Apr 5th, 2010
Our sister site BimmerFile has been writing an ongoing series about BMW’s secret concept cars that have stayed deep within the company yet are influencing many future products. Perhaps the most interesting and relevant to the MINI brand is the E1. It started with the Z15, itself an off-shoot of the Z11 small car concept seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1991. As a prototype with the model designation BMW E1, the four-seater incorporated a new design language with new aerodynamic and ergonomic features. But most importantly it was 100% electric with a range of up to 124 miles and a top speed of 75 mph. While the numbers don’t quite match what we see in the MINI E, it’s clearly a forerunner of what we see in that car and BMW’s upcoming ActiveE. The prototype generated universal acclaim among members of the public and auto writers of the time. The readers’ choice in car magazine “Auto Zeitung†voted the BMW E1 as the winner in the category “Environment and Technologyâ€, and trade magazine “Auto Bild†described the BMW E1 as “the most advanced car of the centuryâ€. A heady claim considering the competition.
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Apr 2nd, 2010
MINI USA is still selling cars as a respectable pace, it’s just not any higher than 2009 at this time. Sales have clearly been helped by the R57 convertible model which, at this time last year, was just filtering into sales channels. The R55 Clubman and R56 hatch were down 4% and 8% respectively for the month. However year to date sales are actually up 2.5% with 8,728 cars sold.
Apr 1st, 2010
Official MINI Press Release: April 1, 2010… MINI, a leader in the manufacturing of customized vehicles in volume, is set to take automobile personalization to a whole new level with a revolutionary paint system that will allow owners to change the exterior color of their vehicle as often as they change their mood.
The ground-breaking MINIMagic paint system, exclusively available on MINI Clubman, will give MINI owners the chance to completely change their MINI’s exterior color in only a few minutes and with just the effort required to apply a single coat of wax – a world first for an automotive manufacturer.
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Apr 1st, 2010
We’re not running an April Fools story this year because this is as close if not better than what we had planned. And it’s real. According to the witneygazette.co.uk MINI has halted production because of a tooling problem at the Swindon plant. The culprit? They have no more doors. Rest assured the issue should be corrected and by the time workers arrive back at the Oxford Plant after the scheduled Easter break, there should be doors aplenty.
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