Article by “www.minimania.com”

Automoviles de Turismo Hispano Ingleses SA (AUTHI) produced Minis in Madrid starting in October 1968, and ending in 1976. During that time various Saloon models (all in round nose form) were made in standard, deluxe and Cooper versions using 848 to 1275cc engines. The Cooper models were almost identical to the Innocentis.

Like those Minis built in other countries, AUTHI Minis were no exception to variations from the English versions. In most cases, the differences are in exterior and interior trim with some of the cars being much more luxurious. There is the odd mechanical difference as well. One model used an interesting version of a U-joint instead of the outboard Constant Velocity joint used in every other Mini ever built!

There are no known factory production records. Parnell, in “Original Mini Cooper and Cooper S”, estimates that the Cooper version may have reached a production number of 5,000.

Summary

Minis built for export and those produced outside of the UK do not account for very many of the total number of Minis built; however, they do include some of the most interesting Minis, some of the oddest Minis, and certainly Minis with many differences from the UK home market cars.

The moral of the story is that you need to know where your Mini was built or, if UK built, what export market it was built for. Be cautious when ordering parts, make use of any literature you can find, and make use of the Internet to seek out support from others owning similar cars. You’ll most likely find that the work involved in owning one of these Minis is well worth the extra effort.

Article by “www.minimania.com”