Innocenti Mini

thumb|Innocenti 90L Mark II; pre-Daihatsu-face-lift with redesigned headlamps.

The Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, three-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone. A five-door prototype was developed around 1980, but was never put into production. After having been sold to De Tomaso in 1976, the Innocenti Mini ended up being powered by Daihatsu-sourced three-cylinder engines and continued in production in incrementally updated forms until 1993.

Mini assembly from CKD (1965–1975)

thumb|Innocenti Mini (1965–1975)

Prior to developing the Mini 90 / 120 hatchback variants of the Mini, Innocenti undertook assembly of the original Mini design using CKD kits. Introduced in November 1965 as the Innocenti Mini 850, later versions included the 1000, 1001, the Cooper, the Cooper 1300 and the Mini T, the latter being an estate car and the only non-saloon variant produced. The largest improvement was the addition of a rear hatch, allowing for improved access to the (still tiny) luggage compartment. The drag resistance was also marginally lower than that of the original Mini, 0.41 Cd rather than 0.42.

De Tomaso

left|thumb|Innocenti De Tomaso

At the 1976 Turin Auto Show the sporting Innocenti Mini de Tomaso was first shown. It entered series production in early 1977 and featured moulded plastic bumpers rather than the filigrane, chromed units used for the 90/120. There were also integral foglights, a bonnet scoop, and wheelarch extensions to accommodate the alloy wheels which completed the sporting appearance. Power at introduction was , but this crept up to in 1978. After a lot of testing, the car was finally adapted to take a three-cylinder Daihatsu engine and various other mechanical parts. Because of Daihatsu's minuscule European presence, selling engines to Innocenti would have a minimal negative impact on their own sales, instead offering a door to many European markets that they had yet to reach.

Daihatsu and Fiat era

In July 1991 a luxurious "Serie Speciale" variant of the 990 was introduced, also offered with an available canvas-roof. This was the two-valve version; the considerably more powerful multivalve version used in the Charade GTti was never used in the Innocenti. The bodywork was also revised, with the headlights now sloping backwards and with new bumpers, skirts, and bumper extensions to fit the 160/65 SR315 (TRX) alloys. The sporty steering wheel received a leather rim. The original version was equipped with an Italian development of the naturally aspirated CB22 engine (called CB-DT, for "De Tomaso"), with an IHI RHB5 turbocharger and the same 9.1:1 compression ratio as for the CB22. Max power was reached at 6200 rpm for the original version. In road tests the Innocenti came in for complaints for its awkward upright driving position, mediocre comfort, and instability under braking. Plus points were steering, light weight, and appearance. The CB-DT engine was noted for its smoothness and lack of "brio".

In the second half of 1984 the Italian CB-DT engine was replaced with the fully Daihatsu-built CB60 engine.

In July 1988 the engine was upgraded to CB61 specifications; this version received grey rather than red casings in the engine compartment. For the Canadian (and Swiss) markets, a catalysed version of the carburetted CB60 engine was installed. This unit was slightly less powerful, with at 5500 rpm. After Fiat's purchase of Innocenti in 1990, the Turbo de Tomaso, along with the diesel and the "Matic" versions, were all dropped. Apart from catalysed versions of the CB22 or CB60 (DeTomaso) engines, the Canada-bound DeTomasos also received unique rectangular side-marker lights.

Data

{| border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" rules="all" border:solid 2px #1C1C1C style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#FFFAFA; font-size:85%; empty-cells:show"

|colspan="22" align="center" style="font-size:110%; background-color:#EEE9E9;" |Daihatsu-engined Innocenti Mini series (numbers in italics are test results, not factory numbers)

! rowspan="2" align="right" style="background-color:#EEE9E9;" |Small-engined versions

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | engine

! rowspan="2" | disp (cc)

! rowspan="2" | fuel feed

! colspan="3" | power

! colspan="3" | torque

! colspan="2" | top speed

! rowspan="2" | 0–100 (km/h)

! wheelbase

! length

! width

! height

! colspan="2" | orig. weight

! rowspan="2" | trans- mission

! rowspan="2" | production

! PS

! kW

! @ rpm

! Nm

! lbft

! @ rpm

! km/h

! mph

! colspan="4" | mm (in)

! kg

! lb

! width=250 style="background-color:#EEE9E9;" align="left" | Mini 650, SE

| "AD"

| SOHC I2

| 617

| rowspan="3" | single carburettor

| 5,700

| 3,500

| 29.8

External links

www.detomasobybertone - the official club for Innocenti DeTomasos
www.innocenti-turbo-detomaso.com
Automobilismo article on the Innocenti Mini