Long time new MINI followers will probably remember MINI UK’s Flip Colour options that debuted in 2004. They featured multiple layers of metallic paint that actually gave the finished car a different color depending on the angle viewed from. In photos they looked merely interesting. In person however the effect was almost jaw-dropping.
Beyond the MINI plant in Oxford there aren’t many places for enthusiasts to go and pay homage to the brand. For BMW owners there’s BMW Welt, the BMW Museum, the ‘Ring and a number of manufacturing facilities around the world. For the MINI, there’s really only one public place beyond the plant that deserves mention, Park Lane MINI. The central London dealer is claimed to be the center-piece of all BMW owned MINI dealers and boasts two floors of everything MINI.
Recently I had a few hours to kill in London and decided to finally check off Park Lane from my list of MINI related to-dos.
AC Schnitzer usually turns their efforts toward tuning BMWs. Look like they have decided to take a shot at tuning MINIs too. Besides suspension and body kit, they have tuned it to have 49bhp more than the standard car.
And without so much as a second glance we’re sitting on the speedy side of 140mph. Perhaps it’s not such a bad thing the new Mini’s speedo is enormous… Pressing down into the tarmac, the Schnitzer feels totally stable at this speed.
Some of our Canadian neighbours attended the BMW Press Launch last week and got some seat time in the Clubman and Clubman S. Here is what they thought.
My wife and I fell in love with the Cooper, but like many, we found the rear passenger compartment too limited and hard to access. The new Clubman is the answer we were looking for — an interesting, legitimate alternative for those wanting to own a second car. That being said, it could just as easily serve as a primary vehicle, considering its newly-acquired qualities.
Some great cars, interesting debuts and about a foot of snow. The 2008 Chicago Auto Show had it all this year. If your only interested in MINIs, you’ll want to skip into the middle of the album.
For better or worse 2007 was the year of the R56. With MINI launching the second generation of the new MINI, we obviously focused on the car and all the hype surrounding it for much of the larger stories and reviews of the year. But thankfully R56 related stories don’t make up the entire top ten. 2007 also saw the debut of the Clubman and the largest MINI event to date - MINI United. So without further delay, the envelope please…
Just a quick reminder that the deadline for holiday shipping on many items in the guide is fast approaching. So if you want to give (or receive) a gift, you may want to get cracking. You can check out each section of the guide above.
Welcome to our 4th annual MotoringFile MINI Gift Guide. The guide is broken up into five sections and is laid out in a wider format for more room for photos and product information. As in years past, we’ve choosen a wide array of popular gift ideas as well as some relatively obscure ones with prices ranging from free to thousands of dollars.
You can browse each section by clicking the links above. And you’ll find the same top navigation in each of the sections. And for a larger view of each gift idea, just click the image and stand back.
For all those in North America who never get a chance to see this incredible race series in action, here’s an official video that MINI put together to help promote the European MINI Challenge.
Consider this buying guide a living document and what you see here to be version 1.0. While we’ve worked hard to create the basic information, you the reader will be essential in helping us add content where appropriate. One note; you can only leave comments on this introduction post and not the actual “Buyers Guide” page.
Introduction
The R50 and R53 MINI coupes were watershed products that ushered in a new era of small, sporty premium cars. Beyond that, they also resurrected a brand and changed perceptions of what a small car could do both on the track and in the market place.
They also make great used buys. But there are some important things to remember when shopping for that perfect used MINI. In this buying guide we’ll attempt to get you started down the right path. We’ll look at the cars, their issues and the seemingly constant updates made by MINI throughout the model cycle.
While it’s true the early MINIs had there fair share of issues, they are still very strong cars with little in the way of serious, budget busting potential problems (with one exception we’ll touch on later). They can provide an unequaled out of the box driving experience for a great price and are generally easy and fairly inexpensive to maintain.
That’s not to say that a potential MINI buyer shouldn’t be fully educated in the ins and outs of potential issues. It’s also very beneficial to know what has changed through the years. With this guide we hope to give an overview of what to look for in the way of potential problems and what to look for in terms options and production changes through the years. We won’t be diving into all specific issues but giving a general overview of what to look for and what to avoid.
There’s one rule of thumb when it comes to buying a used R50 or R53 MINI: buy as new as your budget allows. As is the custom for BMW, MINI made quite a few important changes to the first generation MINI coupe throughout it’s lifecycle. The most important happening in the 2005 model year (beginning with July ‘04 builds).
As we reported a few months back, MINI has finally decided to give the US market a driver-side auto-up similar to the rest of the world. However it now looks like this software update will be delayed until after the first of the 2008 US models are on dealer lots.
If you have a 2008 MINI on order and were expecting this feature, we urge you to contact MINI and either make sure you’re car will indeed have the new feature, or ask that they offer a free software update that unlocks it in the future.
Update: After updating my iPhone to the newly released 1.11 software released today, it suddenly works perfectly with MINI’s bluetooth. Despite having tested it previously with two different iPhone software versions and it not working, could it have been Apple’s fault all along? I’ll be checking a couple other iPhones this weekend.
Recently we’ve heard reports of iPhone integration becoming rather messy after MINI’s most recent software update. Unfortunately I now have some first-hand proof of just that.
I’ve been debating with my MINI owning friends about this for months now so I thought it was time to finally get an answer. What company actually makes the Hi-Fi in the R56?
The MINI Hi-Fi stereo is made by… (drum roll)…. Harman/Becker Automotive (not to be confused with Harman Kardon which is another Harman Becker brand).
Rob Carver is a frequent contributor to MF who brings a welcome change of pace to our up to the minute world. Grab your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy…
Sometimes, you try too hard to get away from something, and you find yourself
right in the very situation you were looking to avoid. One day in the early
‘70s as a kid, I found myself sitting in the broiling Arizona sun working on
a Mini, and altho I swore then that I would try to avoid that ever happening
again, it was unavoidable, I guess, because it kept happening over and over
again. As time went by, and I moved out of the stinkin’ desert to more
convivial surroundings, without the debilitating heat and frigid cold of
working outside in the opposite seasons, I was able to gradually move my Mini
wrenching indoors, (hey, people really do have garages and not just car-ports!)
and was also done without either freezing or burning-hot hand tools whenever
Mother Nature felt like reminding me who was running things outside.
Today is MINI USA product manager Jeff Stracco’s last day with MINI. He’s moving on to another very cool opportunity in a far (far) off land. So we wanted to take a minute to give a very public shout-out to the man responsible for the monthly dealer newsletter “Hey Stracco” and our annual “Ask Stracco” Q&A piece. He’s also been a very big supporter of the site and good friend over the years.
If you or your company are interested in advertising on the most influencial MINI website in the world, please visit our Advertising section. If you have further questions about becoming a sponsor or would like to see our rate sheet please feel free to contact us directly.
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: MF Feature Apr 15th, 2008 31 Comments 
