The Next MINI Caught Cold Weather Testing

Good. Some bigger close-up pics are available at that site! Quite a bulky front end on that pic.

I think that I am going to mourn the loss of the hood scoop. (Not too much though, since mine has one).

Not getting into a performance issue here (since the point of the story isn’t performance) but aesthetically I think that the hood scoop adds alot to the look of the car.

Just my .02

I think the new mini will look nice when completed, but where are those spy pics of the interior???

Gabe,

How do you think the next-gen Cooper and Coopers will be differentiated aesthetically (other than larger wheels)?

Do think the test mule in the pics shows the MC front clip or the MCS’s?

Here’s a translation I wrote up of the whole article. Pretty funny stuff, enjoy!

New MINI snapped

BMW has with the MINI, for the moment, a real sales-topper. The current MINI is built in the English Oxford at around 180,000 units per year, and they are going like the proverbial ‘warm sandwiches’ over the counter [i think we could safely translate as 'hotcakes' in english ;) -mike]. But there must always be followers, and BMW is busy with that as well. We snapped the MINI-follower [next MINI], that will probably make its debut in 2007, in the high northern parts of the Finnish Lapland, nearby Ivalo.

What do you do as a BMW tech, when just next to the hotel where you are messing around with all your new prototypes lands a whole procession of curious journalists? Well, then you’re not too happy, and our encounter with the BMW delegation had a somewhat grim tone. We were in the neighborhood by chance, because the Volvo XC90 V8 was able to be ridden on snow and ice, but when you then see so many new BMW’s and MINI’s (there were also 3-series, 6-series, Z4′s, and 5-series models in the BMW group), then your curiosity is of course piqued. Moreover, it’s our opinion of the MINI photographed here that it’s merely a prototype with a modified front portion. The new 1.6 liter motor, developed together with PSA, was under the hood (at the same time there was also a Citroen C3 with the same motor being tested), and it was very clear to see that this car has a higher grill than the current MINI and that the headlights no longer sit connected to the hood, but simply are on the main vehicle body.

After taking a few photos from our end, the BMW members got a bit too fed up, and we were rather curtly accused of ‘impoliteness’. At which point one of the gentlemen kindly let us know that he could be “auch unhofflich” [German meaning "also impolite" - a threat by BMW member - note it should actually be spelled unhoflich -mike]. Whether that was intended as a threat we will leave up to you, but the fact remains that the BMW folks are going to have a big problem of a non-technical nature: lots of curious journalist eyes, because the Volvo-happening with the XC90 V8 is lasting a whole month and we won’t be the only ones showing an interest in the new MINI.

Phew! That took a while. ;)

That Mini is wearing Blizzacks

I like the new hood, it makes the car look a little more masculine

Just noticed something on Ian’s closeup link…anyone have any ideas about the waffle-pattern snow melt on the hood where the current intercooler is? I wonder what that is.

Mike, Thanks for the translation – enjoyed the “hotcakes” aside ;)

i’m feeling it!!! i really like the way the front end looks much more like the classic! can’t wait to see shots of it from other angles..

Straight on The grill looks very original Mini. The rest I’ll wait on.

Nice to see some less vile comments.

Holland…one of my favorite countries…that is in summer, daughter lives in Hilversum.

+++RB

and when is this supposed to come out? for the 2007′s? so in like a year?

I’m thinking the earliest we’d see this in the US would be late 2007 as a 2008 model.

I could be wrong but that’s just my educateed guess from all the info I’ve seen. I’ve read several places that the next gen MINI won’t even debut at an autoshow until ’07.

Then there’s this bit of info that has been proven very reliable over the past year: The MINI Gets a Prince.

It looks like the next-gen MC would get a 140HP turbo with a six speed and the MC CVT would only have 115HP like the current car.

I would think if the standard next-gen MC has a 6-speed 140HP turbo I would suspect that it would be more expensive then the current MC.

Who knows maybe the next-gen MC CVT might become the cheapest car in the lineup priced @ $19,995.00 and positioned as the affordable commuter as the 6-speed 140HP MC moves up market to help offset the cost associated with the declining US Dollar vs. Euro.

I don’t think it’s quite Audi big!

FYI – The 7 sieres rear wasn’t revised in it’s second year. In fact it went the normal 4 years (as all BMWs do) before being revised in 2006. During that time it has become the most successful selling 7 series ever.

Take this for what it is worth. I understand that there is not a new body built for the new MINI. It only exists in drawings right now. There is still a lot of time for a body and frame to be built. We still don’t know if MINI will offer other styles yet.

Hang in a let’s see what happens.