The Mini is a small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture.[8][9][10][11] Its space-saving transverse engine front-wheel drive layout â€“ allowing 80 percent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage â€“ influenced a generation of car makers.[12] In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroën DS and Volkswagen Beetle.[13][14]