A few months ago we told you about MINI US production plans for both the current MINI and the next generation 2007 MINI. The general consensus we received from our sources was that, if you were planning on ordering a 2006 MINI, it was best to get that into your dealer by May. Now we have a bit more clarification on that.
It looks like US production of both the R50 Cooper and R53 Cooper S will trickle to a close in October November of 2006. However it’s then when things get interesting. For the US 2007 model year, production will start in December of 2006. That means that US dealerships should see deliveries begin around February of 2007.
What is still unclear at this point is how MINI will deal with customer ordered cars vs pre-specced and when the limited edition models (or limitd edition options in the US) will end. We know for fact that Solar Red, Liquid Yellow and Black Eye Purple (Purple Haze in the US) all go away at the end of April. Does this signal a change in options around that time period for the rest of the ’06 model year? We’ve heard rumblings on that but need a bit of clarification before posting everything we’ve heard.
Elsewhere in the world the final spec R56 production should commence sometime in September of 2006 with dealer deliveries in the UK scheduled for later in the fall. The MC and MCS will be available at the time of launch with the new MINI One following shortly thereafter.
As we mentioned in our previous report, the MINI Convertible will soldier on in it’s current form for at-least another year or two. However the 2007 model year of that car will also fall around December of 2006 in the US.
While BMW plans on launching the car via it’s press site this summer, the first public showing for the 2007 MINI should take place at the Paris autoshow in early September. For the history buffs, Paris was also the first place MINI showed the original “new” MINI back in the fall of 2000.
Related
[ R56 Production Timeline (Part 1) ] MotoringFile
Hey Gabe
So the actual model of the Cabrio S will stay the same
even though the production line changed for the new models?
How accurate is this?
I’m asking since
I’m thinking of ordering a JCW Cabrio S from Factory
instead of bolting a JCW kit to my 05 Cabrio S locally.
I want to keep the car forever, that’s why I’m asking.
I want to know if there’s any difference in resale value
between a Factory JCW Cabrio or a locally bolt on kit
if I ever decided to sell the car down the line.
I’m thinking Barret-Jackson here.
did that make any sense?, lol!
let me know
regards,
Charles
It wouldn’t make financial sense for MINI to change the convertible in the second year of its life cycle. They haven’t made their money back on the development costs of creating the convertible even though it’s based on the current generation car. It has to be at least another two years of solid sales for them to re-do it in my opinion. To change a vehicle in two years would kill the current one and that also wouldn’t make sense. Everyone would want the newest kid on the block which would hurt resale value.
BMW always releases the cabrio a year or 2 after the sedan or coupe comes out. And they are doing the same thing with the MINI.
Interesting notion, Charles.
You wish to essentially time-capsule a JCW MCSc? Wow, I think it’s a great idea for an investment, but I don’t know how you’d avoid driving it all the time! I know that I couldn’t. Good luck, I hope you have a strong will!
Charles, if you really plan to keep it forever, you should spec the car you want and not think about resale value. However, as a general rule of thumb, any extras and add-ons over the base car give low return on resale. This includes JCW kit, either factory or dealer-installed. So if want to minimize your resale loss, get the cheaper option which is dealer installation.
So the May 2006 date of ordering a 2006 still stand, or is that pushed back?
Dealer installation of JCW cheaper? Here in Canada the factory JCW package (which also includes the big brake kit and LSD) is priced at$5,900. The service department charges about 40% more and that does not include the brakes and LSD.
Off topic, I’ve seen the Quaife LSD listed on some aftermarket sites. Can it be installed on any Cooper S manual? What kind of install difficulty/time is required?
David (a sales dude, but I own my BEP Cooper S)
I imagine it depends on the back-order timeframe from your chosen dealer.
I should rephrase my earlier comment. In the US, dealer JCW installation is less expensive than factory if you don’t want the S sports package and JCW brakes. The point I really wanted to make was that to get the highest return on resale, you should minimize the amount of the initial purchase. This should be less of concern if you truly plan to keep the car for a long time.
Gabe,
Does that mean the convertable will also carry the current powerplant even though it has been discontinued for the other 07 models?
Cheers,
Jack
Excluding options, colors, etc, no changes will be made to the convertible till ’08. Either Gabe or another source mentioned it in a previous article.
So hopefully by NLT July we’ll get a final full spec debut and an idea of pricing.
So, I have till late fall to place an order for a current generation Cooper S?
>So, I have till late fall to place an order for a current generation Cooper S?
No – late summer most likely.
So basically Gabe
I have till late 2007-2008 to order a JCW S Cabrio
with the current engine, exterior and interiors?
Just curious,
how they will be doing 2 different engines, exteriors & interiors
within the new production line and keep doing just the MCS Cabrio in the current model?.
I want to be 100% certain about this timeline/productionline
so I can try to pull this one out without selling my current MINI.
If i have an extra year or so,
I could keep mine and order the JCW S Cabrio and time capsule it.
what you guys think?
am I nuts?, lol!
regards,
Charles
it would be nice if the covertibles got the new powertrain, or bits of it once the changeover takes place. Somehow I think this may not be feasible.
With modern Just-in-Time production I wouldn’t think it’s such a problem to produce two different cars on the same production line. In fact, it’s being done all the time (Volvo V40, S40 and Mitsubishi Carisma were being produced together on the same production line over her in Holland – these did share a platform, though). I’d say it’s a solveable problem (not that it’s not a problem at all :)) that has been solved a long time ago (possibly even when it was being decided where to produce the convertible Mini).
<blockquote>keep doing just the MCS Cabrio in the current model?.</blockquote>
Just the MCS? I would expect them to happily continue producing convertible Ones, Coopers and Ss, right?
It is not completely unfeasable that the cabrio would actually also get a mid-lifetime update including the new engines, ey? I’d expect the new engine to be in the same ballpark range in terms of size, so fitting it might be a matter of some re-engineering (which might or might not be deemed worthwhile by the powers that be).
>So basically Gabe
>I have till late 2007-2008 to order a JCW S Cabrio
with the current engine, exterior and interiors?
>Just curious, -how they will be doing 2 different engines, exteriors & interiors within the new production line and keep doing just the MCS Cabrio in the current model?.
>I want to be 100% certain about this timeline/productionline
so I can try to pull this one out without selling my current MINI.
If i have an extra year or so, I could keep mine and order the JCW S Cabrio and time capsule it.
Charles – I don’t know how the plant will handle the JCW option after this year. I would assume they’ll still offer it on the cabrio but I don’t know for certain.
They actually do two different engines (and several variations on one) at the plant now. I don’t think they’ll have too much trouble building both the old and the new car side by side. Consider that the BMW plant in South Carolina builds both the Z4 and the X5 on the same line at the same time!
Hi!
I’m from Italy and I’ve orderd 3 weeks ago a Mini Cooper…Now I was looking at this article and I’ve seen that everything is gonna change! Do I have to cancel my order or not? I don’t want to have a car that is old 2 months after I have bought it. And, another question: will the exterior and interior style be modifyied or the changes are only for the engine and things like that? Thank you very much. Waiting for your answers.