Innocenti's Italian-bodied Mini was good enough that there were once plans for it to replace the original English Mini outright — the plan just never happened.
Lead trim: 90L 998 cc BMC A-series four
Innocenti Mini 90 / 12090/120 · 1974–1982
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- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Innocenti Mini 90 / 120 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactInnocenti's Italian-bodied Mini was good enough that there were once plans for it to replace the original English Mini outright — the plan just never happened.
The Innocenti Mini is a rebodied three-door hatchback version of the Mini styled by Bertone (Marcello Gandini), introduced at the 1974 Turin Show as the 90L and 120L under British Leyland ownership and built at Lambrate, Milan; a five-door prototype around 1980 never reached production. The 90L had the 998 cc BMC A-series engine (43 bhp, 44 PS) and the 120L the 1,275 cc unit with 20 bhp more, uprated later to 49 bhp (50 PS) and 65 bhp (66 PS) respectively; because each has two outputs and the change is undated, no horsepower is entered. All Leyland-engined cars had a four-speed manual, front-wheel drive, and the rear hatch and better finish than the English-built Mini gave it higher sales and a better reputation in continental markets such as France. Within a year of launch BLMC went bankrupt and in May 1976 Innocenti was sold to De Tomaso and GEPI (BL kept 5%), the company renamed Nuova Innocenti, which continued the car without real change. Wheelbase 2,040 mm (80.3 in), width 1,500 mm (59.1 in), height 1,365 mm (53.7 in).
Collectors Spotted in the Innocenti Mini Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Innocenti Mini yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120L 1,275 cc BMC A-series four | 1974–1982 | 1.3 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | FWD | — | — |
| 90L 998 cc BMC A-series four | 1974–1982 | 1.0 L Inline-4 | — | — | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The tiny Innocenti Mini 500 found fans in France, where its featherweight tax class matched the famously minimal Fiat 126 — good company for a car this small.
The long-wheelbase Innocenti 990 got an unlikely fashion collaborator: its 1991 Serie Speciale special edition had an Alcantara interior designed by Italian fashion house Missoni.
Innocenti's 1984 Minidiesel squeezed a one-litre diesel into a Mini-shaped body — at launch it was the smallest passenger-car diesel in the world, and the highest-output naturally aspirated diesel in series production.
Innocenti's tiny two-cylinder 650 made just 31 PS, but it ran surprisingly smooth for such a small, cheap engine thanks to twin balance shafts — tech usually reserved for bigger motors.
This Mini's original turbo engine wasn't purely Japanese or Italian — De Tomaso's engineers took Daihatsu's naturally aspirated block and developed their own turbocharged version in-house, badged CB-DT for 'De Tomaso.'
Swapping in Daihatsu three-cylinder engines backfired on Innocenti's owner in an odd way: reliability improved so much that his repair network ended up overstaffed, with warranty claims down 70%.
Innocenti's Italian-bodied Mini was good enough that there were once plans for it to replace the original English Mini outright — the plan just never happened.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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