Category Archives: MINI Press

MINI Visits The 2008 Olympics In Beijing

Leave it to MINI to take advantage of the world stage that is the Olympics. If you are in Beijing right now, you just may see some odd rickshaws going by. You see, MINI has taken the rear ends of MINIs and converted them into the MINI Rickshaw. Very cool idea! Kudos to MINI! Full press release is below:

MINI Rickshaw

MINI Press Release:
Munich/Beijing. Just in time for the biggest sporting event of the year, the Olympic Games in the Chinese capital of Beijing, MINI is on top sporting form too – and is making a great start in Beijing! A very special MINI vehicle is providing passengers with a fantastic, unforgettable driving experience of a most unusual type. Locals and visitors to the games alike can move smoothly through the busy traffic in the Asian capital in a MINI Rickshaw made specially for Beijing – a typical MINI experience.
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Last Current MINI Convertible Produced

It is a sad day. The last of the supercharged MINIs finally rolled off the line in Oxford. I had the opportunity to drive a MINI convertible at MTTS 2008 and it was so cool to drive a brand new MINI that still had that awesome whine. At least the last one went to someone from the US. Here’s to a great car!

Last MINI Convertible

MINI Press Release: Already a classic: The last MINI Convertible of the current generation comes off the production line. Global success story with around 164,000 units produced. Munich. Style icon, global player, “value master” and now already a classic. Now that around 164,000 units have been produced, the MINI Convertible of the current generation has reached the end of its production period. As planned, the MINI plant in Oxford ceased production of the open-top four-seater. The final specimen – a MINI Cooper S Convertible Sidewalk painted in metallic White Silver has been sold to a MINI fan in the USA. In the land of limousines, the nimble little automobile with the electrically folding soft top has won over a very loyal group of fans. Only on its domestic market of Great Britain and Ireland were more units of the MINI Convertible sold in the past four years than in the USA.
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650-HP MINI Cooper S Marks Brand’s Foray Into Drag Racing

This was sent in last week and I am bummed I missed it when it came in because this would have been really cool to go out to watch. Not that I could have made it, but maybe some of you all could of gone. Once I find out when this will air, I will let you all know.


MINI Dragster - Pinks All Out

MINI USAís Drag Race Cooper S, Prepared by ABF Performance, Readies for ìPINKS All Outî This Weekend at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ

July 24, 2008Ö After the burnouts are done and the arm-drop signals the start, drag racing enthusiasts attending this weekendís PINKS All Out competition may find themselves cheering on a new crowd favorite ñ the 650-horsepower MINI Cooper S Drag Racer, custom built by ABF Performance. Marking the MINI brandís foray into sport drag racing, the MINI ñ with its 0-60 time of less than 3 seconds, top trap speed of 134 mph and best quarter-mile run of 10.6 seconds ñ is expected to turn in a lightning-fast performance at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, on July 25th ñ 26th.
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JCW Stage 2 Has Arrived!

My local dealer received the new Stage 2 JCW MINI earlier this week, giving us MINIacs more to drool over. Since I will be out of town for the next week, I won’t be able to go check it out in person. However, here is the official MINI press release that should give you an idea of what is in store:

JCW Stage 2 MINI Cooper

The short story behind the new MINI John Cooper Works and MINI John Cooper Works Clubman

Production of the new MINI began in 2001 in Oxford and soon after, the Cooper Car Company in East Preston launched a wide range of John Cooper Works tuning kits and accessories for MINI. This gave MINI owners, obsessed with personalisation and performance, an even greater opportunity to create their perfect MINI. John Cooperís achievements in world motor sport laid the foundations for the John Cooper Works brand. Now in 2008, fans of MINI and the John Cooper Works brand have something new to lust after: the new MINI John Cooper Works, hot off the production line at MINI Plant Oxford.
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BMW Group Working With Fiat Group

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know I really dig the Fiat 500. Well, this press release from MINI shows some really cool things in the works (maybe). It will be interesting to see what comes out of this collaboration.

Fiat and MINI

MINI Press Release (Munich/Turin): The BMW Group and Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) are considering the possibility of co-operation in the areas of architectures and components for their MINI and Alfa Romeo vehicles. A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed by Friedrich Eichiner, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Corporate and Brand Development, and Alfredo Altavilla, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Fiat Group Automobiles and CEO of Fiat Powertrain Technologies.
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BMW To Test Electric MINIs

In case you missed this on every car/technology site out there (MotorTrend, CNET, PC Magazine, you name it), BMW is getting set to test a few hundred special MINIs, each equipped with electric motors (not hybrids). I don’t know about you, but I think it would be nice to bring over the Cooper D until these all-electric MINIs are ready to roll ;).

MINI Press Release (Munich): Over the next months, the BMW Group will be carrying out various series of tests on electrically powered vehicles to determine the alternative drive of the future. Several hundred MINI brand vehicles are being prepared for this. The cars, built in the Oxford plant, will be modified accordingly in Munich and fitted out for trials.
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Enrol at MINIVERSITY at the 2008 British International Motor Show

MINI Press Release: This summer MINI UK will open the doors to a brand new model at MINIVERSITY, the Oxford-based car manufacturer’s home at the 2008 British International Motor Show.

MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works

Between 22 July and 03 August, the UK media and British public will have the opportunity to view first hand some of the smartest things to come out of Oxford in recent years. MINI owners will have access to ëThe Unioní, an area to meet others in the MINI community, while future customers can take a walk through the ëFaculty of Engineeringí and discover the millions of ways to personalise a new MINI. The stand will also incorporate a Quadrangle-style area on which the entire MINI range will be displayed.
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New JCW Is Now Official, But Is It Worth It?

This past week at the New York Auto Show, MINI officially announced the new JCW lineup of both the R56 and the Clubman. With a price tag of $29,200 for the R56 version and $31,450 for the Clubman version, I have to ask – is it worth it? For those wanting a factory car that they can call “stock” and intend not to do anything to it, I suppose the value is there. Not to mention the aftermarket on the “new” generation MINI is still relatively new. I would love to test drive one and see how it handles (would really love to get one on the track). Until then I will withhold judgment. Here is the official press release that came out two days ago:

JCW MINI

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – March 20, 2008… MINI USA announced today the debut of two all new performance models at the 2008 New York International Auto Show. Following their successful World Premier in Geneva, the MINI John Cooper Works hardtop and the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman are showcased at MINI’s display and represent the first new models from the recently integrated John Cooper Works Brand.
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Small Emissions Once Again Make MINI a Big Winner

Here is the latest MINI USA Press Release detailing MINI’s latest award “Best Small Car 2008”:

Fleet News has become the latest media outlet to nominate MINI as a green winner. In the publicationís 20th Annual Awards ceremony, MINI was named Best Small Car 2008 thanks to the introduction of new fuel-saving technologies and amazingly strong residual values.
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