M7 Tuning Sponsors North American MINI Cooper Championship

Our friends over at M7 Tuning have just signed on as official sponsors of the North American MINI Cooper Championship. M7’s continued committment to the MINI community is shown time and time again and I think this is a great addition to the series. Check out the full press release below.

North American MINI Challenge M7 Tuning

NASHVILLE — M7 Tuning of Lakewood, California is the latest addition to the growing list of ìofficialî sponsors of the North American MINI Cooper Championship (NAMCC). As an ìofficialî sponsor of the NAMCC, M7 Tuning has agreed to equip and modify the Phil Wicksí MINI Cooper ìSî to NAMCCís Group 4 configuration in preparation for the 2007 NAMCC season.
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RSR MINI at Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series

This past weekend I attended the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway to support the # 197 RSR Motorsports Grand Am MINI Cooper S. I took my 2 yr old son (almost 3) along so he could experience his first race and he had an absolute blast! Even though the # 197 MINI had some problems and could not complete the race, it was great seeing it in person and giving my son a chance to see a MINI on the track for the first time. Here is some video footage I shot while I was there (sorry for the shaky footage – hard to keep camera rolling and keeping tabs on a 2 yr old!! :)).

[ Photos of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge ]

US MINI Clubs To Break Guinness World Record

I received this from Simon Biggs of Checkered Flag MINI the other day and thought it would be a great idea to get the word out. Hopefully we can get as many MINIs/Minis involved to smash the world record and benefit the families of fallen NAVY SEALS. If you can get to Virginia Beach on June 10th, please take some time and help these guys out!

US MINI Clubs To Break Guinness World Record

MINI/Mini CLUBS GET TOGETHER TO BREAK GUINNESS WORLD RECORD AND BENEFIT THE FAMILIES OF FALLEN NAVY SEALS.
On JUNE 10th 2007 at 3pm in Virginia Beach, Se7en Cities MINI, HR Club MINI, River City MINIs and DCMetro MINI along with others from PA and NC will attempt to break the record for the most MINI/Minis in a parade. The current record is 269 set in Blackpool England on March 28th of this year. The event is to benefit the Families of Fallen Navy Seals. There is no registration fee and all are encouraged to participate. Visit www.sevencitiesmini.com for more information. The rally point is the Virginia Beach Amphitheater at 2pm with an after party at Conklins Irish Rover for Live entertainment and a Raffle. T-shirt will be available for purchase along with other commemorative items.

We invite all MINI/Mini owners to participate and bring the record to the US and raise funds for a very worthy cause. Thanks in advance, and we look forward to making many new friends and having a FUN event.

Motoring Regards,

Simon Biggs
Checkered Flag MINI

Electric MINI Cooper

Check out this video from Popular Mechanics about a lithium ion-powered MINI Cooper designed by Hybrid Technologies:

(This MINI) sports a 78kW electric motor, can get up to 200 miles on a charge and recharges in six to eight hours. Inside, the only real changes to the Mini interior are that the back seats are gone (your batteries are now your ì+2î) and the gas gauge now reads permanently empty because as far as your vehicleís instrument cluster is concerned, you have no gas.

[ Electric Mini Cooper: Test Drive @ Popular Mechanics ]

MINI 50 Years – in Bookstores Soon

Although not due to be released until April 15th according to Amazon.com, yesterday I got my hands on a copy of MINI 50 Years by Rob Golding. Here’s the description from the back cover:

From swingin’ sixties darling to racing champ to twenty-first-century hipster transport, the diminutive Mini has made it big from the first. A favorite among patient, nostalgic drivers and now among new, performance-minded drivers, Mini and MINI seamlessly combine economy and style. With a smart book design as playful as the car that inspired it, MINI 50 Years tells the full story of the iconic car, from its initial launch in the late 1950s through its current superhip BMW-built incarnationóright up to the revised version released in late 2006. The threads that tie together the original Mini and today’s are numerous and fascinatingóalmost as interesting as the differences that set the two cars apartóand MINI 50 Years follows them all.

MINI 50 Years

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