Mini voted the greatest British car of all time -

Mini voted the greatest British car of all time - Telegraph

Alex Isigonis certainly designed an icon when he was brought in to save the British motor industry. There had to be a people's car to compete against the Volkswagon.  Foreign cars were coming into the UK with decent paint, which no British car had, at that time. Cheap Japanese cars were also appearing, which were reliable.
A modern comparison would be the Skoda car firm, before and after the Germans took them over and showed them how it was done.