MINI · 1964–present

Mini Moke

The Mini Moke is a small, front-wheel-drive utility and recreational convertible, conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation (BMC), and subsequently marketed for civilian use under the Austin, Morris, Leyland, and Moke brands. The name "Mini Moke" combines mini with moke, an archaic term for a mule. The Moke is known for its simple, straightforward, doorless design and for its adaptability. BMC's Cowley plant started building Mokes in January 1964, with 14,518 produced in the UK between 1964 and 1968; 26,000 were manufactured in Australia between 1966 and 1981; and 10,000 in Portugal between 1980 and 1993 when, after a nearly 30-year run, production ended. In 2013 a new Chinese version appeared, made by Chinese automaker Chery Automobile started production in China of a new car called Moke. This evocation of the design is assembled and distributed by a number of companies in several countries including England, France, and the US, although ownership of the Moke trademark is disputed. This Moke is a full new design and shares nothing with the original British Mini Moke.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Successor: Moke (revival)

All MINI Moke data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

History

The original Moke was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis and John Sheppard. When Issigonis designed the Mini, he planned another vehicle to share the Mini's mechanical parts, but with a more rugged body shell. This was an attempt to take a portion of the military vehicle business from Land Rover. Issigonis had previously designed the Nuffield Guppy in a failed attempt to break into that market. By 1959, BMC had working prototypes of what was codenamed "The Buckboard", later to become the Mini Moke. These prototypes were shown to the British Army as a parachute-droppable vehicle, but poor ground clearance and a low-powered engine did not meet the most basic requirements for an off-road vehicle. Only the Royal Navy showed any interest in the Buckboard, as a vehicle for use on the decks of aircraft carriers. Early promotional material made much of the lightness of the vehicle, showing four soldiers travelling in the Moke off-road, then picking it up by its tubular bumpers and carrying it when (inevitably) its low ground-clearance proved inadequate. In a further attempt to make a viable military vehicle, a few four-wheel drive Mokes were made. This was accomplished by the addition of a second engine and transmission at the back of the vehicle with linked clutches and gear shifters, which did nothing for the ground-clearance problems. This vehicle was called "The Twini" and was shown to the US Army—again with no success. The added mechanical complexity and lack of interest by the military discouraged development beyond the prototype stage. Three of these vehicles were used by the Brazilian Army after being captured during the 1969 Rupununi Rebellion from Guyanese rebels, who had crossed the border into Brazil. During the Rhodesian Bush War there was an attempt by the Rhodesian S

Construction and maintenance

The Moke's construction is simple. The body mainly consists of two box-section "pontoons" or "sideboxes" running between the front and rear wheels and includes solid extensions running from the back of the car to the front. These are connected by the floor pan, the firewall and a sturdy lateral torque box that runs under the front seats and stiffens the body in torsion. The left-hand pontoon contains the fuel tank; the right-hand has a compartment for the battery and a small lockable storage area. The 1972 "Moke, Special Export", commonly referred to as a "Californian" Moke, has an Austin Sprite/MG Midget type fuel tank fitted beneath the rear floor area to meet the American FMVSS safety requirements of the time. Standard Mokes of the same period and later Californian Mokes use the conventional tank mounted in the left sidebox. Later Portuguese Mokes have additional lockable storage space at the rear of the vehicle. The optional cloth canopy has plastic side windows and is held up by a thin tubular structure that can easily be removed when not needed. In later versions this was replaced with a more solid roll cage. The windscreen can easily be unbolted and removed if not needed. There are just three curved panels in the Moke, the bonnet, the firewall and the floor, each of which is only curved in one direction. This makes it relatively straightforward to reproduce and replace Moke body components without access to sophisticated machine tools. Because the Moke's A-Series engine, manual gearbox and suspension are identical to those of a standard Mini (which was still in production up to October 2000), most spare parts are still readily available. The Moke has no chassis, so the wheels, brake assemblies and suspension are attached to front and rear subframes bolted straigh

Kit cars, look-alikes, and customisations

The true Mini Moke was never available as a kit car, however as the basic Mini parts were easily available, many companies have assembled and marketed look-alikes, hybrid copies, and custom versions of the vehicle with names such as the Andersen "Mini-Cub", "Comet", Del Tech "Nomad", "Gecko", "Hobo", "Hustler", "Jimini", "Mini-Scout", "MPV" (a 6-wheeler), "Mule", "Navajo", "Ranger", "Mini Scamp", "Stimson", "Warrior", and the "Yak". Unusual one-off custom versions of the Mini Moke have also been created inspired by the original design, including a 454 hp Maserati V-8 powered example built by Lazareth Auto-Moto, and a three axle six-wheeler. Island Mokes. The Moke gained much popularity as a beach buggy and was often rented to tourists in tropical island resorts such as Mauritius and Barbados. The car also found a market in Macau, where it became the official transport for the local police; the Happy-Rent-a-Car company also owned 43 of the vehicles, which were made available for hire until February 2006 when they were outlawed by new car safety laws. The Macau branch of the car rental company Avis ran a fleet of Moke look-alike "CUBs" until July 2007. The CUB, although it resembled the Moke, was designed by Charles Andersen of Liverpool, England and used a 1275 cc version of the A-Series engine. On Magnetic Island, off Australia's Queensland coast, Moke Magnetic still operate a large fleet of Australian-made Mokes for hire to tourists. The Mini Moke can still be seen around the town of Victoria, Seychelles, as it is still a popular mode of transport for tourists and can seat four people in relative comfort. In the early 1970s, a Mini Moke was the first motor vehicle to be driven on Pitcairn Island and thereby became the most remote vehicle on Earth. It was chosen because

Future Mokes

While BMW-owned Mini has discussed other vehicles named after the Moke, no production has ever taken place. A concept car called the MINI Beachcomber, which draws heavily on Moke styling, was used to build interest for the upcoming Mini Countryman.

In popular culture

The Moke attracted attention via media exposure, including the 1965 John Boorman film Catch Us If You Can (in which a Moke is driven by the Dave Clark Five), many appearances in the television series The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan (1967–68), as well as in popular songs such as the English rock group Traffic's recording of "Berkshire Poppies". The Moke also features in four James Bond movies: You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker, as well as the films Emmanuelle, Carry on Camping and the Doctor Who story Fury from the Deep. In total, the Moke has made cameo appearances in over 70 films. The Beatles and the Beach Boys were also photographed behind the wheel of a Moke. Despite these cultural references and celebrity associations, only about a tenth of the 14,500 British produced Mokes were sold in the United Kingdom, although Mokes continued to be made in Britain until 1968. The Moke met with renewed success in the 1980s after French actress and model Brigitte Bardot was pictured driving a Moke with her dogs in St. Tropez, France. In 1982, the Seychelles issued a commemorative "Transportation" postage stamp featuring the Mini Moke. In 2016, the Moke was included in an exhibition titled "AL(L) Projects with Aluminum", curated by Maria Cristina Didero at the Grand-Hornu in Belgium. The show explored experimentation with aluminium in art, design, and industry. A "Panorama Mokes" event was held In October 2016 which brought together a group of Mini Mokes alongside their "tin top" cousins the "Classic Minis" which met at Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Alongside the Minis, the MOKE also celebrated 50 years since production in Australia and participated in a four-day event with everyone arriving on cue to the 2016 Supercheap A

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

sp: uk
name: Mini Moke
aka: Austin Mini Moke, Morris Mini Moke, BMC Mini Moke (military version), Leyland Moke (Australia)
Manufacturer: BMC (1964–1968), Leyland Australia (1966–1981), British Leyland Portugal (1980–1989), Cagiva (1990–1993)
Production: 1964–1993
Assembly: United Kingdom: Longbridge, Birmingham (Longbridge plant), Portugal: Vendas Novas, Portugal: Setúbal, Australia: Zetland, New South Wales, Malaysia: Alor Setar, Rhodesia: Umtali, South Africa: Cape Town
Class: Utility vehicle
Body style: 4-seat convertible, 2-seat pickup
Engine: 848 cc A-series I4, 998 cc A-series I4, 1098 cc A-series I4, 1275 cc A-series I4
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Wheelbase: 2020 mm
Length: 3050 mm
Width: 1300 mm
Height: 1400 mm (with cloth roof and windshield raised)
Kerb weight: 406 kg (early models), 578 kg (later models)
Designer: Sir Alec Issigonis, John Sheppard
Related: Moke (2013)
Layout: FF layout

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q927952CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_MokeCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1372665751 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mini-Moke_1984.jpgCC BY-SA 2.5 · Photo: DeFacto · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.