Austin
For Mini-Coopers that have an Austin badge on the bonnet, refer to 333 and 339 on the BMC or Mini-Cooper pages
201 and 201M Austin Cambridge
July 1956 - 1959 (single colour and 201M)
February 1959 - 1961 (two-tone)
201 available in shades of turquoise blue and, later as a two-tone silver and metallic green.
202M in grey, white and orange-red with a friction motor. I also have a pale greenish-grey shade 201M but this may be a colour trial and not an official issue.
Scarce issues in 201M colours but without friction motor are known where painted bodies used up after discontinuation of the M version.
216 and 216M Austin A40
June 1959 - 1962 (216)
June 1959 -1960 (216M)
Nearly all the 216 models were blue with a dark blue roof and the 216M models were red with a black roof.
A rare edition of 216 in red with a black roof can be found.
Later 216 models may have shaped wheels.
225 Austin Seven
January 1961 - 1965
The Austin Seven 'Mini' can be found in primrose yellow or shades of red from an orangey-red through to quite deep shades of red. All the primrose editions have red seats and the red editions can have either cream seats (very early editions) or, mostly, lemon yellow.
Primrose editions are scarce with production switching to red in the first year and models will be type 1a in the list below and found only with smooth fixed wheels.
Early red editions had fixed smooth wheels, then fixed shaped wheels and later editions have free-spinning shaped wheels.
There are five types of base:
1a has holes over the axles
1b has panels, no holes and a full width lower front bumper
1c is like 1b with a narrower lower front bumper
2a has no panels and a different text layout
2b is like 2a with a post near the front
Beware of 255 models with blue Jensen's transfers on the doors.
These have fooled many people over the years with prices of up to £2000 paid. Some even do have original Corgi transfers which someone acquired from the factory and there are good reproductions also available.
But Jensen's, a meat product company based in Denmark in the 1960s, commissioned only a pale blue edition of the 251 Hillman Imp. They did not ask Corgi to make a promotional Mini in red, or blue.
Type 1a
Type 1c
Type 2a
Type 2b
236 Austin A60 Driving School (RHD)
June 1964 - 1968
The light blue edition is the British one and there are no known variations.
255 Austin A60 driving School (LHD)
June 1964 -1968
A darker shade of blue was used to distinguish the export edition for Europe, the States and other places where cars were Left hand Drive.
450 Austin Minivan
See the Commercial section
485 Austin Mini Countryman
March 1965 - 1969
Always in a nice turquoise green with solid yellow interior, this car came with a surfer and two rose-red surfboards in the box. The surfboards fit into the chrome roof rack.
This can be found with both shaped and cast wheels.
There is also one without a fuel filler in the casting that is quite scarce but I have yet to ascertain whether this is the earliest variety.
