]

Yes the sketches were taken to the metal by Michaelotti so a joint effort.

[quicksilver]

41 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

We cry over spilt milk. Who knows. If they had made some MG's I'm sure we'd be enjoying them today.

They ditched Cooper later to save money and Stokes sidelined MG too in favour of Triumph.

The past is another country etc.

I'm not convinced a sporty Mini would have existed at all if Cooper wasn't involved and the decision was left to BMC's own staff. Issigonis was very opposed to developing the Mini as a performance car and it was only Cooper's success at modifying them privately that overcame that objection and led to the Mini Cooper as a production model. If that hadn't happened we might have been lamenting that the very idea of a sporty Mini was one that could have bloody worked.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

On 09/11/2015 at 17:38, barrett said:

Crude window arrangement aside, this thing is ace and I wish I had it. Pretty sure it's still knocking about too

@aotb

[grogee]

I can't be bothered to go back through the 17 pages but I really liked this Fiat concept from 1999, the Ecobasic. 

Wilfully ugly and plastic bumpers for city streets. 

Apparently they made 10 units - would. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ecobasic?wprov=sfla1

[GeordieInExile]

Yep, I remember seeing an orange one of those in Auto Express at the time - 11 year old me thought it was ace!

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, grogee said:

I can't be bothered to go back through the 17 pages but I really liked this Fiat concept from 1999, the Ecobasic. 

Wilfully ugly and plastic bumpers for city streets. 

Apparently they made 10 units - would. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ecobasic?wprov=sfla1

Shitty rover bumper lookalike

[nomiST]

Anaesthetic knobs behind the perspex?

[lesapandre]

22 hours ago, grogee said:

I can't be bothered to go back through the 17 pages but I really liked this Fiat concept from 1999, the Ecobasic. 

Wilfully ugly and plastic bumpers for city streets. 

Apparently they made 10 units - would. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ecobasic?wprov=sfla1

And followed by Citroen with the C2 in 2003- including the asymmetric side windows and general treatment. Likewise the C3 windscreen and A-post.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

On 29/08/2024 at 20:00, grogee said:

I can't be bothered to go back through the 17 pages but I really liked this Fiat concept from 1999, the Ecobasic. 

Wilfully ugly and plastic bumpers for city streets. 

Apparently they made 10 units - would. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Ecobasic?wprov=sfla1

There's a lot of that in the Fiat Doblo...

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Nice rump on the Capri prototype. 

[Rocket88]

On 17/06/2024 at 09:30, quicksilver said:

I'm not convinced a sporty Mini would have existed at all if Cooper wasn't involved and the decision was left to BMC's own staff. Issigonis was very opposed to developing the Mini as a performance car and it was only Cooper's success at modifying them privately that overcame that objection and led to the Mini Cooper as a production model. If that hadn't happened we might have been lamenting that the very idea of a sporty Mini was one that could have bloody worked.

Issigonis was a self serving egomaniac