Surely some of you have had this idea. You’ve seen the Italian Job. You own a MINI. Why not? A TOFF student tried, drunkenly, and failed.
But the posh prat came a cropper in the silver vehicle, given to him the day before by his rich parents.
It piled into the steps of his digs at 30mph, causing the radiator to blow up, the two front tyres to burst and both airbags to explode.
Six security staff, two police cars and a helicopter were scrambled to arrest the 18-year-old for drink-driving at 1am. A second student escaped from the car at Bristol University’s Wills Hall.
Here’s a blast from the past in the form of an official release that was presented to the international press as BMW was ceasing production of the classic Mini and putting the finishing touches on the R50.
(MINI Press) The Mini is as youthful as the day that Sir Alec Issigonis first sketched its simple lines on a restaurant table cloth. In four decades it has become an icon and is destined to live on as one of the great legends of the world motor industry. The modern motor car was born on 26 August 1959. On that day, BMC (British Motor Corporation) launched the Mini. BMC had been formed in 1952 by the merger of the Austin and Morris companies, so the Mini was originally launched in two versions - the Austin Seven (some times written “Se7en”) and the Morris Mini-Minor. According to the original publicity, the Austin was “The Incredible Austin Seven” while the Morris was “Wizardry on Wheels.”
Alec Issigonis (1906 - 1988, knighted in 1969) had been born in Smyrna in present day Turkey, the son of a Bavarian mother and a Greek father who became a nationalized Briton. After the war between Greece and Turkey where Greece lost her possessions in Asia Minor, young Alec and his by then widowed mother arrived in London in 1922. Here he pursued studies of engineering and eventually began his career in the motor industry. In 1936, he joined Morris Motors at Cowley.
We at MF love the MINI. We love the ideas and the ideals behind it. We love the efficiency but still need the performance it offers. But there’s a opinion shared among all of us at MF that MINI needs to create something that falls below the current line-up. Not only cheaper but smaller but more efficient.
There’s evidence that BMW may be doing this very thing. The project “i” is all about efficiency and small vehicles. And whether the fruits of that project are seen in the BMW brand or something entirely new, we’re sure that the MINI brand will reap some benefits of the work currently being done. In fact we believe the MINI E is one of the first concrete steps of that program.
One of the more interestingly written reviews I’ve seen in a while. This time, by a few of the interns at Jalopnik.com, who didn’t really care for the ‘09 Clubman with automatic transmission.
The strong hoonage quotient promised by the turbocharged 172 HP four-cylinder and a chassis overflowing with Bruce pushed us to nail the progress pedal to the floor despite ever-tightening road geometry. The MINI responded with its best Mr. Plow impersonation and we promptly ended up on the gravel shoulder. Something was amiss. The standard-issue MINI Cooper S would consume such a surface like a German inhales a liter of Hofbräu during Oktoberfest.
More from the Dept. of Obviousness. As we already know, the MINI gets great gas mileage. Confirmed yet again by the EPA here in the US, which has ranked the MINI Cooper as the highest mileage car in the minicompact category.
Not only is it the highest in it’s own category, the MINI also fairs well with the rest of the list, boasting the 2nd highest highway mileage of any gasoline powered car right behind the Smart, 3rd highest in the city. Of course, at the top of the list are the Toyota Prius Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Volkswagon Diesel powered Jettas.
Have some fun with the bottom of that list too. Instead of being full of SUVs like it has been in the past, it’s full of Lambos, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Ferraris. Really, if you can afford any of those, do you care that you are only pulling down 8/13 MPG?
Should be interesting to see how a diesel-powered MINI does against the rest of the high-mileage cars. But we’ll have to wait for R60 -D to see that.
So it was in the UK using the Imperial Gallon, but still an impressive feat AutoExpress was able to pull off.
That’s not the only trick up the John Cooper Works MINI’s sleeve, though. Despite packing enough punch to cover 0-60mph in only 6.5 seconds, the supermini can now add wallet-friendly 50mpg-plus fuel economy to its impressive list of credentials. That’s 25 per cent more than the maker’s claimed 40.9mpg combined figure. But only if you know how to handle this hot hatch…
Sure the price of gasoline in the US is dropping, but I know there have to be a few of you out there that don’t have your foot in it all the time. What kind of MPG are you getting from your JCW or GP?
Car Magazine (always a favorite of ours) has some new photos of the MINI Crossover prototype that has been roaming around Munich. However a quick look at the rear of this particular prototype shows that this is indeed a different prototype than we’ve seen before. If you look closely you’ll see dual exhausts where there was only one on the previous R60 caught by Next Autos a few weeks ago. Could this be the R60 “S”?
We’ve heard you. You want to read our review of the 2009 JCW MINI. In fact there hasn’t been a week that has gone by since spring that we haven’t gotten emails asking when we were going to drive the car. The wait is over. Our 2009 JCW press car will arrive tomorrow we’ll be putting it through its paces for an entire week.
Ok we’re being dramatic. But really Motive seemed to try throw down the gauntlet against the new JCW. The results? We don’t want to ruin it for you but it’s a great read for MINI fans. Here’s an excerpt:
The key to the Mini’s lively personality is its ability to do more with less. The retuned Cooper S 1.6-liter under the hood makes an extra 36 hp and 15 lb-ft of torque, but at 208 and 192, respectively, those are easily the lowest figures among these cars. Yet look at the track results, and you’ll see that the Mini hit the highest top speed and recorded the second-fastest lap of the day. Much of that is due to the JCW’s huge weight advantage, but it’s also the confident brakes that don’t mind being squeezed hard and late.
MINI 50 YEARS. PAST PRESENT FUTURE: WHAT A BIRTHDAY 2009.
(Be sure to check out the 2009 MINI Design Calendar in PDF format below. This is a MotoringFile exclusive download from our friends at MINI Design.)
Stonehenge, the Sky Disk of Nebra and the Aztec Pyramides were primeval calendars, designed to measure the passage of days, seasons and the position of the sun. The human endeavour to keep track of time by dividing years into months, weeks and days is thousands of years old. These constructions were designed to re-assess the past but also to make a prediction of the future. This year, on 26 August, 2009, MINI celebrates its fiftieth birthday – not very old, in relation to the history of time measurement.
While this appears to be the right moment for reflection and for harking back to the history of the MINI, it is also a good time to look ahead and first and foremost, it is a good time to celebrate all that has been achieved. How better to do this than with a calendar, which links the past, the present and the future?
Auto Express has assembled a list of what they think the top-20 performance cars of 2008 are. And there, right between the Porsche Cayman S and the BMW M3 Coupe is the JCW MINI Cooper S in third place.
In the end, the MINI’s feisty character is all part of its appeal – it’s a car you grab by the scruff of the neck, hold on and enjoy! And it’s even more fun on the public road. When you’re not pushing so hard, the front wheels scrabble for grip less often and the car’s agility really comes into its own. Only the sheer brilliance of the top two models prevents the JCW from taking the crown.
They even have video and it starts when you open the page. Consider yourself warned.
It’s unusual to see someone within the US market go head to head against the MINI. Perhaps the MINI’s success in the market has simply made it inevitable or Suzuki is trying to elevate their brand by association. Whatever the reason Suzuki is now running a primetime commercial in the US market spouting the virtues of it’s SX4:
You may remember a few weeks back when we scooped the world with official photos of the R57 MINI Convertible - not due for public introduction until the January Detroit Autoshow. If you don’t remember those pics, you’re out of luck. Due to a friendly letter from some folks in Munich they are no longer on the site. However that hasn’t stopped us or other sites reporting on spy photos. And behold, Globalmotors.net has the best we’ve seen so far. Seen here (for the second time) are the new R57 17″ wheels and the optional brown canvass top. You can see more below.
For all the details you could ever want on the new convertible, check out our R57 section here.
In a recent issue of Motor Trend they have a great comparison/competition trying to find the best handling car in the US. They are using sensors, gauges and computers with a few different drivers on Laguna Seca to get the results. Follow the links at the bottom for all of the geekery, including video.
Mixed in with the Audi R8, Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R and BMW M3 (among others) was a 2008 MINI Cooper S. And, considering the crowd it was running it, it did pretty well, scoring 8th overall.
In the Mini Cooper S (8th place), again we see an adeptly tuned, midpriced front-driver. Though slowest in lane-change responsiveness and step-steer reaction time, the Mini produced a tightly grouped figure-eight tracing and finished midpack in ride quality. Pobst loved its handling balance, noting that the tail will wag helpfully but controllably in turns. “Confidence-inspiring,” was Pobst’s summation.
The BMW Group will be the world’s first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic. The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions. Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology will have a range of more than 240 kilometers, or 150 miles. The MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the US states of California, New York and New Jersey. The possibility of offering the MINI E in Europe as well is currently being considered. The MINI E will give its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20, 2008.
The MINI E’s electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Newton meters, delivering seamless acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 152 km/h (95 mph). Featuring a suspension system tuned to match its weight distribution, the MINI E sports the brand’s hallmark agility and outstanding handling.
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1st Gen MINI R50: One & MC Coupe R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt. R53: MCS Coupe 2nd Gen MINI R55: Clubman R56: One/MC/MCS Coupe R57: One/MC/MCS Convt. R60: MINI SUV
Sections: Best of the Web, Motorsports Oct 31st, 2008 12 Comments 
