The lilac “Minor Million”, Britain's first limited edition

At the end of December 1960, the Morris Minor became the first million-selling car in Britain. To celebrate this momentous moment, Morris produced a small run of 349 special Minors. This car was officially called the “Minor Million”. The Million was Britain's first limited edition. All were painted lilac and featured white leather interiors with black piping, special chrome hubcaps and special molded badges on the bonnet and trunk.

An unrivaled performance

The actual introduction of the Minor Million was on January 4, 1961, a hugely important milestone for the British motor industry. The lilac Minor was appropriately named 'Morris Minor 1.000.000' because British Motor Corporation Ltd. a million vehicles of the same basic design had been produced. This was a remarkable achievement unmatched by any other British car manufacturer up to that point. The accompanying publicity gave an indication of the magnitude of this achievement: “The production of 1.000.000 vehicles of the same design is an achievement never before achieved by the British motor industry, the magnitude of which can be illustrated by saying that if all units leaving the production lines at Cowley would be parked at intervals of about 375 meters (407 yards and 11½ inches), the first would be in Oxfordshire and the millionth would be on the moon.”

A million!

The Morris Minor, designed by Alec Issigonis, had arrived on the scene in 1948 and proved an instant hit with motorists at home and abroad. In a twelve-year period of updates and upgrades, sales soared beyond expectations to reach the magic mark of one million. To celebrate the milestone of one million sales of the Morris Minor worldwide, BMC's publicity department decided that the actual 1.000.000th car should look special. In the end, a decision was made in a somewhat special way.

Whimsical decision

So why the color lilac? In the beginning, the design team wanted gold or silver. But after consulting paint expert ICI, they came home with a rude awakening. Gold or silver would have an expiration date of three months. So they shouldn't do that. Any color from the regular range was possible. Six or seven Minors were painted in various shades, including lilac. Pastel colors were in fashion. One was orange, favored by team leader Donald Harrisson. He had a passion for orange. And there was a light blue one, a yellow one, a pink one and one was lime green. The Minors were placed side by side for judging by a group of Cowley managers, after they had finished their lunch. After the alcohol had flowed freely, lilac was chosen. A whimsical decision, but one that turned out well. The Minor Million series with its extravagant color was already sold out before it even rolled off the production line. The Minor was a great success anyway. In total, more than one and a half million (1.619.958 units) would be made. The most famous Minor eventually became the Traveler, with its world-famous wood finish on the rear panels. Gradually, this accounted for an increasing share of the slowly declining Minor sales. But Issigonis already had his next plan in place by then. In his mind, the Mini was already waiting. But that's a whole other story...