Sections: JCW, MF Feature, R52 (Conv.), R53 (Coupe), Sales Sep 30th, 2005 16 Comments 
You can put this in the confirmed rumor category: all 2006 MINIs with the factory JCW package will be pushed back to November production. We’ll hopefully have more info soon.
Sections: In the Press Sep 30th, 2005 9 Comments 
(This is a repost from a year ago with only the dates changed) Hard to believe but the new MINI made it’s US debut five years ago this past week in New York. To give you the full favor of the time period here’s an excerpt from the article Autoweek ran about the introduction:
Frank Stephenson says he’s the luckiest guy in the world because he’s got the best job in the world. As he pulls the cover off his work for the past five years, who could argue?
Sections: MF Feature, R55 (Clubman), R56 (Coupe) Sep 30th, 2005 44 Comments 
Here’s a question that we’ve seen a lot of. What will actually make it to the next generation MINI (the R56) from what we’ve seen in the recent MINI Frankfurt Concept? While we’ve already written extensively on what the R56 will look like inside and out, this subject is probably worth revisiting now that we’ve had time to digest the new MINI Frankfurt Concept a bit. We don’t necessarily have definitive answers at this point but we can at least give some pretty well educated opinions on what details we’ll most likely see in production. So let’s go through the list:
Sections: Motorsports Sep 29th, 2005 8 Comments MINI.ca has posted five videos of the recent MINI victory at the Targa Newfoundland. Check them out:
[ Targa Newfoundland 2005 ] MINI.ca
Sections: MF Feature, Rumor Sep 29th, 2005 45 Comments 
This week’s Auto Express has more on the rumored MCS lightweight. However being that this is Auto Express, it’s important to take some of it with a grain of salt. Here’s an excerpt:
It was revealed by Auto Express in issue 830, and prototypes of the car are reportedly being put through final tests. MINI legend John Cooper Garages is said to be helping develop a new 225bhp 1.6-litre engine.
Sections: MF Feature, R55 (Clubman), R56 (Coupe) Sep 28th, 2005 20 Comments 
Now that the Frankfurt IAA is over and we’ve all had week or two to take in the new MINI Concept, I thought it might be appropriate to write a short design analysis on it. However I’d like to look beyond the initial impressions most of us have had and dive into what makes the concept a successful design study.
The MINI Frankfurt Concept is a tour de force of design and styling that pushes the envelope of what we expect in the MINI. There’s so much to take in that it’s frankly hard to be cohesive in an initial opinion (other than perhaps the very elemental feeling of shock and dislike when seeing something so familiar re-interpreted). However, like most well-executed automotive concept design, it’s a car that shocks and challenges initially, only to subtly impress with it’s form, design details and engineering upon further inspection. For me, the MINI Concept seems to make sense the more you see it.
Sections: In the Press Sep 27th, 2005 104 Comments 
It goes to figure that the moment gas in the US eclispes the $3 a gallon mark, every starts to look at small cars in a different light (from the Automotive News via Autoweek):
Rising fuel prices are prodding the U.S. market toward smaller, European-style cars and forcing automakers to consider much more efficient engines, industry executives agreed here last week.
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