mini

As a MINI owner and enthusiast there are few things more interesting then taking an official tour of the MINI Oxford Plant. MotoringFile reader Joshua Kane has just taken the tour and has a great review of the trip on his blog. Here’s a quick excerpt:

>When we entered the second building you could see the MINIs come in from the paint shed, and be put into a mechanized frame that allows them to be rotated about 300 degrees to be worked on. They start with all the wiring looms and interior bits. Moving on to the dash or cockpit. There were some options for the dash which I have not seen in the states. There were Walnut Trimmed dashes. We saw one BRG MINIS with a Walnut dash being made. Eventually we saw the same mini being fitted with the black and tan leather seats, it was quite striking. From there they show how the body and the engine are “married”. This is amazing to watch.

>They have the engine line synced to the body assembly line and the engine is literally lifted and bolted into the frame. From there the exhaust is fitted, and the the next part is to put add all the personal touches, and finally fitting on the doors, bonnet, boot, and tops for the convertibles. These parts are done last as there is less risk of the associates pinching their hands or damaging the cars if the large movable parts are not added on till the end.

>There was a large number of Park Lane, Checkmates, and “7’s” being produced while I was there. I believe the “7” is an option package for the MINI One. I will also note that I stood by the “Tyre” fitting station for a good amount of time and I counted at least 25 different style rims being fitted onto the MINIs.

You can read the entire review here:

[ MINI Oxford Plant Tour ] Joshua Kane

Related:

[ Oxford Plant Tour Reader Review ] MotoringFile

[ How to go on a MINI Oxford Plant Tour ] MotoringFile

[ MINI Plant Tours Throughout the Years ] MotoringFile

[ MotoringFile Review: The MINI Plant Tour ] MotoringFile