Mini Cooper

Picture Of Mini Classic Cars

Built as more luxurious versions of the Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional "three-box" look. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque's traditional upright grille design, also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance. The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive of the two cars. The name "Wolseley Hornet" was first used on a 1930s sports car, while the name "Elf" recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s. The full-width dashboard was a differentiator between the Elf and Hornet. This better dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner the Sales Manager for Riley.


Both cars went through three versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburettor version of the Cooper's 998 cc power unit in the Mark II in 1963. The MKIII facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents; also concealed door hinges two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini. 30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built.