BMW has a hit on their hands with the MINI. But they also have a problem; how to sell more small premium cars. Research is showing that the small premium car category has huge growth potential and that only having one brand offering such a car may be a mistake. BMW’s solution? To based a small front wheel or all wheel drive BMW off of the next generation MINI platform.
Last week on BimmerFile we noted that during BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofe’s speech he made it clear that BMW and MINI were extending their brands into the small car segment. But what did that exactly mean? Was he talking about the shared platform between the MINI and a new small BMW or BMW’s new range of “megacity” cars sub-braned as iSetta? Autocar had a chance to ask the man that very question.
Being careful to separate the new price-leading front-wheel-drive model from BMW’s upcoming city car – a totally different project as part of its Mega City Vehicle electric car initiative – Reithofer added, “For these new vehicles [the new BMW and Mini] we are developing a common architecture for both front and four-wheel drive.”
While exact details remain shrouded in secrecy, Autocar can confirm the new entry-level BMW has been conceived to run the same front-wheel-drive underpinnings as the next-generation Mini Cooper.
Autocar predicts this new BMW will be built along side the MINI in Oxford. However our sources tell us this is impossible given the current cost of expanding the plant even further. Instead it’s likely that the new small BMW will be built alongside a small slice of the next generation MINI production at a current BMW plant in Germany. It’s worth noting that our sources tell us that all MINIs produced in Germany will be destined for the European market as a way to insulate the British currency issues BMW currently faces.
Yes the A1 will not be coming to such markets the US. But it’s a watershed car for Audi and one of the more impressive MINI rivals we’ve seen. But how does it stack up in the eyes of MINI owners? At launch the car will be available with a range of diesels and petrol powerplants but none that quite matches up with the MCS or JCW MINI models. Nontheless we want to hear your thoughts on how it stacks up with the MINI.
Diesel: 90hp / 169 ft lbs of torque and 105 hp / 184 ft lbs of torque
Petrol 122 hp / 147 ft lbs of torque
2,300 lbs curb weight
manual or dual clutch
155.5 inches long, 68.5 inches wide and 56 inches tall, with a 97.2-inch wheelbase
Car Magazine has captured the first photos of Audi’s A1 in all its prototype glory. The A1 represents yet another challenger in the premium small category that MINI has so dominated over the years. Look for the new hatch to debut at the Geneva motor show in March.
In other news it looks like BMW and MINI don’t have the market cornered anymore on the famous camouflage swirls.
As MINI makes some final decisions on the MINI Rolls Royce edition that we told you about last summer, Fiat has gone ahead and released initial information and photos on it’s own co-branded small car. The Fiat Abarth 695 “Tributo Ferrari” was reportedly co-developed with Abarth (Fiat’s in house tuning arm) and Ferrari themsleves. Featuring a 180 hp 1.4L engine, exclusive semi-automatic transmission, 284mm Brembo brake discs, variable exhaust system and Scuderia Red, the 695 looks like it’ll make a huge splash at the Frankfurt IAA Motor Show.
So the question is, as a MINI fan, are you interested in it? The Fiat 500 isn’t the driver’s car the MINI is. It doesn’t have the handling feel or refinement but it does have tons of character. Oh and a little thing called value.
Yes this has been floating around but we were reminded of it while clearing our in box. It’s not very scientific but it’s fun to see both cars thrown around a bit on the track.
Yet more MINI competition… this time specific to the US market. Fiat has officially approved four variants of the 500 to be built in Mexico and release starting in 2011. Reportedly we should expect the standard hatchback in both standard and Abarth trim, newly released convertible and a wagon variant. While it may not quite live up to the MINI’s dynamic abilities, there’s little question that the little Fiat has plenty of charm and potentially even an edge on the cute factor – seemingly important in the US market these days.
For those of our readers in the US, would this tempt you out of a MINI? Or for those readers elsewhere, has the 500 already tempted you?
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Sections: 3rd Gen MINI, MINI Competitors Mar 11th, 2010 23 Comments 
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