MINI Moke Twini
The twin-engine MINI had even less luck — it never reached production, although Austin considered it. The original Twini prototype was destroyed, and the one you see in photos today is a replica — albeit a very faithful one.
The MINI Moke became famous as a fun beach car ideal for coastal life. But few remember that it was initially designed as a lightweight military vehicle that could be parachuted into combat zones. While the design was clever, the military rejected it due to its lack of all-wheel drive.
So British Motor Company came up with something… unusual: a small, light car with two engines. The most unique feature? A cross-linked all-wheel-drive system — the front engine drove the rear wheels, and the rear engine powered the front ones! There were two gear levers, and the engines were not synchronized, so driving the Twini took real skill.
The army once again rejected the design — it was too complex and had too little ground clearance for military service. The Moke went on to civilian life with just one engine. However, the lessons learned from the Twini helped in developing prototypes like the Cooper Twini — one of which nearly killed John Cooper. But that’s a story for another time.
0 Comments