MINI

MINI USA today announced that registration for MINI TAKES THE STATES 2016 (MTTS) is now officially open. MINI owners looking to participate can now register at MINITAKESTHESTATES.com. The adult registration fee is $40 for a single city ticket, which includes an evening and morning event in one city, or $75 for a multi-city ticket, which includes access to any and all MTTS events. Children under 12 are free. Information regarding hotel accomodations is also available on the site. In addition, MINI USA has named Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a network of food banks, as the Official Charity Partner of the legendary cross-country road rally. Similar to years past, a portion of the proceeds from each registration fee will be donated to Feeding America. “MINI TAKES THE STATES is the most anticipated […]

Following the successful UK market launch of the MINI Clubman in October 2015, and the recent announcement of the MINI Clubman ALL4, MINI UK is adding a new model to the range – the MINI One D Clubman. Retaining the high specification offered across the MINI Clubman range, including MINI Navigation, DAB, Bluetooth, Cruise control and MINI Connected on every car, the new MINI One D Clubman will be of particular interest to fleet and business customers, with this latest model emitting 99g/km* CO2 on the combined cycle. As such, company car drivers will benefit from a low BiK rate of 17% on the MINI One D Clubman in the 2015-16 tax year. The car’s much-loved signature design feature – its split rear doors – are retained on this model, while accessibility and everyday usability are further enhanced thanks to […]

To celebrate the upcoming launch of the new MINI Convertible, MINI has unveiled a limited edition model, MINI Open 150 Convertible Edition.

The reinvention of the MINI brand continues apace with the launch of the all-new MINI Convertible. With major refinements against its predecessor, the car features a striking new design and significant enhancements to make open-topped MINI motoring even more dynamic, stylish and practical.

MINI USA and LAP MotorSports LLC are gearing up the MINI John Cooper Works Team for the 2016 season of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge(CTSCC), the first full season for the team. The team also today announced the addition of a third car and two new drivers – Ethan Lowe and James Vance. Building on the momentum of the team’s first podium at the season finale at Road Atlanta last year and a solid performance during three days of testing at The Roar Before the 24, the team is hopeful for more podium finishes during the 2016 season. The season kicks-off this Friday, January 29th, at Daytona International Speedway. The Indianapolis-based MINI John Cooper Works team owned and operated by racing veteran Luis Perocarpi will return this year with drivers Mat Pombo and Derek Jones. The racing duo, who […]

Readers of BusinessCar magazine have voted the MINI Hatch as Premium Supermini Car of the Year 2016. This marks the fourteenth consecutive year that the MINI Hatch has won the coveted award. Excellent performance alongside low running costs and CO2 emissions, coupled with strong residual values are just some of the qualities of the MINI 3-door Hatch which have continued to win over BusinessCar magazine readers for nearly a decade and a half.

Way before the fame – the glam rock image, flamboyance, Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie was a creative teenager with a plastic saxophone and a love for the Mini.  Having grown up with a penchant for music, his enthusiasm for players such as Charles Mingus and John Coltrane paved an early road for his transition to fame at an early age.  At 15 years old, Bowie formed his first band, the Konrads, playing mostly at family gatherings and weddings.

MINI is today launching the all new MINI Clubman ALL4 – the brand’s first all-wheel drive model in the C-segment. This launch marks the MINI brand’s further advance into the premium compact segment and represents the first ALL4 model to be built at MINI Plant Oxford.   MINI’s ALL4 all-wheel drive system, which has previously only been offered on MINI Countryman models, has been specially redeveloped to ensure sportier handling and improved versatility to further enhance the everyday practicality of the new MINI Clubman. MINI Clubman was launched in October 2015 and is notable as MINI’s first vehicle in the competitive C-segment. Now, the brand is offering something new to the market in the form of Clubman ALL4. Available with two of the latest MINI engines, the MINI Cooper S Clubman ALL4 and the MINI Cooper SD Clubman ALL4.

MINI USA announced pricing Thursday on its all-new 2016 MINI Convertible with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $25,950 for the Cooper model. In addition, the company also introduced the fastest, most powerful convertible it has ever built, the new MINI John Cooper Works Convertible. As one of the newest additions to the MINI product line, the new MINI Convertible represents the first open top MINI powered by BMW Group engines. The premium four-seater soft-top convertible is both practical and customizable, delivering unlimited open-air motoring fun. The latest generation convertible, which was designed, engineered, developed, and assembled in Europe, starts only $250 higher than previous generation car, making it the only true convertible built in Europe priced below $26,000. The Cooper S variant will start at $29,600. All prices exclude the $850 Destination & Handling fee.

MINI UK is reporting a record sales year in 2015, with 63,581 full year registrations. The milestone represents MINI’s 6th year of consecutive growth in the United Kingdom, with vehicle registrations up 17.9 per cent on 2014, securing the brand 2.41 percent of the market. MINI 3-door Hatch remained the brand’s biggest selling model, closely followed by its 5-door sibling. In the first full calendar year of sales, 44,560 Hatch models were sold in 2015 (3-door Hatch 25,443, 5-door Hatch 19,117). MINI’s performance brand, John Cooper Works, also celebrated a record year following the June launch of MINI John Cooper Works Hatch. The fastest production MINI ever built with a 0-62 time of just 6.1 seconds, 1,487 John Cooper Works Hatch models were sold last year. Total John Cooper Works sales across the range increased 134 percent to 2,213 vehicles.

Original “Italian Job” movie stunt driver and Mini racer, Phil Wicks, is offering his highly successful 1967 Mini Cooper S 1275 race car for sale. The price is listed at $55,000. This car was originally an SCCA racer and has the original race log book from 1972. There is also the current up to date log book. Wicks has raced and prepared the car for the past five years, competing in 42 vintage races with 39 first in class and many overall Group 1 first places. First place in the Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta for the past five years. First place at the Gold Cup at VIR for the past five years.

New Year, new challenges: 2 January 2016 will see the start of the 2016 Dakar Rally, the traditional season opener of long-distance cross-country rallies. Once again MINI takes on this exciting and exacting 9,500km, 15-day racing event but this year with a record entry of 12 MINI ALL4 Racing cars. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and long-term co-pilot Mathieu Baumel (FRA) of AXION X-raid Team (#300) are the defending Dakar champions and more than ready to take up the challenge of motorsport’s toughest endurance race. “Preparation is complete,” said Al-Attiyah in Buenos Aires, starting point of the 2016 Dakar Rally. “We are ready to take on the greatest endurance race in the hope we can achieve MINI the same success of 2015,” said Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP), fellow AXION X-raid Team member in MINI ALL4 Racing #304 along with co-driver Alex Haro […]

MINI USA today announced the official route for the 2016 running of MINI TAKES THE STATES. The legendary biennial cross-country owners rally will kick off at Road Atlanta in northeast Georgia on July 9, 2016 and finish at the Thermal Club in Palm Springs, CA, on July 23, 2016. In true MINI TAKES THE STATES fashion, the route will not take a direct path from point A to point B. The more than 4,000-mile “track-to-track” adventure will travel up the east coast, across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains before arriving in Southern California.  The legendary adventure, which attracts thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts every other year, will pay tribute to the brand’s motorsports heritage by stopping at several professional race tracks to host driving experiences along the way.

One of the most exciting and interactive events dedicated to the most iconic small car in Britain is set to return to the calendar in 2016, with Mini World Live promising to be even bigger and better than the show’s debut earlier this year. Mini World Live to take place at Rockingham Motor Speedway on July 10, 2016 The initial event was deemed a great success, attracting hundreds of beautifully restored classics, modified performance cars and the UK’s leading Mini specialists and experts to Rockingham Motor Speedway. 

The Carbon Edition combines the already powerful MINI Cooper S Hardtop 4 Door model with the new John Cooper Works Pro Tuning Kit, valve exhaust system and high-grade carbon fiber accessories. The result is 208 horsepower and an ultra-aggressive exhaust note with Sport and Track Mode. The exhaust flap is operated wirelessly via two clicks of the Bluetooth controller and unleashes devilish backfire pops and crackling sound on the overrun. Genuine carbon fiber mirror caps, air intake trim, and tailpipe finishers are offset against Midnight Black metallic paint and exclusive matte black sport and side stripes accented by a red pinstripe.

MINI is launching a new limited edition Countryman in the UK, the MINI Countryman Special Edition. The MINI Countryman Special Edition has been developed by the manufacturer’s Special Order programme, set up to allow customers to place orders for special edition models direct through MINI Retailers. Instantly recognisable by its exclusive Space Grey Metallic roof and mirror caps, teamed with 18” 5-Star Double Spoke alloy wheels in black and Absolute Black Metallic body paint, up to 250 MINI Countryman Special Edition models will be available for customers in the UK.

OK, I will admit it, I love Minis. I love old ones and new ones and large ones and small ones and … well, you get the picture. Something about the A-series engine, the transverse drivetrain, and the squat looks just appeal to me. Yes I drive a Vanden Plas Princess 1100, but in truth, all forms of the ADO16 are just large Minis. Yes, I said it. And I mean it. Anyway, our video this week is titled “Owning A Classic Mini”. Just below the clip you will see the information about the young man who made the video and why. I think it is a wonderful effort and just goes to show the kind of devotion these cars inspire.   Here is a short look into what it’s like to own a Classic Mini. Before I brought the […]

Another new chapter has opened in the regeneration of the MINI model family, with the launch of the new MINI Clubman. Following the success of the re-energised MINI 3-door Hatch and the successful launch of the MINI 5-door Hatch, the new model offers customers a premium vehicle featuring the highest level of ride refinement ever seen in a MINI. The car’s much-loved signature design feature – its split rear doors – are retained, while accessibility and everyday usability are further enhanced thanks to four full-sized side doors. The resulting car is a powerful fusion of sleek lines, innovative touches and first-rate materials with generous space for five occupants, excellent luggage capacity and classic MINI driving characteristics. With a more mature and sophisticated design, the new MINI Clubman’s dimensions are larger than those of the previous generation MINI Clubman. It’s also […]