R50: 2001 – 2006 Cooper
If you think the new J01 MINI Cooper EV is a radical departure, wait until you see what MINI was cooking up in the 1990s. As MINI ushers in an entirely new...
The crazy inception of the R50 and R53 is even more an an amazing story that just gets better when you realize just how good those cars were. Literally from day one...
It’s almost impossible to believe but the modern new MINI now 20 years old. We take it for granted now but the ramping top of production that up at Plant Oxford was...
This story originally appeared in the April 2006 edition of MotoringFile. Due to a recent post on Instagram we’ve seen a bunch of interest in this long forgotten and highly rare JCW...
Shockingly it’s been nearly 20 years since the R50 MINI was introduced at the Paris motor show in the fall of 2000. Two decades and three generations on the original “new” MINI...
R53 MINI parts are becoming scarce. It had to happen sooner or later. It’s been 9 years since the last supercharged MINI rolled off the lot and a full 17 years since...
Frank Stephenson is not only a critical part of MINI history but has long been a friend of MotoringFile. So it was with great pleasure when we saw him move into the...
MINIUSA is recalling 92,000 cars due to a flaw in the front passenger airbag that may keep it from deploying. The recall will affect 59,000 2006 Cooper and Cooper S models (R50...
Given the launch of the new MINI and the recent pre-production shell that popped up on eBay, we’ve been digging into our archives a bit and thinking about how the modern MINI...
Frank Stephenson, exterior designer of the R50 and R53 MINI was interviewed earlier this year on the occasion of his latest creation debuting – the McLaren P1. Frank, a long time reader...
Want an early look at MINI development? This prototype shell found on eBay gives us an interesting window into that time period where Rover still had some control over engineering and BMW...
For so many years MotoringFile has focused on whats new and recently released. However with the price of 2002 MINIs now well below $10k there are great used MINI deals to be...
Do you own a ’02 – ’05 MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper S or MINI Cooper Convertible in the US? Have you had to replace your power steering pump at your cost? Did...
As MINI gears up to release the entirely new MINI Cooper and Cooper S in early autumn it’s time for a look back and where the model has come from. The idea,...
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