Jul 3rd, 2014
Car buying has evolved significantly in the past decade, even since the MINI as we know it came into being. Yet one thing remains the same, the cars still have to be sold. MINI holds training sessions for its dealers to this day, but the chaps at Jalopnik found this highly entertaining training video talking all about the fine points of what made a Mini the car to buy in 1978.
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Jun 7th, 2014
Get your credit cards ready. Lego has announced a full classic Mini Cooper kit coming August 1 2014. The kit retails for $100 and will be sold at online and in-stores. Check out a hands-on look after the break. continued →
Jan 24th, 2014
The Mini Monty Carlo Rally three-peat is a staple of MINI enthusiast culture to this day. While familiar to most, it’s not an accomplishment to be taken lightly. Severely out-classed, the Mini team showed what small can really do. Today MINI’s motorsports presence has evolved, but is no less accomplished. Racing in MINI-only leagues, GRAND-AM (now part of AMLS), WRC and now three time Dakar champions, the MINI brand keeps having fun going fast. While the racing landscape has changed tremendously, MINI has kept racing a priority and that is a remarkable thing. From the nearly stock in Class B GRAND-AM, to the highly specialized BMW Group monsters of Dakar, we’re just excited that there are MINIs out there being driven in anger. Even better when they win!
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Dec 9th, 2013
Given the launch of the new MINI and the recent pre-production shell that popped up on eBay, we’ve been digging into our archives a bit and thinking about how the modern MINI came about. Over the past ten years MotoringFile has written much about Mini, Rover and BMW in the 1990s but it’s such a good story it’s always worth a revisit. So with that in mind we wanted to go back and take look at the concepts from that time period that help guide us to the R50 which set the tone for all modern MINI’s to come.
The idea of a modern MINI had been floating around since the late 60’s. But the Mini’s appeal and subsequent sales success kept it in production for two decades longer than originally anticipated. However the various government backed companies that manufactured the Mini through the years were less than successful on the business side of things. In fact British Leyland, Rover, etc tried to kill the Mini more than once (first to avoid converting the engine to run on unleaded, then to avoid increasing safety requirements) but English public opinion was too negative. So when BMW bought Rover and the Mini there was quite a bit of hope for the future. continued →
Dec 3rd, 2013
Want an early look at MINI development? This prototype shell found on eBay gives us an interesting window into that time period where Rover still had some control over engineering and BMW was guiding the ship from afar.
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Nov 11th, 2013
Car number 983 is back on the road, heralding a revival of MINI production in the Netherlands in the near future. A 54-year-old classic Mini has been fully restored at the VDL Nedcar car manufacturing plant in the town of Born, the precision work lasting around six months. The historic Austin Seven with production number 983 dates back to 1959 and was one of the first examples of the classic Mini to be assembled in the Netherlands. The car was unearthed last year in an old barn in Groningen, ravaged by the passage of time and as such an ideal candidate for the “reBorn” mission. The classic machine has since been imbued with a fresh injection of sparkle, making it the perfect scene-setter for a new chapter in Dutch-British car making relations. Next year VDL Nedcar will begin production of MINI models under contract; MINI will be the only manufacturer having vehicles series-produced in the Netherlands.
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Oct 20th, 2013
The chaps at Jalopnik shared a story this week so improbable and wonderful that we just had to share it here. Apparently an Australian company (read family of Australian Mini Moke fans) have gotten the ball rolling to produce reproduction Mini Mokes in China. continued →
