Apparently there’s a real problem in Mexico with women applying makeup while they drive. In response MINI has come up with this public safety announcement.
[Source: MotoringFile]
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Category: MINI
In a rare show of inter manufacturer love BMW has passed on an official note of congratulations to Porsche for the 50th anniversary of the 911. They’ve done so as stewards of their own 50-year-plus icon the Mini/MINI.
There’s a full statement and more pics from BMW after the break, but this paragraph gets to the heart of the message:
It’s tempting to wonder how different history would have been without the creators of these two successful cars. Neither Sir Alec Issigonis nor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche had any inkling that their designs would come to be considered immortal icons of modern times. Indeed, you would have needed a very clear crystal ball to see that Porsche had just dreamt up the most successful sports car of all time and Issigonis the “world’s only cool small carâ€.
BMW also makes reference to that questionable MINI v Porsche publicity stunt at Road Atlanta back in 2010.
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2014 MINI Cooper S spied in Germany
The next-generation MINI is getting closer to its late-2013 launch and heavily disguised Cooper S (above) and Cooper (below) models have been spied in Germany. These are likely to be pre-production models, which started rolling down the line in April.
Longer and wider than the current R56 MINI, the new model will be the first to have a conventional instrument cluster; forever consigning the large centrally-mounted speedometer to the history books.
The Cooper S and JCW models will still use a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine, but lower-spec F56 MINIs will use three cylinder units developed by BMW.
MINI is continuing its global march from niche player to relative volume seller with word that a production facility in China is now on the cards. The Shenyang Plant is expected to commence production in 2015 and is slated to build MINIs and front-wheel drive BMWs destined for Asian markets.
At the moment Countrymans are built by Magna Styer in Austria and NedCar in the Netherlands is signed up to build F56 MINIs as well.
We rather liked it when all MINIs came from Oxford and they had stupidly sized speedos in the middle of the dash and were genuinely different to their competition. Now we’re alert, and maybe even alarmed, at the way BMW is slowly stripping away some of the character traits that made a MINI a MINI.
Please, BMW, don’t dilute the MINI brand down so much that it becomes just another BMW product.
WRC driver Michal Kosciuszko has ended his relationship with MINI and the Motorsport Italia team due to ongoing mechanical and technical issues. With immediate effect he will now start preparations to race a Ford Fiesta WRC with M-Sport.
It’s fair to say MINI’s comeback to the world rally stage, while accompanied with great fanfare and promise early on, has been a total disaster. If not from a technical and sporting point of view, certainly from a public relations standpoint. MINI re-entered rallying with excellent good will in the rally community, but we’re not sure how much, if any, remains. BMW is a company with outstanding motorsport heritage, but it has hung MINI out to dry.
“I am a player who is committed to high standards and consistently strives to achieve the intended objective. The place where I got, the WRC, confirms my determination,” said Kosciuszko. “The beginning of the season for us was technically very difficult, so I thank my strategic partner, Grupa LOTOS, which showed great understanding.
“Together we decided to change the car and work with M-Sport. I would like to thank Motorsport Italia for co-operation and wish them luck for the future.”
Kosciuszko will miss this weekend’s Acropolis Rally but is expected to line up for Rally d’italia in late June.
[Source: wrc.com | Pic: Motorsport Italia]
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MINI JCW GP2 is 2013 ‘Bang for bucks’ champ
The MINI John Cooper Works GP is the latest hot hatch to win Motor Magazine “Bang for your bucks” award. With a list price of $56,900 the hardest MINI you can buy impressed the judges, with one saying, “most talented Bang winner in agesâ€, while another judge added it was, “best MINI I’ve ever driven, especially on a track.â€
Naturally, BMW Group Australia managing director, Phil Horton, is happy to receive the accolade, while trying to slip in some sneaky marketing as well.
“We’re absolutely delighted to win MOTOR Magazine’s 2013 BFYB award,†Horton said. “Our entire MINI range—including the original hatch and the just released Paceman—are renowned for being tons of fun on the road, as well as on the race track.
“It’s great to see that Australia’s most popular performance magazine thinks so too.â€
As many of you will know, especially those who follow AUSmotive on twitter and Facebook, I have been away for Targa Tasmania this past week. I was working as service crew for some friends of mine who were going really well. Indeed, they were flying, setting personal best times stage after stage.
Alas, as the photo above shows, seeing the team’s MINI John Cooper Works on a trailer rather than at the finish line in Hobart would tend to indicate that all didn’t end well.
So, while we were basking in the glow that Robbo and Tom were heading for a best ever finish—leading their category and racing towards a top 10 placing in the Modern outright classifications—fate dealt a cruel blow, with only two stages to go.
Robbo’s MINI broke a belt which meant a number of things went wrong, chief among them being no more alternator and the car was overheating. It couldn’t be driven through the final stages without causing terminal engine failure and there was no time to fix the car before the next stage.
And that, as they say, is motor racing.
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Pre-production MINI F56 models ready to roll
BMW’s third-generation MINI, codenamed F56, is about to enter pre-production phase with ‘kite-flyer’ models set to roll off the Plant Oxford production line this week.
As you might expect, mixing two different generations of MINI on the production line presents a few challenges. Although that trend will continue for around two more years while the second-gen R56 models slowly wither away as up to 10 new F56-based models come on line.
The F56 is due to hit showrooms later this year and to cater for the expected increased demand a second production facility, NedCar in the Netherlands, will ramp up in 2014. NedCar will join Magna Steyr’s Austrian plant, which currently builds the Countryman and Paceman, as the only facilities outside of England to build MINIs.
In time, though, MINI is expected to concentrate production at Oxford and NedCar, with Magna expected to build another BMW branded model(s) once the current-gen Countryman platform reaches the end of its product cycle.
Given the F56 will be share many components with the front-wheel drive BMW 1 Series, including the UKL1 platform, don’t be surprised if that’s what Magna finds to fill the void.
For a detailed discussion on the interior of the F56, which is expected to lose its large centrally-mounted speedo dial, head over to MINI specialist website MotoringFile.
[Source: Autocar]
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MINI Australia names JCW Paceman price
MINI Australia brings word the JCW Paceman will join its local lineup in May this year and will be priced from $58,600.
The range-topping JCW model will be the first Paceman sold in Australia with MINI’s All4 all-wheel drive system. Power comes from the brand’s familiar 160kW 1.6 litre four cylinder turbo engine.
Standard features include the JCW aero kit, sports exhaust system, 18″ twin-spoke alloy wheels, JCW specific leather steering wheel, handbrake lever and gearshift gaiter. Equipment also benefits from the Chilli package which brings bi-xenon headlights, climate control, Harmon Kardon stereo, auto dimming rear view mirror and cloth/leather upholstery.
MINI Australia General Manager, Kai Bruesewitz expects the JCW Paceman to continue Australia’s strong affinity with MINI’s performance brand.
“The JCW Paceman is what they had in mind when the designed this model, a muscular go fast looking car with the high performance and incredible dynamics and drive enjoyment only found in a MINI,†Bruesewitz said. “Australia sells the highest proportion of JCW vehicles than any other market in the world, and now with the MINI JCW Paceman we only expect this to increase.â€
MINI Australia released info on the Paceman pricing and specs a little while back and we’re bringing them to you now; better late than never.
The local Paceman range will consist of only two model specifications: 90kW/160Nm Cooper and 135kW/260Nm Cooper S. The Cooper Paceman is priced from $35,900 while the Cooper S Paceman starts at $44,100 (plus on road costs). A 6-speed manual gearbox is standard equipment, a 6-speed auto is available on both models as an option.
Full details from MINI Australia can be read after the break.
You can have your fancy pants limited-edition Lambo, or your stonking new LaFerrari, even the McLaren P1; we’re not really interested. The car of Geneva, for us, is the Porsche 911 GT3. That’s the one we’d like to take home and get intimate with. And so begins the second and final part of our Geneva Motor Show image gallery. There’s over 120 new images to see and enjoy.
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MINI’s Plant Oxford turns 100
It seems everyone has a big birthday this year. Lamborghini turns 50, Aston Martin turns 100. On a smaller but no less significant scale the Porsche 911 turns 50 as well. Even my home town turns 100 this weekend. And so MINI is joining in the fun to celebrate the 100th birthday of what we used to know as Cowley and now know as MINI Plant Oxford.
The site was originally home to the Oxford Military College, which closed in 1896, and was given a new lease of life when William Morris took over the site in 1912. According to MINI, the first car, a ‘Bullnose’ Morris Oxford, rolled off the line on 28 March 1913.
Since then a surprisingly varied number of models and manufacturers have called Plant Oxford home. Almost 12 million cars have been made on the site. That includes 2.25 million MINIs, which began production under BMW’s watch in 2001. Prior to that the classic Mini was also built in Oxford from 1959–69.
There’s a more detailed history of the plant from BMW after the break, including some fascinating historical photos.
The new MINI John Cooper Works GP has arrived in Australia and it might be about to kick a few goals down under. That’s certainly the case if this video from Evo magazine is anything to go by. Perhaps for local relevance the cars they tested the GP2 against are not very worthy, but as an outright measure of capability this surely has to stack up.
Against the MINI we see two former greats tackle two new hot hatches. From Ford we have the awesome looking Focus RS 500, while Renault provides the track-day special Megane R26.R. Two excellent cars that serve to provide a handy benchmark. To see if they can beat the old timers the MINI was joined by the limited-edition Audi A1 quattro.
Okay, we’ve probably already given away the result but it won’t make the clip any less enjoyable. And you can have the GP2 in your garage for around $60K. Not bad, huh?
[Thanks to Wayne for the tip]