Mar 22nd, 2010
BMW has a history of producing enormous amounts of parts and sitting them on shelves for many years. However when it comes to accessories long-term availability is something less than a certain thing. And when it comes to a new brand and a new sub-brand within it, you can imagine BMW was relatively safe with their production numbers. This all means that those R50/R53 JCW parts that you’ve been lusting after since 2005 have quickly dwindling inventories and could be gone within the year. Perhaps the most telling example is the full leather JCW steering wheel. According to our sources there are only two new examples left in the US parts system (dealers or warehouse). We’re told that invetories aren’t much (if any) better in Europe either. The leather/alcantara version (see our review here) is also in short supply but we’re told is in slightly better shape.
Other than the steering wheel we’ve also been warned that the R50 JCW aero kit (and to a lesser degree the R53’s) has dwindling numbers and could be gone soon as well.
Perhaps the most sad personally is the leather dash that we lavishly heaped praise on a few years ago. Most of those unique stitching color examples are gone and the black with contrasting red leather we reviewed is very low in numbers as well.
The worst part? MINI has no plans to produce any of these accessories for the R50/R53 again. They will simply become sought after collectors items on the best examples of first generation New MINIs.
Related:
+ MF Review: JCW Alcantara Steering Wheel (R53) / MotoringFile
+ MF Review: JCW Leather Dash / MotoringFile
Mar 21st, 2010
The VLN series is closely associated with the 24 Hours Nürburgring and features many of the same participants. That means everything from Ferraris, M3 GT2 race cars and 20+ year old BMWs. However this year the series will be featuring all of that plus one insanely modified MINI racecar. The Schirra MINI above (photographed by Oliver Wegen via Bigblogg) features who knows what pumping out God knows what kind of power. But we love it, the way it looks and the fact it’ll be at the ‘Ring with the big boys.
+ Schirra MINI Race Car / Oliver Wegen
Mar 20th, 2010
According to a local Washington State TV station BMW and partner SGL are looking at several locations in North America to build a plant specifically for producing carbon fiber material likely for the upcoming iSetta range of cars. According to sources BMW is looking at a location near Moses Lake Washington (US) and an unnamed Canadian city. The project is so secret that those inside the Washington county where Moses Lake resides are only calling it “Project Chinook”.
With labor and material cheaper in North America than Europe, BMW is looking to make a strategic decision to shift some production of components outside of Europe and closer to what is currently BMW’s largest market and closer to what could eventually eclipse it, China.
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Mar 18th, 2010
Earlier this month we told you about the 2011 MINI refresh or LCI (Life Cycle Impulse in BMW-speak) that we expect in September. There will be new colors, a new front an rear bumper design (with additional cooling for brakes) and of course several key changes inside.
So what’s changing? Those looking for a radical redesign of the interior will be disappointed. MINI will make some very subtle changes to the heating/cooling interface as well as the radio controls on non-Nav equipped cars. However the main change will be in the finishes of the controls. In place of the grey/silver look MINI will be upgrading them to either a matte or gloss black. In addition to that the plastic around the controls will also be made from a higher quality material. In fact we’ve unknowingly already seen a sneak peak at the new center console when MINI debuted the Roadster concept (seen above however disregard all other trim changes as they were for the concept car only). continued →
Mar 16th, 2010
The world is changing. Cars are getting bigger batteries while efficiency standards are on the rise worldwide. Through it all BMW has decided to become not only the maker of performance oriented cars but efficient ones as well. Core to that plan is the MINI brand and the future powerplants destined for its next generation cars.
As we mentioned in Part 1 in this series last week, MINI will be launching a new generation of its core product to replace the R56 hatchback in late 2012. At the heart of this new generation of MINIs will be a new range of powerplants that will create a new benchmark for not only performance but also efficiency.
The first generation new MINI was designed and even partially engineered before an engine was even identified let alone developed for the car. Ultimately the R5X series of models made due with a Chrysler designed (and Brazilian built) iron block four cylinder that was inefficient (in modern terms) but surprisingly full of character that more than suited the car. The R56 on the other hand was given a BMW designed four cylinder that was shared with several Citroen and Puegoet models. For 2012 BMW will be giving the next generation MINI an entirely new range of engines designed and developed once again in house at BMW. continued →
Mar 16th, 2010
On the eve of the US debut of the Countryman (at the NYC Auto Show in a few weeks) the WSJ took a look back and a look ahead at the MINI brand and it’s surprising success in the US market. It’s a fascinating take on the MINI story by a relative outsider to the automotive world let alone the MINI world. Here’s an excerpt:
“It was like a mission for me,” says Jack Pitney, who was BMW’s North American corporate communications chief at the time. “Here was the most successful car in U.K. history, with an uninterrupted production run of 40 years. It needed to be on our roads.” The numbers were against him. “All the classical research said there was no market,” Pitney says. “The Mini brand had less than 1 percent recognition in the U.S.”
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Mar 15th, 2010
Last month MINI announced updates to the entire MINI line-up with more power and more efficiency. We reported the details earlier this year but to recap, here are the numbers with the new engines.
- MINI Cooper: 120 hp (up 2 hp)
- MINI Cooper S: 179 hp (up 7 hp)
The JCW is unchanged thus far but we expect more information later this year.
All of these changes will go into effect with March production in almost every market around the world except for the US. With the mid-life cycle model refresh coming on-line with September production MINI USA has decided to delay the introduction of the updated engines to coincide with the refresh launch. With this change MINI will have a clean differentiation between the 2010 and 2011 models. So for all those on the fence about when and what to get, September production just got a lot more interesting.
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