MINI Preps the Countryman for its Geneva Debut
Next week MINI will officially take the wraps off of the Countryman to the public at large during the Geneva Motorshow. But what does it take to get ready for that unveiling? The people behind MINI’s MINI United Facebook page had a sneak peak at the preparations yesterday at the plant in Steyr Austria.
+ Getting ready for Geneva Motor Show 2010 / MINI United Facebook
<p>That first picture looks like Pure Red and Light Coffee in the foreground. I’m not sure who approved those color choices. The red looks like a tomato. The non-contrasting top on the light coffee makes it look drab. Of course, the dark wheels don’t help.</p>
<p>Nice to catch a glimpse of a few more colors. I’d been liking the Countryman over the Countryman S, but I have to admit that red R60 looks pretty great.</p>
<p>@Jeffrey you sure that isn’t royal grey (pretty sure the R60 in the foreground of the second pic is…can’t tell with the first)? Either way, the non-contrasting roof and black wheels just don’t work with that color. Silver roof and wheels would’ve been a better option IMO.</p>
<p>Digging the car with the Beach Bomber Concept’s wheels. Very incognito look. Wonder what color that is? I also don’t like the two-piece black wheels as much as I thought I would…of course I haven’t seen them in person yet, but still. They don’t look so good in these shots.</p>
<p>hmm … so far none of those colors pop. these are more BMW colors than MINI colors. flat and drab is right.</p>
<p>They should forget about those drab, all-black wheels since they pretty much make the wheels “disappear”; and when combined with the oversized black surrounds it’s really boring.</p>
<p>That Pure Red looks too washed out; like tomato soup made with milk instead of water.</p>
<p>To everyone harping on Pure Red, please see this “teaser” image the dealer sent me when my R55 arrived. It looks just as “tomato soup”-ish as the R60 above.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/belisarius/2509257662/in/set-72157605189889018/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.flickr.com/photos/belisarius/2509257662/in/set-72157605189889018/</a></p>
<p>…and compare to this photo I took on the drive home:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/belisarius/2512197709/in/set-72157605189889018/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.flickr.com/photos/belisarius/2512197709/in/set-72157605189889018/</a></p>
<p>Camera and lighting and settings can make a big difference.</p>
<p>Agree 100% with SFRedMCc about the black wheels. They do not do this crossover ANY favours. Given the larger (black) arch trim and the larger (black) gap in the wheelwells, BMW needs to rely on the wheels even more to grant a “wheels at the corner stance”. An alloy in a shallow offset design to give the wheel a more euro “stretch” look would do wonders (as would spacers). But instead this is what they are putting on the showroom floor… not even one good looking R60 alloy wheel to be seen?</p>
<p>The dark rims, no matter how trendy (read: played out), won’t look good on this car unless the arches are painted body colour and the ride height is dropped significantly to close up the wheel gap. Otherwise a dark wheel is just a visual miss. I’m disappointed to see every one of the R60s in these photos looking rather homely… :(</p>
<p>I just want to say that I like the look of the black wheels on the R60. My take is just the opposite of those posted thus far. I have always found the black plastic trim a negative and I have always favored body color trim. Black wheels on body color trim does not look good. The only reason black wheels work is because the black plastic gives a tie back to the body.</p>
<p>Feo!</p>
<p>Are they hand building these first examples for the shows?</p>
<p>Do you think we will have the option of silver wheels……not really fond of the white and black wheels.</p>
<p>@Steve – check out the second pic, third car back (the one tucked behind the white R60 S). Looks like it’s sporting silver wheels.</p>
<p>Good Eyes!</p>
<p>I really like the light coffee cooper.</p>
<p>I imagine the fluorescent lighting is responsible for washing out the Pure Red, just like it does with most people’s complexions.</p>
<p>I once parked my Chili Red Clubman under those “yellowish” sodium lights they have in some Tucson parking lots; and they made it look “charcoal gray”; which was amazing and actually fun to see it a different color.</p>
<p>I like the Countryman concept because they kept it relatively small, but I’ll have to wait until I see it in person.</p>
<p>MINI- Here’s an idea…
Prep one with some 16″ wheels and taller profile light truck tires. I know this goes against the road-hugging, performance-minded approach that MINI has always taken, but I would like to see a Countryman set up more like a Beachcomber. Just for s*#!s and giggles.</p>
<p>Autoblog’s just posted some “live from the floor” shots from Geneva. It’s kind of getting frustrating to see the same two R60s we’ve seen since the beginning, but this shot clearly shows a red Countryman hanging from a wall in the background.</p>
<p>I immediately noticed two things. 1 – the red looks very “chili red” under show lights and 2 – it’s got silver wheels.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/geneva-2010-mini-countryman/full/#2" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/geneva-2010-mini-countryman/full/#2</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I immediately noticed two things. 1 – the red looks very “chili red†under show lights and 2 – it’s got silver wheels.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I didn’t realize there was confusion over this. Yes the new red is pretty much identical to Chili Red. Yes they offer silver wheels as standard. Hope that helps.</p>