The Mini is a supermini car which has been made since July 2001. Colloquially known as the New Mini, all four generations have been produced as three-door hatchbacks and two-door convertibles, with a five-door hatchback body style added from the third generation. Introduced following the acquisition of the Mini marque by German carmaker BMW, it is a family of retro-styled cars with a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. The range has been marketed under various names, such as the Mini Cooper, Mini Hatch, Mini Hardtop, Mini One, and Mini John Cooper Works.
The Rover Group (which was then owned by BMW) first unveiled the Mini hatch concept car at the 1997 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Developed as a successor to the original Mini, the styling of the concept car was well received by the public and further developed. BMW sold the other parts of the Rover Group in May 2000, but retained the rights to Mini, although MG Rover were allowed to continue production of the original until October of that year. The new Mini entered production on 26 April 2001 and went on sale in July of that year, initially only as a three-door hatchback, in contrast to the original Mini which is predominantly a two-door saloon car.