MINI will be replacing Mellow Yellow for the 2010 model year with White Silver. Mellow Yellow was an R56 launch color and has been around sine September 2006 when the new car launched. Like Mellow Yellow, White Silver will be available across the MINI range. Additionally MINI will be introducing cloth/leather combo in Tech White and Leather Lounge in Toffy. Both are being introduced to coincide with the MINI Camden and Mayfair limited edition models. Apparently MINI will be spreading the costs of developing some of the new trim by making them available across the range in specific markets. Included in this will be a Toffee and White Tech interior color-line option as well. You can see both after the jump.
The R56 has been a commercial and critical success for MINI. Despite the loss of some steering feel and some of the brashful character of the R50 and R53, MINI clearly hit the mark with the car overall when it came to market in 2007. And in some ways it’s surprising how well the car has done. From a design standpoint it was evolution on the outside but revolution on the inside. The form and function of everything was rethought from the R50 to the R56 and along the way MINI seemed to have lost the plot in a couple of areas. Now they intend to fix it.
In the spring of 2010 MINI will be introducing the refreshed (or LCI – Life Cycle Impulse as it’s known in BMW speak) R56 and all its variants (ie the Clubman and Convertible). While the number of changes (major and minor) will be huge, there will be several key changes.
First and foremost, MINI intends to fix the interior. Yes, the radio controls and the heating and cooling interface will be refined and in some cases rethought. Additionally MINI will introduce some upgraded materials and subtle design changes meant to eliminate many of the complaints owners have had over the years. Or to put it another way, if you look at the top five complaints most MINI owners have, then you have an idea of what will be worked over in this refresh. continued →
We’ve held off reporting about the new system at the request of our sources for awhile but MINI hinted at the new system in its recent Camden press release so all bets are off. Here’s what we know. There were quite a few at MINI who weren’t overly happy with the current optional hifi audio system that replaced the venerable H/K that was found in the previous generation MINIs. Both were made by Harmon (parent company to Harman) but some cost was taken out an the sound suffered for it. Make no mistake it was a nice upgrade to the stock system, but it just wasn’t as impressive as had been hoped.
So MINI went back to Harmon and asked them to design a system in the same vein as the (now almost mythical) DPSM system available on the R50 generation. However with one big change, this new version would be available from the factory as an option rather than a very expensive dealer installed accessory.
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MINI UK has finally launched the JCW Clubman almost a year after it was launched in most of the world. The reason for the delay? The MINI UK refused to release the car without the JCW aero-kit (which was just released for the longer Clubman). The JCW aero-kit is of course standard on the MINI JCW Hatch in the UK as well. Here’s the full release:
We are delighted to announce the addition of the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman to the MINI Range. Production of the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman will be from Production Week 21 (week commencing 1 June 2009) with customer deliveries starting from Production Week 25 (week commencing 1 July 2009). continued →
Since our story last week on the 2007-2009 Cooper S cold start issues we’ve had loads of emails asking some basic questions on the issue and the fix. So in an effort to clear up some of the confusion, here’s the inside info into getting this fix applied to your 2007+ MCS.
First up the PuMA reference we used earlier is simply BMW speak or a file created to track the problems on one specific vehicle. The actual reference number for the timing chain rattle problem is SIM-11-02-07. This file provides information to the service advisor and repair tech for diagnosis, parts required, repair procedures, and warranty reporting requirements.
The first section of the SIM-11-02-07 document deals with verifying the timing chain rattle is occurring and not due to other potential issues.
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The Death rattle. It’s a story we’ve been following closely on MF since 2007 and a topic many of you have been extremely concerned about. Last year we posted a lengthy expose on the topic that you can read here. But for owners affected, this news will bring a huge sigh of relief.
For a bit of background on the issue, here’s a description of the issue we posted last year:
The cold start issue has been a common theme popping up in the Faults and Fixes threads on various MINI forums. Specifically, MCS owners complaining about a peculiarly loud engine rattle on start-up. Now the R56 is an “interesting” sounding engine to begin with. The direct fuel injection solenoids give the car a very diesel-esque sound at idle. But this is a very different sound altogether.
BMW has determined that the cold start rattle was/is being caused by the timing chain tensioner (which is in turn powered by an oil-pressurized piston). More specifically the sound is caused when the tensioner piston doesn’t extend all the way (or at all) which then allows the timing chain to come in contact with the guides on the engine cover. continued →
After the successful unveiling of the new MINI Convertible this spring, MINI dips its toe into the stylistic future of travel. Teaming up with renowned brands Airstream and Republic of Fritz Hansen™, the carmaker has embraced the theme of “mobile living” in developing an innovative design study with a down-by-the beach feel. The collaboration has spawned a unique combination of a 6.80-metre-long Airstream trailer and a modified MINI Cooper S Clubman, one whose appeal extends beyond the reaches of the watersports scene. Danish furniture design brand Republic of Fritz Hansen™ has kitted the iconic American travel trailer out with new interpretations of design classics and given both the trailer and the MINI a revamped look from the wheels up. Details include the use of surfer-dude “wetsuit” neoprene, fresh colours and flower prints, and the option of opening up the trailer on one side and making yourself comfortable on a built-in sun-bathing bed. This mobile “home from home” feeds that mythical dream of surfing and watersports enthusiasts: always hunting for the perfect wave, at home anywhere around the world. It must be the ultimate fusion of design and function. continued →
At least that’s what Helen Walters at BusinessWeek.com wonders.
Still, I can’t help but wonder about initiatives like this. Given the economic environment and the grim news coming from the auto industry writ such large, one-off projects seem ripe to be filed under “nice but unnecessary.” BMW recently laid off 850 Mini workers from its Cowley plant in the UK, and Mini sales were down 35% in January compared to the year before, according to the AP.
We’ve had these photos sent to us several times over the last few days and are still trying to figure out what they actually show. We know that MINI will be introducing the refreshed R56 and R55 either late this year or early next. And as we reported well over a year ago there will be some subtle changes to the front and rear facia, lighting and interior design. However we’re not entirely convinced that these photos show any of that. In fact after looking at them extensively it would appear that they both simply have the factor aero-kit (the one most MINI fans love to hate) and nothing that indicates a refresh.
In the next few weeks JCW will be releasing a retrofit kit for all R55, R56 and R57 models that allows owners to install one or two of the following gauges:
Coolant temperature gauge
Torque reserve gauge (relative torque as MINI calls it)
Lateral G gauge
These gauges will sit on the side of the tachometer exactly like the current MINI convertible’s always open gauge does. The retrofit kits will be available at MINI service centers around the world starting this spring.
But you know we couldn’t just end at that. We did some digging and managed to find the official retro-fit PDF manual. This document gives us a clear look at the work needed and the parts included in the kits. However a word of warning, this might be a little bit more than most of us can handle when it comes to DIY. It may be best left to your dealer or favorite independent MINI shop.
For all you R55 owners and fans out there MINI has a notable new accessory available this spring. MINI has added a new spoiler to the accessory line-up that was designed from the start to work with the Clubman. Unlike the previous accessory spoiler, this new design is much closer in spirit to the R53 and R56 look.
The new spoiler should be available at MINI dealers this spring.
Awhile back we had a chance to sit in on a presentation by Clubman designer (and head of MINI exterior design) Marcus Syring. Mr. Syring shared with us a brief history of the R55 and crucially some photos and renderings of the design process that brought about the modern Clubman.
The original concept of a reborn Traveller (eventually to be known as the Clubman) started way back in the late 1990’s. In fact the first time the sketches surfaced was at the Paris Motor Show along with a speedster and small truck concept. But it was the extended MINI “EXT” (as it was known internally) that seemed to hold the most promise for eventual production.
We’re reposting this Ask MF originally from last year due to a number of similar questions we’ve gotten over the last few weeks.
This week’s “Ask MotoringFile” comes from Dave M and is quickly becoming a very common question:
I have a 2008 MCS on order and am relatively new to the MINI world. I couldn’t help but notice everyone using these code names for different models of MINIs. What does it all mean?
MINI models follow a similar system to the (seemingly ancient) BMW model internal naming convention. Since we often talk about different models (sometimes in the same story, paragraph or even sentence), using the internal model code-names is often the easiest way to quickly identify what model of MINI we’re referring to.
The first generation of BMW MINI’s started with the R50 which was meant to be the coupe version of the car. However once that model number was established BMW decided to produced a higher power version called the Cooper S. Because the development work was started later it was given a different code-name – the R53. The R52 was actually conceived before the Cooper S and thus has the code-name R52. And for those wondering, the R51 was a concept that never made it past the conception stages.
One of the most sought after features by many of us who take our MINIs to the track are working brake cooling ducts. As most trackday junkies know, one of the first things that starts to fail on a MINI on the track are the brakes. And one of the biggest reasons for that is a lack of cooling the pads and rotors. BMW’s own cars have dealt with this issue for years with working brake ducts designed into the front bumper. In fact BMW has been doing this for decades for pretty much every model. continued →
For those of you that thought we were going to be live, all apologies. We had a bit of a scheduling conflict. Before that, I choked on the intro and Todd and I both realize that we are getting old after realizing that our good friend The Future Queen of Nebraska (Happy Birthday Tori!) was born the year we graduated highschool.
Gabe was at the Chicago Auto Show so not able to be with us, but we carried on without him with news of the week from Motoringfile.
Then some auto industry talk and bit more on the throttle body freezing issue. Todd dug into this a little deeper and has a very good explanation as to what is happening. From what we understand, this is only affecting the MCS and Clubman S (and some Volkswagens). We explain what is happening and what they are trying to possibly fix it. If this is a problem that you are having with your MINI, be sure to get it into the dealer to have it looked at.
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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: R55 (Clubman), R56 (Coupe), R57 (Conv.) Jun 27th, 2009 42 Comments 
For those of you that thought we were going to be live, all apologies. We had a bit of a scheduling conflict. Before that, I choked on the intro and Todd and I both realize that we are getting old after realizing that our good friend The Future Queen of Nebraska (Happy Birthday Tori!) was born the year we graduated highschool.
