Apr 11th, 2011
Today marks the official start of the MINI WRC Rally Team. Today at the Oxford Plant MINI took the wraps off of the WRC car with it’s final livery. With rally stars of the past in attendance MINI lifted the covers off of its new factory team set to take on the world’s best one the biggest rally stage in the world, the WRC. Of course this comes a week after a privately entered Countryman won an S2000 event (the junior leagues of WRC). It all adds to the excitement leading up to the WRC debut May 5th at the Rally d’Italia.
Official Release: The return of MINI to one of the biggest stages in motorsport is approaching ever closer. On Monday, the MINI WRC Team was officially presented to the public at the Team Launch, which took place at the MINI Plant in Oxford (GB). This season, the team will contest six rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. The car will be tested against its rivals for the first time at the Rally d’Italia Sardegna from 5th to 8th May 2011. The goal in the debut season is to gain valuable experience to be perfectly prepared to take on the entire 2012 World Rally Championship. continued →
Apr 11th, 2011
With BMW’s first consumer electric car the MINI E, it wasn’t a BMW powerplant but an AC Propulsion unit that produced power. However it looks like BMW and MINI will be taking electric engine development in house. At last week’s Innovation Days in Munich BMW announced that it will be working on full electric and hybrid drivetrains in house as it allows for better integration within other BMW Group components.
Official Release: Targeted electrification of current BMW and MINI models is today already contributing towards the efficiency advantage achieved in all relevant vehicle segments. The number of electrically powered vehicle components has been consistently increased within the framework of Efficient Dynamics. Examples of this are the electromechanical power steering system, which is still unique in many segments, as well as on-demand electrical actuation of numerous ancillary components. These systems no longer obtain their power supply directly from the combustion engine. Hence fuel consumption is lowered and the energy contained in the fuel utilised to a greater extent to enhance driving dynamics.
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Apr 10th, 2011
If you’re viewing this post on a mobile device you’re likely pretty happy. A few weeks ago the pinch and zoom functionality built into the iPhone (and other mobile devices) simply quit working on MF. Why? We’re still trying to sort that out. But due to the issue we felt it was the right time to roll-out the new mobile version of MotoringFile that we’d been working on for the past few months. It’s designed to be used as a standard mobile site or a web app. Why not spend our time building an iOS specific app? With the very fragmented Android growing alongside iOS we felt a web based app that took advantage general touch platforms was the best way to go at this time.
Of course there’s still work to do. For starters we’re still are working on fixing the root issue that led us to launch the mobile site sooner (specifically as it affects the iPad). However we’re ready for you to start using MotoringFile Mobile. As always let us know what you think via our the comments below.
Apr 10th, 2011
After seven plus years of essentially the same commenting system on MF, we’re completely starting over. Starting immediately we’re moving all new and existing comments to the Disqus commenting system. So what does this mean to you the reader of MotoringFile? Quite a bit really. Read on for the details.
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Apr 8th, 2011
It was a month of bests for the BMW Group. The group in total sold more cars (far more) than ever before in a calendar month worldwide. That translated into each brand, BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce having their best month of sales ever. But it gets even better if you look at year to date. For 2011, MINI sales are up 23% over 2010. Looking further at the numbers, last month MINI saw a 28.5% increase in sales thank in large part to the new Countryman.
You can read the official release after the break.
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Apr 7th, 2011
Remember that incredible MINI Countryman the Monster Energy X-raid team built to race at Dakar? It’s back, and it’s winning races! Team X-raid came in first and second, with Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret piloting the Countryman race vehicle to the top of the podium a full 15 minutes ahead of their teammates in a BMW X3. The next race is the Silk Way Rally in Russia racing from Moscow to Sochi three months from now. Huge congrats to MINI and everybody involved at Monster Energy X-raid. Full release after the break. continued →
Apr 6th, 2011
So the president of FLUCC (Fiat Lancia Unlimited car club) came up with 75 questionable reasons why one would buy a Fiat 500 over a MINI. The reality is we tend to like the idea of the 500 and are looking forward to testing one later this spring. But a list like this can’t go unanswered by the MINI community. So we want you give him double the reasons why anyone should buy a MINI over the Fiat 500. Yes 150 reasons why a MINI is superior. Let’s get started.
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