From the fifth-generation Ford Mustang to the Chevrolet SSR, the 2000s was a decade when automakers were fully willing to make a splash with new retro-styled models. It was during this heady time that the Morris Minor, a beloved British classic, was nearly revived when its manufacturer was sold off in 2005. Autocar uncovered an ambitious plan by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) to bring back the Minor as part of its failed bid for MG.
If you’re scratching your head and thinking, “Doesn’t SAIC own MG right now?” Yes, you’re right. However, SAIC’s bid to purchase the British automaker’s assets was beaten by the Nanjing Automobile Corporation, a different state-owned Chinese automaker. Nanjing’s bid was larger, carried no conditions and was meant to pressure SAIC into buying NAC. Eventually, SAIC would acquire its rival just a few years later after the Chinese government encouraged the two companies to merger.
Not much is known about the revived Morris Minor’s specs other than it would have likely been powered by Rover’s K-Series inline-four engine. A consultant on the bid told Autocar:
SAIC would have done all the engineering work with input from the UK. They had the capability. General Motors [which has a sizeable joint venture with SAIC] had supported them heavily with an engineering centre and were very generous in getting them up to speed.
The Morris Minor was the first British car to sell one million units during its lengthy tenure from the 1950s through the 1960s. The small car was arguably as impactful culturally as its lineup sibling, the Mini. A 2000s return of the Minor could have been as successful as BMW’s revival of the Mini. The opportunity was there, but the window closed before the right people could seize it.