The Mini is a small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. Its space-saving transverse engine and front-wheel drive layout \u2013 allowing 80% of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage \u2013 influenced a generation of car makers. In 1999, the Mini was voted the second-most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citro\u00ebn DS and Volkswagen Beetle. The front-wheel-drive, transverse-engine layout of the Mini was copied for other \