A new electric model will be unveiled this week. Will it turn round the culture war embroiling the marque?

When German manufacturer BMW took over the Mini brand and launched the Mini Cooper in 2001, some people were outraged. Drivers with previous models even slapped on bumper stickers reading “this is a real Mini”. The BBC reported that executives insisted the car “is not a small BMW”.

The storm died down, and Mini has gone on to sell more cars each year (about 300,000) than ever before, many of them emblazoned with union jack tail-lights – whatever the ownership of the factory.