The Motor Report has a sweet article about 20 of the the new JCW MINI Challenge cars being airlifted from Germany to Australia to arrive on time to compete in the inaugural Australian MINI CHALLENGE Series! Wait a second - why from Germany you ask? Well according to the article:

“The MINI Cooper Works CHALLENGE cars are built in Plant Oxford, in the UK, the home of all MINI production cars. They are then shipped to BMW Motorsport in Germany for final race fit out which sees the fitment of roll cages, fire extinguishers, six-point safety harnesses and HANS head and neck support compatible race seats as well as competition brakes, wheels and a distinctive aero body kit.”

For some cool photos and the rest of the story, check out The Motor Report!

The website crash.net is reporting some cool news that British GT Championship driver Paul O’Neill and a few others have begun taking the new MINI John Cooper Works Challenge car out to the track for testing at Silverstone. As someone who has played Forza a few times, I am so jealous!

According to the report, O’Neill stated:

“It’s a great car to drive, like a refined touring car,” O’Neill said. “The engine’s very powerful, the power comes in very smoothly and it feels a lot lighter than it looks.

“It’s very good in the middle of the corner and you can get it to hop around, so you can dictate where it goes on the exit – it doesn’t have the understeer you normally associate with front wheel drive cars.

“The ABS is fantastic. I don’t normally like ABS but it’s not intrusive and lets you really brake into the corner.”

[ MINI test for RPM ace @ crash.net ]

Time.com has a cool article listing the 12 most important cars of all time. Of course, the Model T takes top honor for obvious reasons, but you might be interested to know that the BMC Mini took 8th spot:

First car in the world to lie the engine across the vehicle rather than longitudinally. Revolutionary design proved that cars could get smaller —and still be hot. Its technical layout was copied by everybody and is still basically used in today’s small cars. Ten feet long with 10 inch wheels, it handled like a dream.

Big thanks to Snooter for this find!

[ Full Article Here ]

I received an e-mail over the weekend from the folks over at MC²Magazine.com talking about how the US MINI Challenge is actually getting pretty close to becoming a reality. According to MC2 Magazine, MINI USA has been talking to both SCCA and NASA to get the JCW Challenge MINIs competing on the track. One can only hope that enough interest is eventually garnered to have an exclusive MINI Challenge series. I also noticed that this morning, the folks over at MotoringFile.com also posted some news on the subject which corroborates what was sent in the MC2 e-mail. Let’s cross our fingers on this and hope it all pans out!

[ U.S. MINI Challenge Gets Closer @ MC2 ]

MINI USA has once again successfully generated buzz around their next product introduction taking place at the Detroit Auto Show. Various sites around the net are speculating that MINI will be introducing Diesel versions of US-bound MINI Coopers. If true, this is a huge win for those who have petitioned MINI to bring the fuel efficient MINI to the states. Should be interesting to watch as this unfolds…

[ ‘08 NAIAS: Mini to Drop Diesels into U.S.-bound Coopers? ]

Well my inbox was full of press releases today regarding this cool story. If you recall that electric MINI from Hybrid Technologies that has been in the news for the past year or so, you will enjoy this. Looks like Sam’s Club is going to offer the car for sale through its latest catalog for $65,000. Now before you start saying “$65K for a MINI?!?!?” - just remember that the technology used in this car is cutting edge. Think of it more of a concept car and the price, while out of reach for most of us, is probably right in line. In the future, other cars using this technology will be everywhere and the prices will be much lower thanks to this very project.

Here is the official press release:

Mooresville, NC, New York, NY - December 2, 2007 - Hybrid Technologies, Inc. (NASD OTCBB: HYBT - News) www.hybridtechnologies.com, emerging leaders in the development and marketing of lithium-powered products worldwide, is pleased to announce that Sam’s Club Inc., is introducing the all-lithium Mini Cooper for sale through its well know Source guide, which is out December 01, 2007.

Read the rest of this entry »

SONY BMG has partnered up with MINI to provide shuttle services for the MTV Europe Music Awards in Munich on November 1. It appears MINI is using this as a great marketing opportunity by using the MINI Clubman as the shuttle vehicle. 25 Clubmans are slated to be on-hand to move guests to the venue. Pretty cool eh?

[ Sony BMG Celebrates the MTV Europe Music Awards ]

Yes you did read that right - a MINI SUV! I have to admit - at first I thought it was ridiculous for MINI to come out with an SUV-type of vehicle. That is until I started thinking about my wife’s requirements for vehicles that she drives. Four doors is a must and this may be the only MINI that will sport four actual doors (not suicide doors, but REAL doors). So for someone who never could have considered a MINI before, this does bring some possibilities. Do I see the MINI enthusiast aspect declining as a result of all of these MINI variants? Possibly - which sucks for the MINI community, but to BMW it means some large coin as they will probably sell more cars than ever. I have already noticed a large number of new MINI owners who have purchased an R56 recently who have absolutely no interest in MINI events or clubs and who don’t even wave when waved to. The fact is that the new line of cars is appealing to new buyers who are buying these cars more for getting from point A to point B, rather than the community-aspect that once dominated the brand. Will there still be active clubs? Absolutely. We just may not see as many new members as we used to. Well now that I have gone completely on a tangent - let me bring it full circle and link to a cool early concept photo that shows what the vehicle may look like over at AutoExpress. What do you think?

[ MINI SUV Concept Photo ]

Last night, my MINI buddy Scottie used the MINI Motorby program in a most unique and AWESOME way. He used it to propose to his girlfriend, Marle for all to see. And DID they all see!! You see, not only did MINIUSA help out Scottie to arrange the customized Motorby message, they also arranged for local TV crews to cover the most memorable event! Complete with TV helicopters circling overhead, Marle said yes! Check out the video and local news coverage at the links below. UPDATE: Scottie and Luis provided some photos of the event and the MINI USA Swag that was sent to the happy couple, including a letter signed by the MINI USA staff, including Jim McDowell. Check the gallery link below for more!

I personally want to send out a HUGE congratulations to such a great couple. Motor on!

[ Woman Says ‘Yes’ To Drive-By Marriage Proposal ]
[ MINI Motorby Marriage Proposal Video ]
[ MINI Motorby Proposal Photo Gallery ]

Auto Express posted up some nice shots of the new MINI Clubman which really look sharp. While the full story is in their latest magazine that was released yesterday, the did have this to say:

With no direct rivals, the Clubman will have to compete against quirky MPVs like Skoda’s Roomster and premium hatchbacks such as Audi’s A3 Sportback and BMW’s 1-Series. Prices are £14,235 for the entry-level Cooper, £15,400 for the Cooper D and £17,210 for the range-topping Cooper S. Sales start in November.

I will say that the new BMW 1 Series is also looking quite attractive now that it is coming to the US. All I can say is I want my test drive!

[ Clubman Opens up ]