MINI

The MINI John Cooper Works Team and MINI USA left no doubt about their desire for a series championship during today’s Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla. The race was dominated by the MINI JCW race cars, with Mark Pombo and brother Mat Pombo, battling for the 1 – 2 positions in the final hour of the race. When the checkered flag waved Mark Pombo was in the lead in the #52 MINI JCW with Mat right behind him in the #73 MINI JCW. Teammate Derek Jones did an outstanding job recovering from earlier contact while leading the race to drive an injured #37 MINI JCW to a fourth-place finish.

Sing for Hope, the nonprofit arts organization, and MINI USA today announced #DrivingHope, a partnership motivated by both organizations’ passion for bringing creativity to communities. MINI USA will join the country’s largest recurring public arts project, the Sing for Hope Pianos, by creating a mobile piano inside a MINI Countryman. From June 4-24, the 50 Sing for Hope Pianos will be located throughout the five boroughs and the #MINIPiano will act as a traveling piano, driving music directly to additional underserved communities. Sing for Hope uplifts individuals and communities by mobilizing artists to bring the power of the arts to those who need it most. Each year, the Sing for Hope Pianos are designed by local artists, celebrities, and casts of Broadway shows.

MINI Plant Oxford has received a top visitor attraction award from the official national tourism agency for England. The plant, which builds more than 1,000 MINIs each day, has been recognized by VisitEngland with a ‘Best Told Story Accolade’ for its factory tour, which gives visitors a behind the scenes look at how this iconic British car is made. Introduced by VisitEngland in 2014, the accolades are available to attractions that are part of the Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme and are allocated through a scoring system based on an annual unannounced assessment. They recognize attractions that ‘go the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out.’

MINI USA today announced that Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a network of food banks, is again the Official Charity Partner of the legendary MINI owners road rally, MINI TAKES THE STATES. Similar to the MTTS 2016 partnership, a portion of the proceeds from each registration fee will be donated to Feeding America. In addition, MTTS 2018 participants will have the opportunity to personally raise money and awareness for hunger in America. The legendary rally for MINI owners, which runs from July 14 – 22, will start from two separate locations on opposite sides of the country and meet in the middle for a weekend celebration of everything MINI. The starting cities will be Orlando, Fla., and Portland, Ore. The final destination is Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colo., approximately 75 miles west […]

MINI UK is proud to announce the return of MINI CHALLENGE for 2018, bringing packed grids and spectacular racing to fans across the UK. Packing 49 thrilling races, across four different classes into 13 all-action weekends, the MINI CHALLENGE will once again visit legendary race circuits including Silverstone, Brands Hatch, and Donington Park. Confirming the status of MINI CHALLENGE as one of the premier single-make race series in the UK, the top level John Cooper Works class will support the British GT and BRDC British Formula 3 championships for the second year in succession and, for the first time, the series will be supporting DTM at Brands Hatch on 11-12th August 2018.

The MINI JCW Team and MINI USA will start their fourth full season in the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series this weekend at the famous high banks of the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The MINI JCW Team kicked off last season by showing the rest of the field that they were a force to be reckoned with after Mat Pombo and co-driver Derek Jones drove the #73 MINI JCW to victory lane at the track known as the “World Center of Racing.”

New technology, cutting-edge connectivity, standard-fit front and rear LED lights across the range and an advanced dual-clutch automatic gearbox are just some of the features in the new 2018 MINI 3-Door Hatch, MINI 5-Door Hatch, and MINI Convertible, which will launch at MINI retailers across the UK on 17 March 2018. The changes are focused on driver appeal and core new technologies, including MINI Connected Concierge services, wireless smartphone charging and first-in-class options such as new anti-dazzle adaptive headlights with Matrix high beam. MINI 3-Door Hatch, MINI 5-Door Hatch, and MINI Convertible Overview of new features. New design standard-fit front and rear LED lights for the UK market. First-in-class – new optional adaptive headlights with Matrix high beam. Unique individualization with MINI Yours 3D printed parts. 6.5-inch color infotainment screen, USB and Bluetooth connectivity and multifunction steering wheel fitted as […]

Let’s look at Minis. Our Video of the Week this week is a brief history of the Mini Cooper. And in this case, we mean the class Mini Cooper, not the more modern version from BMW. The video comes from the guys over at Donut Media and is, shall we say, irreverent. To quote Donut: It’s the most Iconic British car of all time: The Mini. It was an engineering marvel that revolutionized economy car design and became a motorsport legend along the way. Join us as we explore the Mini’s rich history and design quirks that made it one of the best selling cars in the U.K.

MINI USA has announced the official route for MINI TAKES THE STATES (MTTS) 2018. The legendary rally for MINI owners, which runs from July 14 – 22, will start from two separate locations on opposite sides of the country and meet in the middle for a weekend celebration of everything MINI. The starting cities will be Orlando, Fla., and Portland, Ore. The final destination is Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colo., approximately 75 miles west of downtown Denver. Once arriving at Keystone, MINI owners from both routes will have the weekend to trade stories, share their experiences, show off their MINI, explore the area on curated mountain drives, support our charity partner and enjoy fun activities planned by the MINI USA team. There have been six epic road trips starting with the inaugural rally in 2006.  The seventh biennial MTTS rally […]

The start of the 40th edition of Dakar – the tenth in its present South America theatre – is now only hours away. Shakedown testing is complete and the MINI family of seven international two-man race crews, together with the large support team from MINI Motorsport partner X-raid, are fully prepared to undertake the challenges the Dakar will undoubtedly present throughout its 9,000 km distance that spans 14 race stages. The 2018 Dakar takes place across three countries with the starting point in Lima, Peru on Saturday 6th January 2018, before crossing into Bolivia and onwards to the finish line 14 stages later in Argentina on 20 January 2018. Each country will feature race stages that take place across natural splendor, which also happens to host the toughest cross-country racing conditions known to man and machine.

Since 2001 MINI has been a pioneer in the area of vehicle personalization by offering customers choice from a huge range of style, comfort, convenience and technology options, enabling them to create a car which truly reflects their personality and lifestyle. In 2018 MINI will take this concept to a new level with the launch of the 3D printing powered MINI Yours Customised. Using a new online store, customers will be able to transform their MINI into a uniquely personalized special by designing their own exclusive items. These innovative new upgrades will be available for UK customers throughout the course of 2018. The MINI Yours Customised product range will include the indicator inlays known as side scuttles, trims for the interior passenger side, LED door sills and LED door projectors. These new personalized products will be designed by customers on […]

As a brand well known for it’s sporty character, MINI is set to further enhance its reputation with the introduction of a new transmission to the range. Extremely fast gear changes, a high degree of shift comfort and optimised efficiency – just some of the benefits of the new 7-speed Steptronic automatic double clutch transmission available for the MINI 3-Door Hatch, MINI 5-Door Hatch, and the MINI Convertible. Customers can now order this new transmission in conjunction with selected engine variants as an alternative to the standard 6-speed manual transmission. The double clutch transmission is operated by a newly designed electronic selector lever. Further enhancing the premium character of the vehicle, the new selector lever always returns to its original position after changing between driving mode D, neutral position N and reverse mode. The parking lock is activated by pressing […]

At the core of the new MINI brand identity lies an awareness of traditional values combined with the spirit of future-oriented development. This philosophy is also reflected in the visual appearance of the British premium brand, of which the central element is the MINI brand logo. The current interpretation of the globally familiar logo takes the form of a reduced design that focuses on the essentials. It will be seen on all current MINI models from March 2018 onwards. The new MINI logo draws on the three-dimensional style of depiction that has existed since the relaunch of the brand in 2001, applying this to a form of visual expression known as “flat design” that homes in on the key graphic elements. The preservation of the fundamental, tradition-steeped motif of a winged wheel with the brand name printed in capital letters at […]

The UK’s top-selling convertible has today received the ‘Best Convertible 2018’ award judged by industry experts at Carbuyer. The award was presented to MINI this morning at the Carbuyer Best Car Awards in London, with judges praising the car’s unique character, trademark handling, interior and value for money. Winners in each category at the annual Carbuyer Awards are chosen by members of the dedicated Carbuyer road-test team, who evaluate each vehicle on running costs, comfort, practicality, reliability, and safety, as well as performance, efficiency, price, value for money and optional extras.

MINI USA has announced the launch of the new MINI John Cooper Works Tuning Kit at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, expanding the current tuning kit offering to now include Clubman and Countryman models. The new John Cooper Works Tuning Kit utilizes a retrofit exhaust system, aftermarket components and engine software programming increasing the engine power output and exhaust system performance. This new John Cooper Works Tuning Kit can be installed on any MY 2018 Cooper S or Cooper S ALL4 Clubman or Countryman model, intensifying the vehicle‘s sporty performance and sound characteristics. The MINI USA team will also have the new MINI Ice Blue special edition Cooper S Hardtop on display at the show.

MINI USA is once again proud to congratulate amateur racer Craig Wilcox on his continued success in the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series and the Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals. Wilcox, of Blue Springs, Mo., finished as the Year-End Points Winner in the ProSolo Series Championship and finished second place in the Solo National Championship in September at the Lincoln Airpark in Lincoln, Neb. It was the sixth time Wilcox finished as the Year-End Points Winner in the ProSolo Series. Wilcox has also been crowned the Prosolo Series Champion four times in the past five years as well as four Solo National Championships with ten podium finishes over his racing career which began in 2003. The longtime MINI owner continues to race his 2012 MINI Cooper S Hardtop, which doubles as his day-to-day primary vehicle. The 2017 season kickoff event […]

The latest special edition to join the MINI UK line-up celebrates the brand’s rich heritage with a nod to one of the best known sporty classic Minis of all time, the 1275 GT. Available to order now, the 1499 GT recalls the entertaining drive, distinctive styling and low running costs of the 1969 original, which was one of the most affordable performance cars of its day.

The MINI JCW Team and MINI USA completed their second full season competing in the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series with a hard-fought final race of the season on Friday at Road Atlanta. The team qualified P9, P10 and P11 after an early morning qualifying session on Friday. The #73 MINI JCW driven by Jones and Pombo had a strong day, starting 10th and quickly climbing through the field to put the team in seventh place. With under 10 minutes left in the race, a caution came out to pack up the field which gave Pombo a great opportunity to gain position before the checkered flag. As the field prepared to take the final restart, the third, fourth and fifth place cars collided. Pombo maneuvered through the wreckage to emerge in 3rd place.