Feb 11th, 2014
Bookmark this post. Because in 7-8 years we’ll be talking about this as a reality.
According to Autocar, BMW plans to reduce the number of models within the MINI range with the introduction of the fourth generation car. Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW board member for Mini and Rolls-Royce suggested that MINI focus on it’s core “hero” models rather than create many derivatives. While it’s not necessarily something we haven’t heard before, this is the first time a BMW Board member has gotten into the strategy behind the move.
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Jan 22nd, 2014
The Timeline
Lets start with the basics – timeline. MINI is planning to debut the 2015 JCW on the internet in December of 2014. This means we should see a production debut at the 2015 Detroit Autoshow in early January of 2015. Production should start in March of 2015 with the first cars hitting dealers in April throughout Europe and May in the US.
Read on for the details on power and design.
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Dec 3rd, 2013
For the past year we’ve seen the F55 roaming the streets of Germany testing in various states of camouflage. And as each layer has been slowly stripped away ahead of its fall of 2014 reveal, we’ve started to get a grasp on its size and its four doors. Then a few weeks ago the first 2015 F54 Clubman was spotted in advanced prototype form outside of Munich. It was immediately obvious that MINI had re-thought the Clubman as a longer and wider vehicle with four doors (six including both rear “club doors”).
That’s two four doors from MINI set to be released over the next 18-24 months. What are the differences and why did MINI go this direction? Read on.
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Sep 5th, 2013
According to Automotive News Europe and “sources” BMW will let the current agreement to produce the “Prince” family of engines lapse in 2016. While this isn’t a surprise (we’ve known for many years that BMW intended to go it alone for 3 and 4 cylinder engine production) this is the first time we’ve seen a semi official mention of it. The Prince has had an up and down life (that we’ll go into more in-depth later) but can be considered a success for both BMW and PSA in terms of performance, efficiency and number produced.
So what will replace the venerable Prince engine range? Late this year BMW will be introducing the B38 and B48 series of three and four cylinder engines destined for all front wheel drive MINIs and BMWs. The engines will be more powerful, burn less fuel and weigh less than their predecessor.
The timing of Prince production ending in 2016 makes a lot of sense for MINI. The last of the R56 based models will be at the end of their life by then and BMW will be gearing up to release an updated version of the B37 and B48. But it’s the details of the engine range that are so interesting. continued →
Apr 8th, 2013
Since the debut of the new MINI more than ten years ago, the line-up has grown from one to seven distinct models. As we look toward the next generation MINI hatch, the F56, we can’t help but wonder about the next generation of all those other MINIs as well. What will the next Clubman be like? Will the Coupe and Roadster merge into one product? What about the next Countryman? continued →
Feb 14th, 2013
It was a little more than a year ago that we broke the first viable rumor that MINI might finally be bringing a diesel engine option to the US market. Than in January, there were a number of gems in the interviews we did with Jim McDowell and Dr. Kay Segler at the North American International Auto Show. Even more recently, MINI product manager, Patrick McKenna, has once again confirmed that MINI USA is very interested in bringing a Diesel option to US MINIs. So what do we make of it all?
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Dec 3rd, 2012
Currently BMW’s M division is developing a small M car. You can read about that vehicle in detail over at BimmerFile, but in a nutshell both Audi and Mercedes will be offering small, 300+ hp sedans in high performance guise. BMW needs to not only keep up with competition, but they need to lower the barriers of the M Brand. They did that successfully with the 1M. What does this have to do with MINI? Perhaps a lot.
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