In 1960 the Austin A40 was a very advanced small car, at least in appearance. The "British Motor Corporation" had taken its sturdy little A35 sedan to Italy for a makeover by Farina, who gave it a clean, stylish shape that instantly made everything else look old-fashioned. Compare it with modern hatchbacks and you'll see a definite similarity. This was a period in my life when I'd become enamored of British and European cars and was much impressed with the A40. What I couldn't understand, however, was why Farina, or BMC, failed to provide a tailgate. Had they done so, the A40 would have been the world's first hatchback.

Enter Innocenti, an Italian builder of industrial machine tools, which was interested in selling the A40 in Italy but figured it could go BMC one better. The Italians began production with CKD kits but before long began making the cars from scratch, though still using BMC components. In 1962 it began using BMC's larger 1098cc A-series engine (up from 948 c.c) and introduced a major body change: a single-piece top-hinged tailgate. Until then Innocenti had built the existing "Berlina" with a trunk and a "Cominata" with a split-tailgate. Thus the A40S became the world's first hatchback.

Innocenti 950 Spyder sports cars followed in 1961, based on the Austin Healey Sprite, styled by Ghia. Two years later a Morris 1100 was added to the Innocenti line, followed by a "Mini" in 1965, an Austin Allegro in 1974 and finally, the1974 Bertone-styled Mini 90/120/De Tomaso, a Mini with a hatchback. By then the former BMC, now British Leyland, had bought the company and after a few years sold it to another Italian industrialist, Allesandro De Tomaso, who later sold it to Fiat. One thing all Innocenti's had in common was a design signature that in every case improved on the original.

Thanks to Harley Ferguson for leading me to the Innocenti Mini site.