New 2006 Options for the US Market

Sections: MF Feature | Uncategorized Jul 18th, 2005 39 Comments

With all the recent MotoringFile coverage of the 2006 model year last week focusing on the bigger stories, I thought it might be helpful to recap a few of the less talked about additions on the options list for the US. At the same time it might also be worth mentioning some of the new 2006 options that won’t be making it across the pond that have recently been mentioned.

Let’s begin with a few of the new 2006 US market options that may have flown under the radar over the last week:

New wheels – the 15″ Delta Spoke, the 16″ Bridge Spoke, and the 17″ Flame Spoke (aka Horse-shoes). All of these wheels come from the special editions available elsewhere in the world, however in the US, they will be dealer and factory options. In the case the Flame Spokes, they will also be available in the Checkmate special options package.

Speaking of wheels, the 15″ Rocket Wheel (currently standard on the Cooper Convertible) will now be available on the Cooper hardtop. And for fans of the 15″ Holey wheels, you can breath a little easier. They are not going away for 2006 as earlier reported.

The new silver stripes will also be a factory and dealer option available outside of the new Checkmate special options package in the US. They will be available on both the Cooper and Cooper S starting with 10/05 production.

It may also be worth mentioning that if you’re looking at the new silver roof option, know that you won’t be able to order traditional black or white stripes from the factory. The silver roof will only have the option of the new silver stripes. Of course if you’re determined to challenge MINI’s ordering authority, you can still get the black or white stripes on any car at the dealer level.

The US market will receive a few other bits and pieces from the new special editions. It looks as if the US will be getting both the MINI Seven and Park Lane dashboard designs. You can check both dashboards out at the international MINI website (but remember – we won’t get anything but the dash!): [ MINI Park Lane ] [ MINI Seven ]

As mentioned in story last week, MINIUSA will also be offering one other key Park Lane option – the Panther Black “English Leather” seats (front and back). MINIUSA will apparently make the seats available as an option across the entire range. It will be a premium seat and most likely priced accordingly.

For information on the new 2006 colors, the Checkmate special options package and the tentatively planned JCW factory option, check out a few of the stories posted on MotoringFile posted just last week.

Now, let’s talk a bit about what the US market won’t be getting.

We wrote about it last week but it’s probably worth mentioning again; the US won’t be getting the new Recaro seats (seen here) that will be available elsewhere in the world.

The special editions MINI One Seven, MINI Cooper Park Lane and MINI Cooper S Checkmate will also not be coming to the US. It would seem MINI is keen to let customer configure their own cars while making available some of the nicer bits of each of these packages. In other words they’ve learned the lesson of the MC40.

The white rear turn signals available on the new special editions (and also as dealer options) will not be coming to the states. Apparently these are not DOT approved for the US market and MINI has no plans to change that.

The MINI Se7en seating will not be coming along with the Park Lane or MINI Se7en graphics.

MINIUSA will continue to not offer the old style two-spoke steering in the US wheel despite some of the special edition press photos we might have seen lately. These photos were meant for other markets where the wheel is still available.

Oh and what about that rumored light-weight Cooper S you ask? Well we have yet to confirm anything about the car let alone whether or not it will make it across the pond. Hopefully we’ll hear more soon.

Finally it’s also worth mentioning that most of these new options will not able available until 10/05 production. It’s important to check with your dealer for all the details if you’re looking to order an early production 2006 MINI.

Will have more info and official pricing in the weeks and months ahead!

Written By: Gabe

http://www.gbmini.net/ Ian

Hooray for the Holeys :)
BBoy

I wonder if dealers will let you add the new stripe pattern on pre-06 models? The body shape hasn’t changed, so it would seem to be possible…
vaper

So essentially, the Sept. production MCS will be an ’05 with the price increase,and without black, yellow and electric blue. Can anyone kindly explain why so many of the options won’t be available in the first month’s production. I can understand that it might take a little more time to gear up for the factory JCW install, but how hard is it to paint a roof silver and/or put on the silver stripes, etc.
lulu

Gabe, will Space Blue be produced in 9/05? I know Space Red won’t be. That is the only ’06 option I am interested in (thus far). 9/05 is my build month (dealer said)
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

I wonder if dealers will let you add the new stripe pattern on pre-06 models? The body shape hasn’t changed, so it would seem to be possible…

Yes.

Gabe, will Space Blue be produced in 9/05? I know Solar Red won’t be.

Space Blue should be available for 9/05 – Solar Red will be available by 10/05.
JFW

Thanks for the update, Gabe! Do you happen to know if the new silver stripes will be decals like the black and white stripes or whether they will be painted on instead?
05DSMCS

You don’t get too clear a picture of the 7 dash on the MINI site. Is it really that funky?
mini vanilli

“So essentially, the Sept. production MCS will be an ’05 with the price increase,and without black, yellow and electric blue.”

Gabe, was there any any word on a sept price increase? im not sure i heard this yet. any details if and when there will be one.
Tim

Gabe,

Could you identify the 7 spoke wheels shown on the Dark Silver (or is that Royal Grey)in the third photo down? Size? Weight? U.S. Availability?

Thanks for all your work on this site. It is a tremendous resource for the MINI community. Hope your enjoying your ’05.

Best Regards,

Tim
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Gabe, was there any any word on a sept price increase? im not sure i heard this yet. any details if and when there will be one.

No price increase has been verified for 2006.

Could you identify the 7 spoke wheels shown on the Dark Silver (or is that Royal Grey)in the third photo down? Size? Weight? U.S. Availability?

16″ Bridge Spokes. Royal Grey.
Steve

Is the Blue shown in the checkmate photo the new solar blue? I thought the solar blue was a dark blue like the Indi blue?
Alan

This is speculation, but MINIUSA history has shown price increases on cars delivered in January. So its not necessarily the case that cars produced (and likely delivered in October) in September will have any increased price, just the artifical anyway ’06 designation that Americans place the most emphasis on.

Of course I could be proved wrong, but its not worth getting all worried about before any news appears.
http://www.ocdmac.com Jason

I was curious, I have seen several people post that they have already placed orders for their ’06 MC, I called my dealer down here in Orlando and they will not accept any orders for ’06 models until they are released in September. Is this just isolated to my local dealer or is there some special way I can get my order in early? (or am I possibly just misunderstanding the posts)
Brendan

Gabe, Any word on official pricing of the options/option packages mentioned? I was thinking of ordering the checkmate package, and I wanted to know what the price will be here in the USA.
SpeedyV

Gabe, I don’t know if you’ve covered this in a prior post, but are the ’06 silver stripes only available in the new “U-shaped” pattern, or will the current striping pattern be available in silver as well? Thanks for the info!
gadgeTT
The big unanswered questions for me are:
1. Will the fully-integrated Bluetooth option finally be available in the ’06 models versus the dealer-installed blob?
2. Will they finally fix the supposed incompatibility of the Navigation system with the satellite radio option?
I’d kinda like to know the answers to the above before my order gets processed…
Ralph

MINIUSA will continue to not offer the old style two-spoke steering in the US wheel despite some of the special edition press photos we might have seen lately.

I would really like to know why? Why won’t MINIUSA offer the two-spoke steering in the US? If it’s offered everywhere else in the world then why not here? It’s not like they have to make it special for the US.

I would really like to know from MINIUSA why? I know some people didn’t like the placement of the horn buttons but I love it. Great Safety feature. With one’s hands at the 3 and 9 o’clock position there was no need to move the hand(s) away from the wheel to hit the center section (horn) (where the air bag is located.)

All you had to do was slightly move your thumb and touch the horn button. GREAT. I’ve had to do it a few times. But overall I like the 2-spoke steering much more then the 3-spoke. At least they should offer the choice, like it was back in ’04.

Gabe is there any possible way to find out from MINIUSA why they won’t offer the 2-spoke steering in the US.

Thanks.
Ralph

Opps sorry about the bold. I dont’ know how that happen. I did not mean to have bold. Sorry.
Seth L

Jason. I have an order in for an 06 MCSa. I wanted an ’05 (for Electric Blue), but was told that by the time my car was produced, it would be an 06.

The contract I signed when ordering states that there may be price increases/variable options. I’m not sure if that contract is specific to my dealer, or what.
Wraith

jason, according to what i was told by classic MINI in cleveland, they cannot take orders until they have the official options list from MINIUSA. i can’t imagine your local dealer refusing orders until september, and if they do, i think you need to start looking at alternative dealerships
http://www.bbag.org/ CS Font

While I’m glad the holey wheels aren’t going away, I wish they were available for the S. I just like the friendly “look” of them — maybe I’ve a penchant for roundness (like the round-headlamp Impreza look, or the DB5 look).
vaper

Gabe: Is the royal gray metalic or non-metalic?
Kevin

3 15″ wheel choices for the MC? Sweet! I wonder which ones (if any) will be extra-cost options? I really dig the 5-Star Rockets from the MCC.
brian

Are those the same 16″ Bridge Spoke wheels (from the European JCW kit) that will be able to clear the JCW Sport Brake calipers? I plan to order the factory install but I want to mount the 16 in. wheels for winter use. If none of the US spec rims smaller than 17″ can fit over the upgraded brakes then I might have to go a different route.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Okay where to start. First off it looks like a few of the questions can be answered by either re-reading the above article or reading one of two others posted last week. So with that said I’ll try to tackle the harder ones:

Are those the same 16″ Bridge Spoke wheels (from the European JCW kit) that will be able to clear the JCW Sport Brake calipers?

A: Yes – those are the one and only Bridge Spoke.

Why won’t MINIUSA offer the two-spoke steering in the US? If it’s offered everywhere else in the world then why not here? It’s not like they have to make it special for the US.

A: Well that’s a pretty good question. In fact it’s so good that I might pull that out and answer it on the front page later this week. It’s really question could pertain to a handful of options that aren’t offered in the US.

Will the fully-integrated Bluetooth option finally be available in the ’06 models versus the dealer-installed blob?

A: I genuinely hope so!

Will they finally fix the supposed incompatibility of the Navigation system with the satellite radio option?

A: I seriously doubt it. With an entirely new car coming in 12 months I just can’t see MINI doing any further tweaking that would allow this. I hope I’m wrong.

Gabe, I don’t know if you’ve covered this in a prior post, but are the ’06 silver stripes only available in the new “U-shaped” pattern?

A: Yes.

Gabe, Any word on official pricing of the options/option packages mentioned?

A: US market pricing has not been released (that I know of).

Is the Blue shown in the checkmate photo the new solar blue? I thought the solar blue was a dark blue like the Indi blue?

A: Like Indi blue, it would seem Space Blue changes dramatically based on the lighting environment. At times it can appear almost black yet in bright sun can look much more blue. I would take a look at all SB photos and guess in real life it’ll be somewhere in the middle of all of them.

I wonder if dealers will let you add the new stripe pattern on pre-06 models? The body shape hasn’t changed, so it would seem to be possible…

A: Yes.

Thanks for the update, Gabe! Do you happen to know if the new silver stripes will be decals like the black and white stripes or whether they will be painted on instead?

A: They’re just plain ‘ole stickers.
MINIAC

Gabe,

How are you including those highlighted snipets from previous posts in your replies?

BTW, isn’t the new blue called SPACE Blue?
http://nemini.org gmini

MINIAC you’re such a perfectionist. :P
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

How are you including those highlighted snipets from previous posts in your replies?

You can quote in html by wraping content within html blockquote tags. Or you can make use of Mark-down – an easier set of commands for most to understand. For instance in Mark-down all you have to do to quote something is use the greater than symbol “>” before the sentence and then give it a few lines after the quote..
Rollin

Any German readers know what the 16″ Bridge Spokes weigh since I saw they are part of the German JCW package?
MINIAC

You can quote in html by wraping content within html blockquote tags.

Thanks Gabe!
SF

A: Well that’s a pretty good question. In fact it’s so good that I might pull that out and answer it on the front page later this week. It’s really question could pertain to a handful of options that aren’t offered in the US.
I’d like to see them offer the all-black cloth/leather sports seats available in Europe. While you’re at it, please ask what is holding up the USA release of JCW front strut braces for so many months. Someone said it was because printed instructions were not available, but it wasn’t a problem for the UK. On Mini2, they’ve already held a UK group buy event!
Avitor

It may also be worth mentioning that if you’re looking at the new silver roof option, know that you won’t be able to order traditional black or white stripes from the factory. What? Seriously? No bonnet stripes from the factory? I’ve got to say I hate the sound of that. I definately don’t want the new stripes if I trade up, they make the S look like it shot milk out of its hood scoop. If I’m trading up I want a car outwardly identical to my ’05 Hyper Blue with White roof, mirrors, stripes. Are you saying no traditional black & white stripes at all or no black & white stripes w/ silver roof?
http://bravo5.org/blog blalor

You can quote in html by wraping content within html blockquote tags. Or you can make use of Markup – an easier set of commands for most to understand.

And by “markup” you presumably mean Markdown? :-)
Avitor

Yup, that’s witty. I actually used block quote, but I must have misspelled it. Thank you for pointing out to me what a dolt I was.

It may also be worth mentioning that if you’re looking at the new silver roof option, know that you won’t be able to order traditional black or white stripes from the factory.

What? Seriously? No bonnet stripes from the factory? I’ve got to say I hate the sound of that. I definately don’t want the new stripes if I trade up, they make the S look like it shot milk out of its hood scoop. If I’m trading up I want a car outwardly identical to my ’05 Hyper Blue with White roof/mirrors/stripes. Are you saying no traditional black/white stripes at all or no black/white stripes w/ silver roof?
MINIAC

[blockquote] Are you saying no traditional black/white stripes at all or no black/white stripes w/ silver roof? [/blockquote] The factory will not fit traditional black or white stripes to a MINI with a Silver roof.
MINIAC

Oops … mixing vB Code with HTML!

Are you saying no traditional black/white stripes at all or no black/white stripes w/ silver roof?

The factory will not fit traditional black or white stripes to a MINI with a Silver roof.
chuck

Gabe any major changes in store for the 06 MCSc i have test driven the 05 and loved it,now just waiting on a build date.
Siddhartha

I’m pleased to see that the “changes” for the ’06 model are confined to clothes and jewelry. That means my ’05 spec incorporates the last engineering upgrades before the new (French) model release in ’07.
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~cjupin cjupin

Hey! Newbie here- long time reader, first time poster (love this site!). I planned on ordering my first MCSC the weekend of August 26 here in atlanta (global imports mini).

With the timeline as it is, does this mean i’ll make the cut-off for the ’05 production or must I be forced to receive an ’06 model sometime in january?(!) I didn’t want anything that was only pertaining to the ’06 models…Anyone have any suggestions/advice on my timing and what to expect? Thanks in advance!

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