Five years have passed since the Mini Clubman went on sale and last week at the Geneva Motor Show Mini decided to bring the Clubvan concept, which can be considered as a straightforward derivative of the latter. Instead of side windows, it comes with polycarbonate panels while the load bay now has a bigger size.
Mini Clubvan
Developed by BMW, the Clubvan is a two-seater as it doesn’t have the false boot floor and the rear seats which we saw in the Clubman. Instead, it has been fitted with a continuous, deeper load bay that has 12V charging sockets and six load attachment points. The car’s rear doors have an extremely dark tint while inside the cabin we notice a stainless steel and aluminum load bay partition which has been developed exclusively for this concept.
Mini Clubvan
With the seats down, the Mini Clubvan offers a maximum load capacity of 920 liters while with the lower load floor it offers about 1200 liters which is why when the production version will come out it certainly won’t be a spacious commercial vehicle. BMW didn’t say that the car will be produced, but according to various sources it will arrive in dealerships later on this year. During that period, the company’s factory in Oxford is going to be upgraded and revised in order to accommodate the production of the new generation of the Mini.
Mini has decided to unveil the 2013 Countryman JCW before the car’s public debut this month at the Geneva Motor Show. As you would expect, the car looks considerably more aggressive in comparison to the standard variant and comes with a new aerodynamic body kit, 18-inch alloys and a lowered sports suspension. In addition, it has a sports exhaust system, high performance brakes and the usual JCW badging.
2013 Mini Countryman JCW
Inside the cabin it comes with a sport steering wheel, sport seats, along with a Chili Red or piano black trim. Also on board are the JCW-branded sill plates and updated instrumentation.
2013 Mini Countryman JCW
At the heart of the 2013 Mini Countryman John Cooper Works is a 4-cylinder, 1.6-liter turbocharged engine that pumps out 215 hp (218 PS / 160 kW) and a peak torque of 207 lb.-ft (280 Nm) – 221 lb.-ft (300 Nm) with overboost. It is linked to an ALL4 AWD system that allows the hot Countryman to do the 0-62 mph sprint in 7 seconds, en route to a maximum speed of 140 mph (225 km/h). With the optional 6-speed automatic gearbox, the car can hit a top speed of 139 mph (223 km/h).
2013 Mini Countryman JCW
Efficiency-wise, the 2013 Countryman JCW is able to return 39.2 mpg UK (7.2 liters / 100 km) and has CO2 emissions of 167 g/km. Fitted with the automatic gearbox; it can return 35.3 mpg UK (8 liters / 100 km) and has CO2 emissions standing at 167 g/km.
2013 Mini Countryman JCW
No word about the price tag but we know that it will hit the dealerships in Europe this fall.
This would have to be yet another special edition launched by Mini, this time for the convertible model. Dubbed the “Highgate”, it will be available with a choice of four engines, the 122 hp Cooper, the 184 hp Cooper S, along with the more frugal 112 hp Cooper D and the 143 hp Cooper SD. All engines are mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard or an optional automatic transmission that sends the power to the front wheels.
Mini Highgate Convertible
Design-wise, the Mini Highgate Convertible is wearing a Iced Chocolate metallic finish and comes with brown/black hood stripes with blue edging. It also has a brown soft-top and Double Cross light alloy wheels that measure 17 inches. The car is also available with a White Silver or a Midnight Black metallic paint.
Mini Highgate Convertible
This theme is continued inside the car where we notice the leather seats that are finished in Dark Truffle with light blue piping and light contrast stitching. Aside from these, this special edition of the Mini comes with a chrome line interior package, suntouched brushed alloy interior trim elements and stainless steel pedals.
Mini Highgate Convertible
The car is scheduled to go on sale this April at a price tag yet to be announced.
Mini has confirmed the other day the pricing list for the Roadster model in United States. The entry-level variant will cost from $24,350 while the Cooper S Roadster will set you back at least $27,350. The top-spec JCW version carries a price tag of $24,500. All of these prices do not include the $700 destination and handling fees. This means that the Roadster is going to be $600 more affordable than the 4-seat Convertible model.
2012 MINI Cooper Roadster
Clients will be able to get an automatic gearbox for the Cooper Roadster and the Cooper S Roadster, while the John Cooper Works comes only with a manual transmission.
We don’t have to tell you how difficult the Dakar rally is so the pilot that manages to win this rough event has to be one of the best there is. We can say the same thing about the car that the winner is driving. This year’s winning combination consisted of Stephane Peterhansel and his Mini Countryman which on January 15th, after 38 hours and 44 minutes won the Dakar, an event which consisted of 4,000 competitive km from Mar del Plata (Argentina) to Lima (Peru’s capital).
This was the 10th victory at Dakar for Stephane Peterhansel, six of them were on a motorcycle while the other four where with a car. The Frenchman won this year’s race with a Mini ALL4 Racing which is the rally-raid version of the Countryman developed by X-Raid. It is motivated by a twin-turbo, 3.0-liter engine that pumps out 315 hp.
Stephane finished 43 minutes ahead of Nani Roma who also was behind the wheel of a Mini ALL4 Racing so it was a one-two victory for the team this year at Dakar. There were five Minis in the race and all of them managed to finish in the first ten positions.
The production version of the Mini Roadster has been revealed last week at the Detroit Motor Show and it is scheduled to go on sale this spring. The entry-level Cooper model will have a base price from 18,015 pounds.
Mini Roadster
As you probably know, the car is based on the Cabriolet version but it is narrower, shorter and lower. The rear seats have been removed in order to increase cargo space, while the lightweight fabric roof is manually operated. According to Mini, the Roadster is the car with the lowest center of gravity in the company’s lineup.
Mini Roadster
Much like the Coupe model, the Roadster has extra bracing front and rear for better handling, while the traction is boost thanks to the forward biased weight distribution. The most powerful Roadster is going to be the John Cooper Works model that has a 1.6-liter turbo engine with 208 hp.
Mini Roadster
The same engine will be used for the Cooper S but in this model it will be tuned to generate 181 hp. The entry-level Cooper has a naturally-aspirated power unit that pumps out 121 hp. Mini will also sell the Cooper SD version that is motivated by a frugal 2.0-liter diesel with 141 hp that is able to return 62.8 mpg UK.
Last week, the German tuners from JM Cardesign have revealed their latest project based on the Mini One. We start by mentioning that the R50 is powered by the same 4-cylinder 1.6-liter engine that produces 90 hp so no extra boost has been provided. This upgrade program brings a bunch of styling changes, starting with the hood borrowed from the Cooper S, the racing style side sills and the LSD vertical opening doors.
JM Cardesign Mini One R50
The rear wing is made from carbon and it has been taken from the hot John Cooper Works (JCW) model, while the wheels measure 7.5 x 18 inches and are wrapped around in Dunlop rubbers. To complete the look, JM Cardesign has put a lot of decals which we frankly don’t like.
JM Cardesign Mini One R50
Other upgrades include a red Wiechers roll bar and a KW suspension. Inside the cabin, the interior has been stripped down and it now features a full roll cage, Recaro seats and 3.5-inch wide Schroth-4-point belts. Also on board is a reversing camera, a flip monitor and a Clarion multimedia system.
It seems that the hot John Cooper Works (JCW) version of the Mini Countryman will be making an appearance next year during the Geneva Motor Show. The car you see in these photos is a prototype that is undergoing some final evaluation tests in winter conditions in Austria.
Mini Countryman JCW
The bad news is that Mini hasn’t said anything exact regarding the technical specifications of the car, but according to Autocar insiders, it is expected to feature a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine that develops 215 hp, which is considerably more than the 177 hp available for the Cooper S. This means that the 0-62 mph should be done it approximately seven seconds, compared to the 7.6 seconds necessary for the Cooper S.
Mini Countryman JCW
The John Cooper Works version of the Countryman will adopt a modified sports suspension borrowed from the aforementioned Cooper S. The car will be 10 mm lower than the Cooper S with a ride height of 139 mm. The front anti-roll bar diameter will go up by 23 mm while the rear one is also up by 17 mm. We should expect to see an upgrade in the rear brakes department as the car will have discs that measure 296 mm in diameter, bigger than the 280 mm used for the Cooper S.
Mini Countryman JCW
The prototype we see in these photos is wearing a little bit of disguise but we can easily see that the Mini Countryman JCW will adopt similar muscular styling upgrades as we seen on recent JCW versions of other Mini models. Some of these updates include a revised front bumper, grille, along with flared wheel arches as well as a new design for the rear bumper plus a pseudo diffuser which has built-in dual exhaust pipes.
Mini Countryman JCW
The car is expected to enter the production phase in May in Graz, Austria where they make the regular Minis.
CoverEFX is a vinyl wrap specialist from Germany and their latest project is based on the Mini Cooper JCW. One of the cars that they have developed has a yellow and black theme while the other adopts a blue and black exterior look. Besides the visual upgrades, the car also gets more oomph under the hood, thanks to a mcchip-dkr software that lifts the power by 17 hp and 22 Nm of torque. Other than that, it packs a new exhaust system that has stainless steel manifolds and a down pipe, allowing the engine of the car to develop an impressive 234 hp.
CoverEFX Mini Cooper JCW GP R53
The CoverEFX Mini Cooper JCW GP R53 rides on a set of 17-inch OZ Racing alloy wheels and features a Bilstein B14 suspension kit. Other goodies worth mentioning include the GP charge air cooler, a Schrick camshaft as well as a new air filter box. The new exhaust system has been developed by KBR motorsport and comes with new spark plugs, new fuel injectors and an M7 thermostat. Other than that, the Mini has an H&R 17-mm adjustable rear stabilizer.
CoverEFX Mini Cooper JCW GP R53
Inside the cabin, this special Mini Cooper JCW created by CoverEFX has Recaro sport seats that have been wrapped around in Alcantara.
We don’t have any information at the moment about the price tag of this CoverEFX Mini Cooper JCW GP R53.
Mini has introduced last week during the L.A. Auto Show the 2012 Cooper B-Spec which was developed by Mini of Charleston. This turn-key racer has been fitted with a coilover suspension, 15-inch rims with Hoosier tires and Carbotech brakes. Inside the cabin there’s a Kirkey racing seat, window net and a roll cage.
2012 Mini Cooper B-spec
Under the hood there is a 4-cylinder, 1.6-liter engine that develops 121 hp (123 PS / 90 kW) and a maximum torque of 114 lb.-ft (154 Nm). They haven’t released any official details about the performance specifications, but the regular model needs 8.4 seconds for the 0-62 mph sprint, on its way to a top speed of 126 mph (203 km/h).
Holidays are coming, so brands have started to present their offer of gifts to be asked / received from Santa. MNI kicked off with their Christmas gift ideas, for men, women or kids.
What are in fact these gifts? MINI-branded products, including a folding bike, a “Black Jack Watch”, toy cars, a bib, baby socks. Apparently, they have taken into account all the members of the family, regardless of age. Actually, it’s the best way to MINI-brand your entire family, so that when you go for a visit to your friends in the Christmas day, everybody to know you all are MINI’s fans, including your little one “procreation”.
The “biggest” gift suggestion is a MINI inspired by Goodwood special edition. Its cost: $52,000 in the United States. So good luck with that .
Mini wants to grab some of the customers of the Mazda MX-5 Miata with the all-new Roadster model which is the soft-top version of the Coupe that made its debut this last summer. It is the first two-seater, open-top model in the company’s history and the sixth model to be added to the automaker’s lineup.
2012 Mini Roadster
Just like the Coupe, the new Roadster is based on the current-generation Mini hatchback so it measures just about the same as the Convertible, standing at 3,734 mm long, 1,683 mm wide and 1,390 mm tall. One major difference is that the Roadster has space for only two people so the cargo space has been almost doubled as you have 240 liters to store your stuff. Other changes include a more steeply raked windshield (by 13 degrees) as well as a lowered height (by 20 mm).
2012 Mini Roadster
The Mini Roadster will be available in Europe starting with the spring of 2012 and it will come in four versions: the entry-level Cooper that has a 1.6-liter gasoline engine that produces 122 hp; the Cooper SD powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine with 143 hp; the Cooper S with a turbocharged 1.6-liter power unit that develops 184 hp; and the hot John Cooper Works (JCW) that is motivated by a turbo 1.6-liter engine that churns 211 hp.
2012 Mini Roadster
For the North American market, the Mini Roadster will probably be available only with gasoline engines. All models come as standard with a 6-speed manual transmission, but there’s also an optional 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Mini Connected is the reworked version of BMW iDrive and features that kind of system that offers you entertainment, connectivity and infotainment functionalities in the same car. Let’s see why we say that:
- connection to your iPhone by using Bluetooth or USB, for taking phone calls, for listening an online radio station, for listening to some of your music or listen to Pandora.
- you can check the timelines on Twitter or Facebook and customize RSS feeds.
- it provides Google search and it includes send-to-car option.
The costs: $2,000 for Mini Connected and additional $750 for the navigation commanding system.
That’s the system working, presented by out colleagues from Autoblog, with details:
Is it too pricy for you, despite all the options it provides?
Based on the 3-door hatchback model, MINI has decided to roll out a special edition series to celebrate the 2012 London Olympic Games. They will make 2012 units of this special edition series in Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S as well as Cooper SD trims, and all of them are going to be available in three exterior colors: Chilli Red, Lightning Blue and White Silver.
All of the trims will get a white roof that has the London 2012 Olympic graphic, along with white mirror caps. Aside from these, the Minis will get a bespoke Union Jack single sport stripe that is running over the hood, roof and the rear tailgate, while on the side scuttles there will be special graphics.
The cars will ride on an exclusive set of 17-inch conical-spoke alloys that you can’t order on other MINIs. Inside the cabin, we find London skyline etching on the passenger side, supplemented by “London 1 of 2012”. That Union Jack color theme we’ve mentioned continues on the headrest piping, along with elegant “Lounge Leather” black upholstery. In addition, the “London 2012” logo can be found on the inner edge of the front seats.
Standard goodies that will come in this limited edition series include chrome interior touches, cruise control, air conditioning and DAB radio.
The MINI Cooper Hatch has a base price of 17,800 pounds, followed by the Cooper D Hatch that costs 19,080 pounds; the Cooper S Hatch which will set you back 20,125 pounds and the Cooper SD Hatch that carries a retail price of 20,860 pounds.
The official debut of the Mini Coupe has occurred this week at the Frankfurt Motor Show where the two-seat fastback promises to be the most dynamic model launched by Mini in all its prolific history. Based on the Mini cabriolet, it will be available in four different flavors: the base Cooper, the hotter Cooper S, the frugal Cooper SD and the top-spec JCW (John Cooper Works) version.
Mini Coupe
They borrowed the floor structure from the cabriolet model so the Coupe has additional bracing in the oversized sills, along with substantial box-section stiffening between the housing of the rear wheels and the fixed bulkhead behind the seats in the front. BMW, who if you didn’t know owns Mini, said that this model has the stiffest body in the company’s lineup, but the downside is that compared to the hatchback, it is 20 kg heavier.
Mini Coupe
Compared to the cabrio, the windscreen of the Coupe is angled rearwards by 13 degrees more so the aluminum hard top is 29 mm lower in comparison to the Mini hatchback. By removing the rear seats, they managed to increase the capacity of the boot to 280 liters, which is the largest among all of the company’s current models. The rear of the vehicle holds two spoilers, a fixed one on the trailing edge of the roof, as well as a flip-up spoiler that rises at 50 mph in order to diminish the lift over the rear wheels.
Mini Coupe
The Cooper S offers 181 hp and a peak torque of 192 lb.-ft in overboost mode. It is capable of doing the 0-62 mph sprint in 6.9 seconds and returns 48.7 mpg UK. The economical SD version is powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine that develops 141 hp and 225 lb.-ft. With this power unit, the car hits 62 mph from start in 7.9 seconds and manages to return 65.7 mpg UK, while CO2 emissions stand at 114 g/km. Regarding the JCW version, it offers 208 hp and 207 lb.-ft in overboost mode, enough to propel the car to 62 mph in only 6.4 seconds, on its way to a maximum speed of 149 mph. Fuel economy for the fastest Mini Coupe is 39.8 mpg.
Mini Coupe
All of the cars come as standard with a 6-speed manual gearbox, while those who choose the JCW version can order the optional 6-speed automatic transmission.
Mini Coupe
In United Kingdom, the price for the standard Cooper starts from 16,640 pounds and go all the way up to 23,795 pounds for the aforementioned John Cooper Works version. The car is scheduled to reach the dealerships in the country at the beginning of next month.
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