I guess them’s the breaks.

However, all y’all ‘ll be needing brakes if you want the car to stop.

This is market dependent. Most US based dealers throw in a set of floor mats with any MINI purchase.

* UK buyers get “Recaro Sports Seats in leather (heated)” * US buyers get “Sports Seats (heated)” Are the US seats going to be decontented from the 1/2 leather we’ve been lead to expect?

As we reported last October, the US market will not have Recaros but instead will have cloth/leather seating similar to the Octogan Cloth and Leather combination.

* UK buyers get “16″ JCW brakes up front” * US buyers get “16″ JCW breaks up front” I spelled that very carefully.

The JCW Brakes are the same the world over. Everyone will get the same stock JCW brakes kit on their GPs. And no, they aren’t actually 16″ rotors. Somehow that incorrect figure found it’s way into an early press release and has been misleading people ever since.

* UK Buyers get “Interior lights pack” * US Buyers get “Light package” So what are these, and is there any difference between the Interior lights pack and the Light package?

No difference. All US bound MINIs get the Interior lights pack.

Differences between US Spec & UK Spec:

* UK lists floor mats as standard equipment.
* No mention of floor mats in the US brochure.

Are US buyers going to have to pay extra for freakin’ floor mats?

* UK buyers get "Recaro Sports Seats in leather (heated)"
* US buyers get "Sports Seats (heated)"

Are the US seats going to be decontented from the 1/2 leather we’ve been lead to expect?

* UK buyers get "16" JCW brakes up front"
* US buyers get "16" JCW breaks up front"

I spelled that very carefully.

* UK Buyers get "Interior lights pack"
* US Buyers get "Light package"

So what are these, and is there any difference between the Interior lights pack and the Light package?

Same here, apparently. I left a comment yesterday, but it doesn’t make it.

“Our sources report that MINI has found GP engines running premium 98 octane in cool damp conditions worked and gave more bhp than something running on 95 octane and extreme heat.”

This doesn’t make sense.

“Our sources report that MINI has found GP engines running premium 98 octane in cool damp conditions worked and gave more bhp than something running on 95 octane and extreme heat.”

This doesn’t make sense.

“However that said, MINI expects an output of at least 218bhp (214hp) no matter where you are and no matter what premium petrol you put in the tank.”

This too. It doesn’t add up. Manufacturers quote accorsding to a set specific set of conditions, not ‘the unknown’. How does the GP suddenly guarantee power out put no matter what grade of fuel or climatic conditions? Most manufacturers usually have a ‘benchmark’ set of conditions – such as 20 celcius, at sealevel etc etc…. I cant see the minor mechanical changes of the GP over the standard JCW suddenly guaranteeing baseline bhp of 218hp…? very confussed.

I find theat quote a little odd. Is it actually from BMW Gabe? Only they usually quote output on a set condition, not as an ‘absolutly any configuation’ type condition.

For illustration, I would normally expect a manufacturer to quote in a similar regard to the SI unit of measurement standard. Such as ‘at 20deg C, at sea level’, with recommended fueling (98ron in UK for JCW cars I think) then they ‘guarantee’ 210bhp for the JCW…. along those lines.

Even in the UK, on a hot summers day, you can see a good 10-15% drop in horse power, such that the car is appreciablly sluggish. I would have thought in the extremes around the world this would have been even more noticable? Therefore, with the seemingly minor mechanical changes that have been released about the GP conversion over the standard JCW conversion, I’m surprised to see any such claims of “at least 218bhp”, whatever the conditions/variables.

I have to further query this quote…

“Our sources report that MINI has found GP engines running premium 98 octane in cool damp conditions worked and gave more bhp than something running on 95 octane and extreme heat”.

I’ll be direct and to the point on this one: I bloody well hope so. Otherwise whats the point? Surely someone has made a mistake with that comment? A GP running higher octane fuel and in a cooler climate with denser air outpoerforms a something running lower octane fuel in extreme heat? Confused. very confused.

Best regards. Tony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

In most countries (including all of Europe and Australia) the “headline” octane that would be shown on the pump is the RON, but in the United States and some other countries the headline number is the average of the RON and the MON, sometimes called the Anti-Knock Index (AKI), Road Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or (R+M)/2. Because of the 10 point difference noted above, this means that the octane in the United States will be about 4 to 5 points lower than the same fuel elsewhere: 87 octane fuel, the “normal” gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91 in Europe.

Cheers, Mario