Official AC Schnitzer Press Release: Retro but not old-fashioned – sassy and practical – authentic but no copy: Few cars have mastered the balancing act as well as the new MINI, the latest generation of which is now in the showrooms. In design terms it remains true to its predecessor, but doesn’t stop there technically. In detail no MINI looks like the next, because individuality takes priority amongst its owners.
Anyone wanting to stand out from the crowd of MINI owners, not just in appearance but also in performance, should turn to AC Schnitzer. The present focus of the tuner’s development activities is the new 170 HP turbo engine in the Cooper S, for which AC Schnitzer develops a performance upgrade. And when the driver puts the power down, the sound track plays loud and clear, thanks to the sonorous twin sports silencer with chromed Racing tailpipe.
Full gas to the next corner – and through it at full speed! Touring Car legend Manfred Wollgarten set up the AC Schnitzer racing suspension on the North Loop of the Nürburgring – and it runs rings round the already very good standard suspension. You can feel the difference just with the AC Schnitzer suspension spring kit. But back from the track to the city: Out of the reflective glass facades flashes the face of a model athlete. AC Schnitzer achieves this masterpiece with a few tricks. The front bumper has a new front spoiler. Painted in body colour, and with its striking prominent corners, it sets a clear visual highlight. The sassy rear has also been subtly lifted. The rear skirt from AC Schnitzer, painted in contrast to standard, has a diffuser which effectively pulls the MINI down to the tarmac.
Two sporting wheel designs, the brand-new Bicolor wheel Mi2 in 7.5 x18″ and the Mi1 in the classic AC Schnitzer look in 7.5 x 17″, complete the sporting range. And naturally the enthusiastic MINI fan has a wealth of matching accessories for the interior.
Such as the attractive controls and sports pedals of aluminium – naturally from AC Schnitzer.
all those decals for so little improvement. i look forward to reading about the power gains.
a much more subtle kit than i’m used to seeing. good that.
That’s weird, I just saw the details of this same kit on the Edmunds.com website – however, the front aerokit that they show on their website is definitely an aftermarket one, the one here is just the stock front bumper that has been colour coded.
I got all excited when I saw the headline on edmunds — then I read the story and was extremely disappointed. Certainly expected much more from AC Schnitzer.
Nice work, but those rims don’t seem to match the rest of the look…
Why is there a Cooper stripe on the driver’s door and not on the passenger’s?
Another example of BMW-lisation of MINI. Still a MINI Schnitzer doesn’t fit the quite the same as MINI Cooper. All due respect to the German tuners, they were the BTCC and German TCC champs in the M3 E30 days and did a great job. But why BMW MINI let other “authorised” tuners set up in competition to Cooper which is now really owned by BMW anyhow is beyond me.
P.S. Brian – That stripe and badge is AC Schnitzer not MINI Cooper design.
The subtle bodykit might be a little too subtle for me. Looks like its just color coded stock MINI kit. Heck, at least the Hamann kit replaced the side skirts and had a visibly different lip up front and a diffuser out back. But this… not quite enough IMO.
These images are not from AC Schnitzer’s press release. They are older images from back in March, I believe.
Official site: <a href="http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/mini/produkte/modelle-ab-2007/mini-coopercooper-s-r56/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/mini/produkte/modelle-ab-2007/mini-coopercooper-s-r56/</a>
<em>These images are not from AC Schnitzer’s press release.</em>
I meant to say that the images are not from their <strong>most recent</strong> press release.
You can see the official shots in a gallery format here:
<a href="http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/mini/products/models-since-2007/mini-coopercooper-s-r56/multimedia/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.ac-schnitzer.de/en/mini/products/models-since-2007/mini-coopercooper-s-r56/multimedia/</a>
The new Mi2 wheel looks to follow the same styling cues as the ACS Type lV wheels.
I like the new body kit though, although pricing will be high as usual.
I much prefer the JCW body kit. Painted wheel arches irk me.
Hey, Guys if you like AC Schnitzer’s body kit check out
Hamann’s body kit inside Hamann tuning, it looks super tough, though it still has the painted wheel arches.
<a href="http://www.hamann-motorsport.de/index_start_en.php" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.hamann-motorsport.de/index_start_en.php</a>
The AC Schnitzer Suspension kit looks nice though I would hate to find out the price of it, I ultimately want to lower my R56 by exactly one inch. H&R springs make it too low (1.4″) and the JCW springs will probably be half an inch.
Are there any springs out there that could lower in an inch?
Actually, painted body arches in the R56 minimize the thick visual effect they have on the car.
Say what you will about the body kit, that exhaust tip is HAWT!!!
Maybe AC Schnitzer should become the official MINI body kit supplier and let JCW concentrate on the performance bits.
Yes please, I shall take two.