TESTING TIMES

摘要

In the September 2014 issue of MiniWorld, Rainier de Klark and Bill Bell looked at Mini prototypes from 1957 and 1958. In their perpetual search for more accurate Mini background, the 1959 Mini Register contacted organisations such as the Austin Ex-Apprentices Association to find people who worked with the earliest Minis. Two such people are David Street and Paul Ragbourne. David drove the 1957 'Orange Box' prototypes and Paul the 1958 versions. We met up with them at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire, to talk about their memories of those days. We have to remember that both men were very young at the time and were just starting out on their careers. Their function at the time was simply to test and report on the ADO15 prototypes at various stages of development, not necessarily to suggest improvements or design changes. Both went on to have long and successful careers in the motor industry.