AC Schnitzer Tunes the Clubman

robble May 15th, 2008 Link

They figured something out to be getting more HP than torque out of an r56 engine. Wonder what it is? The turbo runs outta steam above 5500 rpm

lavardera May 15th, 2008 Link

I like their front bumper body kit - sort of plays up the character of the stock cover, but more aggressive.

Chad May 15th, 2008 Link

Don’t most Europeans use 24″ washing machines? My Askos would fit in there, I’m almost certain.

Craig May 15th, 2008 Link

That’s in interesting way to change the style of the front bumper. It looks like they just replaced the lower part of the front bumper. The part that is normaly matte black plastic is apparently fairly easy to replace.

eto May 15th, 2008 Link

It looks like they just replaced the lower part of the front bumper.

I thought the same about the R56 Cooper AC tuned body kit. It looks nice, but doesn’t appear to be anything more than a slight change to the black plastic.

Still, I think it is a great looking car. The side pic looks very lean and mean.

nuvolari May 15th, 2008 Link

Do this in all AB (including rear pillars and bumper), black out the chrome, lose the graphics, slap on some reasonable looking wheels… hmmm…

Jon May 15th, 2008 Link

Have to say this is the best looking AC development for the Mini brand to date my my opinion. Glad they didn’t take the arches body color, a nice complement to the looks to the standard Clubman.

C4 May 15th, 2008 Link

I really dig this car. It makes you wonder if JCW is any longer at the top of their own game…

C4 May 15th, 2008 Link

Oh and it is a 5-seater Clubman nonetheless….

C4 May 15th, 2008 Link

Robble, a bigger turbo perhaps?

robble May 15th, 2008 Link

Perhaps a bigger turbo, but it seems like they would have mentioned something as major as that.

gokartride May 15th, 2008 Link

I’m glad they went for a more subtle approach w/ the second gen car as the front end was horrible on their first gen effort.

Kenny May 15th, 2008 Link

Does anyone know of US rep dealing with the full kit, need this in my life.

DB May 15th, 2008 Link

Looks like there are about 4 dealers in the US. Scroll to the bottom of this page to get their information.

GoMiniGo May 15th, 2008 Link

I cannot tell, but do you think they replaced the black front fender flare too? Hard to tell. I like the front though. Curious on the $ for just it.

Nathan May 15th, 2008 Link

Oh my… I need so much money right now

Jon May 16th, 2008 Link

With the lack of an aero kit and suspension think AC has just produced something that Mini has really messed up on . AC cars tend to be quite expensive but this clubman is going to run circles around the JCW Clubman and the JCW r56.

GregW May 16th, 2008 Link

AC Schnitzer has been the unofficial BMW equivalent of JCW to Mini for years. The Schnitzer Race team won many M3 E30 victories in British Touring car and European Touring Car championships. So its no surprise they ventured into MINI tuning with BMW’s blessing. They previously offered kits for R53 Cooper S.
What you have to remember is that because JCW is MINI they can’t really take tuning to the limits and cause unreliability problems, especially when the warranty is backed fully by the factory.
AC Schnitzer do offer a warranty on their products, but have to cover the products themselves.

Jon May 16th, 2008 Link

Truthfully the biggest difference isn’t the power, its that Mini has taken the cheap path of not including a decent suspension with the car. Still amazes me that while every aftermarket tuner knows before increasing torque or hp to improve the suspension BMW/Mini doesn’t seem to get this idea.

bee1000 May 16th, 2008 Link

Needs more stickers.