New Cars
Mini Cooper by Rolls-Royce Coming Soon
MINI, iconic small car maker, will produce a luxury version with help from its corporate cousin Rolls Royce.
Mini
New Cars
XPart Helps Rover Name On The Road
XPart is celebrating five years of keeping two million owners of Rover and MG cars on the road in the wake of the collapse of the Longbridge manufacturers. The company, based at Desford in Leicestershire, is keeping motor traders around the world supplied with replacement parts that enable them to service and repair the cars. XPart, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Logistics Services, one of the automotive industry’s leading supply chain management companies, acquired the MG Rover parts business in August 2004, less than a year before the manufacturer collapsed in April 2005. Since then, it says it has “worked tirelessly” to maintain high levels of parts availability and provide continuity for more than 700 MG Rover dealers throughout the world. It operates a network of importers, wholesalers and MG Rover specialist AutoService centres, 250 of them in the UK.
Corporate Business
BMW Taps Into the British Psyche
History repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce … then as the Mini. An announcement that two new versions of Britain’s most successful car will soon be produced at BMW’s Cowley plant offers coruscating insights into national identity, consumer psychology and the realities of design today. It was on August 26, 1959, when ice-cream colored Ford Zodiacs with fluted chrome still wafted along dual-carriageways, that the Mini 1.0 appeared. As a small boy my father took me to see one of the first at the Rocket Garage in Liverpool. What was obvious even — perhaps specially — to a child was ingenuity of a high order. Alec Issigonis’s insistence on compactness and his refusal of “style” produced the most unusual and influential car ever. But Issigonis had a demanding personality: he insisted, for example, that discomfort kept drivers helpfully […]
New Cars
MINI’s 50th Anniversary JCW
This year MINI celebrates 50 years of the iconic Mini, and as a part of that celebration MINI is releasing a limited edition of the Cooper Works car, the John Cooper Works World Championship 50, of which only 250 will be produced and made available in Europe. Inspired by John Cooper’s son Mike who was heavily consulted during development, the vehicle will be adorned with the British racing green of days gone by. According to the BMW press release, the car will be powered by a “155 kW/211 hp four-cylinder engine with Twin-Scroll turbocharger and petrol direct injection. The production version of the MINI John Cooper Works World Championship 50 features numerous exterior and interior details reflecting the racing pedigree of the brand.
MINI
New Mini Owner’s Site
MiniMania, the supplier of parts for both classic and new Minis, has launched a new social networking site for Mini owners. MiniOwners aims to be for Mini enthusiasts what FaceBook is to … well, to the rest of the world. According to the site, “MiniOwners.com connects you with other people who share a common love for the Mini! Keep in touch with your Mini friends, and make new ones! MiniOwners.com is an expansion of the Mini Mania’s already popular forum. We’ve added new features to take it to the next level of Social Networking. Amoung the many features of MiniOwners is the ability to create your own profile page, upload images to galleries you create as well as create profiles of your cars! Create a network of friends to share your latest projects with. Post status updates to let your […]
Classic Cars
Phil Wicks Driving Academy at Brainerd International Raceway June 27-28
It is only three weeks away — the biggest celebration of the 50 years of the Mini/MINI — MINI East Meets West. The Phil Wicks Driving Academy will hold an event at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28. The days will consist of driving academy — all makes and models of cars — with instruction in classroom and on-track for Novice, Intermediate, and Expert; North American Can/Am Challenge races (classic Minis); Vintage car races — all makes and models; and North American MINI Cooper Challenge Time Trials. There will be a dutch treat banquet and awards presentation in the clubhouse at Brainerd on Saturday evening. All are invited to attend. Fees for the driving academy are $300 for one day, $500 for two days. And there will be lunch-time touring laps for non-participants for a fee of […]
Classic Cars
New Exhibit “50 Years of the Mini – Lane Motor Museum
The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is excited to announce that their newest exhibit “50 Years of the MINI – Presented by MINI of Nashville” will open on Thursday, April 16. This exhibit will focus on the history and influence of the Mini brand over the last 50 years. They would also like to thank MINI of Nashville for partnering with them in the creation and promotion of this exhibit. In addition to the exhibit, their support will allow the museum to host a special celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Mini in late August. According to the museum, a specific date along with more details will be available soon. More information about the contents of the exhibit is available now online at the Lane Motor Museum’s Mini site.
New Cars
Diesel MINI Lowest Depreciating Car
In a survey of residual values carried by EurotaxGlass’s, publisher of the Glass’s Guide ‘trade bible’, the MINI 1.4TD came out with an average trade-in value of 62.3 per cent after three years. It is the second year in succession that the MINI has topped the table of the slowest-depreciating cars, although the downturn in used car values is indicated by the fact that last year it retained 71 per cent of its value after three years. Seven of this year’s top 10 are cheap to buy and run, small and fuel-efficient. The almost identical Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107 were second, fourth and fifth respectively. However, the Ferrari F430 coupe and spyder took third place, retaining 60.9 per cent of their value after three years. The Lamborghini Murcielago was in eighth place (55.2 per cent), while rear- […]
Corporate Business
BMW To Build Electric Mini
MUNICH — BMW plans to export nearly 500 electric versions of its Mini car to California, company sources said. The electric Minis are being built at the Mini factory in Oxford, England, without engines, gearboxes or fuel tanks, then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains. BMW sources told Automotive News Europe that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers in California and 10 will be used as show cars. The electric Minis are painted silver and have yellow roofs, the sources said. BMW engineers working on the electric Minis are part of a new division called Project i established by the automaker to develop low-emission city cars. The electric Minis will help BMW to meet new California regulations that will require carmakers selling cars in the state to offer zero emission […]
New Cars
New John Cooper Works MINI Revealed
Mini has crowned its lineup with a second-generation version of the John Cooper Works. Shown just over a week ahead of an official unveiling at the Geneva motor show, the new go-fast Mini is planned to head to the United States in August in two distinct body styles in a move aimed at seeing it appeal to as wide an audience as possible. As with the second generation of the Mini Cooper S–on sale in North America since 2007, buyers will be able to choose between a standard two-door or roomier three-door Clubman at $28,550 and $30,800, respectively. Both models run the same turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine–the result of a joint venture between Mini parent company, BMW, and French car maker Peugeot.
Events
Mini Fair in Staffordshire
Thousands of classic car enthusiasts from across the country will descend on Stafford this weekend for the annual British Mini Fair. The iconic little car will take centre stage at the event, to be hosted by the Staffordshire County Showground on Sunday. A vast array of different models will be on display in Bingley Hall, at the Weston Road site. Organisers promise that the event, the country’s leading indoor Mini show, will be “bigger and better” than ever before. Dave Hollis, British Mini Club events organiser, said the fair would include a collection of the best classic and modern Minis under one roof. He said: “More than 7,000 visitors made the 2007 British Mini Fair a massive success. We are urging people to come along this weekend and be a part of this fantastic indoor show. “The British Mini Fair […]
New Cars
Fun in the MINI – John Cooper Works and BMW
The roots shared by the names MINI and John Cooper Works reach back almost 50 years. Now a new chapter of their success story has been opened. Under the roof of MINI the entire product range designed for the driver with a specifically sporting ambition will bear the John Cooper Works label. Consequently, John Cooper Works will in future become an integral part of the MINI brand and represent more than ever before the epitome of ultimate driving fun for all MINI enthusiasts. A visible sign of this repositioning is the newly devised brand logo which will be seen on all future John Cooper Works products. It is the guarantee for exceptional racing know-how, for an avid aspiration to achieve peak efficiency as well as for a deep understanding of the unconventional character and the outstanding quality demands expected of […]