MINI

Our Video of the Week this go round is a fun one.  It comes from the folks at MINI, but focusses more on the love of the classic Mini. Plant Oxford employee Mike Darley’s passion for MINI started as a child. Learn about his Classic Mini restoration project and how working at MINI is a lifestyle.

BMW will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country’s ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit.

One of the rarest of all flavors of the Mini Cooper S, a 970 S built in 1964 comes up for auction at the Silverstone Classic on 29th – 30th July. A fine example of the homologation special created to qualify the Cooper S for the under 1000cc category in racing and rallying, the car presented by Silverstone Auctions is one of less than a thousand ever built. With engine and chassis numbers matching logbook records and an extensive history file including homologation papers, heritage certificate, 2004 FIA Historic Technical Passport and MoT certificates, the iconic Cooper 970 S is estimated to sell for between £43,000 and £50,000.

Three women at MINI Plant Oxford have been named among the top-100 female ‘Rising Stars’ of the UK automotive industry. Helen Evans, Amy Druce and Annie Sekulla (pictured) secured national recognition as part of Autocar magazine’s ‘Great British Women in the Car Industry’ initiative. 

MINI USA today announced that Randy Clements will assume the role of Department Head for Product Planning & Aftersales, replacing Patrick McKenna, effective June 1. Last month, MINI USA announced McKenna had assumed the role of Department Head, MINI Brand Communications, and that Tom Salkowsky had assumed the role of Department Head, Sales. Clements’ appointment as the new head of Product Planning & Aftersales, as well as the appointment earlier this year of Laura Towey as the new Department Head, Business Development & Strategy, completes a number of changes made by the company to bolster the executive management team under Thomas Felbermair, Vice President, MINI Region Americas.

MINI USA has released the listing of 2018 model year pricing and equipment updates. Following are the equipment updates and pricing by model.

MINI is further enhancing the appeal of its model line-up in summer 2017 with a range of new design, functionality and infotainment improvements. From July 2017, all new MINI models will feature an enhanced cockpit instrument with a new night design and a fuel level display that offers greater precision. Operation of MINI Driving Modes and MINI Head-Up Display will also be revised. In a brand first, MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman will offer Apple CarPlay and an alertness assistant will be introduced on MINI 3-door Hatch, MINI 5-door Hatch and MINI Convertible models.

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinner’s Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, is gearing up to promote the flagship race of the Brands Hatch Mini Festival at the iconic race track in Kent. The Salisbury-based company is promoting the Historic Mini Races at the event, which will be named ‘The SU Carburetters Cup for Pre-66 Minis’ in the eagerly anticipated 2017 edition.

MINI UK is today launching the new MINI Cooper Black Pack Clubman and the new MINI Cooper D Black Pack Clubman. Designed exclusively for the UK, the first MINI Clubman edition offers 17-inch Black Net spoke wheels combined with Black bonnet stripes for a sleek and sporty finish to further enhance the characteristic MINI Clubman styling.

It was 15 years ago today (well yesterday now, the 22nd) that a feisty, little-known car company came ashore in the United States and captured the hearts of Americans from coast-to-coast. Since 2002, MINI USA has sold and delivered more than 725,000 MINIs to delighted customers across the country.

Building in Britain is not essential to BMW’s Mini brand as most customers do not know where the compact cars are built and its new electric model could be made elsewhere, the brand’s boss told Reuters on Tuesday. Peter Schwarzenbauer said the German carmaker would decide by the end of 2017 whether to build the new electric model at an existing site in Britain or the Netherlands, or whether to pick a new location.

The values of MK1 Minis continue to rocket, increasingly justifying the cost of the part or total restorations that will be required for most examples sooner or later. British Motor Heritage (BMH) has long since been at the forefront of supplying individual panels for all marks of classic Minis, and complete bodyshells for models from 1976 onwards. What’s been missing until now is the Holy Grail, a full replacement shell for the MK1, but the wait is now over! Mini enthusiasts were given a glimpse of what was to come on BMH’s stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show last November, and the response was universally positive. The first production batch of 15 bodies will therefore commence in April, with deliveries occurring through May and June. The launch price is £9,950 inc. VAT and the company is accepting orders accompanied […]

The MINI JCW Team took the checkered flag earlier today at Daytona International Speedway, winning their first race ever in the Street Tuner class of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. With LAP Motorsports Team Owner Luis Perocarpi on top of the pit box, drivers Mat Pombo and Derek Jones held off heavy pressure from a number of competitors for more than four hours in order to bring the #73 MINI JCW to victory lane. The 2017 season is only the second full season for the team in the series. We knew going into the race today that we were going to be fast and that we’d have a good chance to win this race. I am so proud of everyone on this team for their hard work. A win at the high banks of Daytona to start the […]

BMW of North America is proud to offer customers and enthusiasts the opportunity to experience newly enhanced driver training courses for both the BMW and MINI Driving Experiences. The BMW Performance Center West in southern California and the BMW Performance Center East in Spartanburg, South Carolina now bear the seal of quality “BMW Driving Experience, Official Partner of BMW M.” The basis for this is the successful certification by a team of inspectors from the BMW and MINI Driving Experiences in Germany. The first international location to be awarded this status was the BMW and MINI Driving Experience in the Netherlands in 2015.

The new MINI Countryman is the biggest and most versatile model to be launched in the brand’s 57-year history. With its larger external dimensions and increases in space throughout the cabin and luggage area, it offers occupants even greater comfort and a genuinely premium ambiance. Useful new features such as electric tailgate control with touch-free opening and unique options, including a fold-down picnic bench at the rear, add to the ownership experience. The Countryman’s on- and off-road ability is readily apparent throughout its design, which fuses familiar MINI styling with the tough look of a crossover thanks to the extended ground clearance, large wheel arches and short overhangs.

MINI USA announced pricing today on its all-new 2017 MINI Countryman, the best equipped MINI ever, with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $26,100 for the Cooper variant and $28,100 for the Cooper ALL4 variant. The Cooper S variant will start at $29,100 and the Cooper S ALL4 variant at $31,100.  All prices exclude the $850 Destination & Handling fee. Pricing for the first ever MINI plug-in hybrid model, the Cooper S E Countryman ALL4, will be announced in 2017 closer to market launch in the U.S. The all-new MINI Countryman has been completely redesigned and reengineered from the ground up, yet still is instantly identifiable as a MINI. Now incorporating BMW Group engine technology and vehicle architecture, the all-new MINI Countryman offers an all-turbocharged engine lineup with outstanding acceleration and the famous go-kart driving dynamics – especially when experienced with […]

The three millionth Oxford-built MINI is a John Cooper Works Clubman – the first model to combine the latest John Cooper Works performance enhancements and a new ALL4 all-wheel drive system. Plant Oxford has celebrated the three millionth MINI to roll off the assembly line since production began back in 2001. From around 300 cars a day in 2001 to around 1,000 built to order cars today, the 4,500 strong workforce at Oxford produce one new MINI almost every minute. Around 80 per cent of MINIs built here are exported to more than 110 markets across the world.

MINI USA is proud to congratulate amateur racer Craig Wilcox on his recent championship victories in the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series and the Tire Rack Solo Nationals presented by Garmin VIRB. Wilcox, of Blue Springs, Mo., finished as the Year-End Points Winner in the ProSolo Series and was crowned the National Champion of the Solo Nationals in September at the Lincoln Airpark in Lincoln, Neb. The long time MINI owner was driving his 2012 MINI Cooper S Hardtop, which doubles as his day-to-day primary vehicle. It was the fifth time Wilcox finished as the Year-End Points Winner in the ProSolo Series and his fourth Solo Series National Championship. Even more remarkable, Wilcox finished with the largest margin of victory ever reported for the SCCA Solo National Championship with a class of 60+ competitors.  Wilcox was clocked at 115.778 seconds in the […]