If you have been following this site for the past couple of weeks, you know that I have been traveling a bit to Sebring for some track time and doing some dyno research, not to mention helping the good folks over at Sunshine MINIs prepare for the registration launch of Mickey and MINI 3! Needless to say, I have had to settle for READING the latest news out of Oxford rather than blogging about it. However, now that I have a moment, this one press release is worth posting about, even though it may be a week or so old.

In a nutshell, MINI will be revising the MINI hatch productline later this year in a way that will bring a 72.4mpg Cooper D (without hybrid technology!), Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start-Stop Function and Switch Point Display. It sure makes me wish that MINI would bring the Cooper D over here to the states. DB over at MotoringFile.com has taken this wish to an interesting level by asking readers to answer a few questions like “Would you seriously purchase a diesel powered MINI?” in hopes that MINI will see this and encourage them to bring the car over here stateside. With fule creaping up to record prices, a Cooper D may be just what the mechanic ordered ;).

Continue reading The 72.4mpg MINI →

If you signed up for MINI United 2007, you will be receiving in the mail the MINI United 2007 Starter Kit. The kit is a folder containing a MINI United quick access badge, iron-on patch, stickers for your MINI, MINI International #2007 Amsterdam booklet, and welcome letter.

Continue to see the inside contents of the Starter Kit.

Continue reading MINI United 2007 Starter Kit →

After six short years, the one millionth MINI was produced in Oxford recently. To do this, MINI has had to ramp up production to 700 MINIs per day (only 300 cars were produced daily back in 2001)! This millionth MINI is like no other, however…

Like all MINIs, the one millionth car was produced to customer order. In this case the ‘customer’ is BMW Group’s heritage division, Mobile Tradition. The designers of the landmark MINI Cooper S were inspired by classic MINI features, but in spite of its numerous special options the one millionth MINI was produced in the regular series production process – a testimony to the plant’s considerable flexibility.
The sporty and unique exterior design of the one millionth MINI is characterised by the colours white (‘Pepper White’) and green (‘Almond Green’). One of the special highlights is the graphic on the roof which consists of one million little MINIs. The white and green colour theme is also reflected in the car’s leather interior, the basic colour of which is black with black-and-white dÈcor surfaces.
– MINI UK Press

Friday, January 19, 2007

MINI: The Book: More than a car, more than a book

The cult goes on: For everyone who can’t get enough of MINI, there is also now an interesting book. MINI fans will be enthused.

Nearly simultaneous to the 100th birthday of Sir Alec Issigonis and the launch of the new MINI, there is now the first official book about the fascination of the MINI marque. From the design and the development, to the technology and history, up to the MINI CHALLENGE – MINI moved. There is something for every taste in the book, because each chapter has something different to offer.

“Only a single call had transformed Paul Chantryís office in the operationís center into an industry thriller. Up to then it was an ordinary office on the upper floor of a car factory.” Thus begins the thriller, which Joachim Bessing wrote about the transfer of the MINI works from Longbridge to Oxford. This chapter shows how unconventionally MINI deals with supposedly matter-of-fact topics.

Therefore, MINI is also so unique as global marque. Its international adaptiveness is made clear in a photo-chapter. Ten artists from cities such as Istanbul, Buenos Aires, and Hong Kong embedded the new MINI into their culture. It goes further with the Swinging Sixties and the unmistakable British roots of MINI, embodied in the style icons Paul Smith and Mary Quandt. Paul Smith experienced the birth of the proto-Mini in the midst of the cultural explosion of the wild London times: “I was from the outset a giant fan, because the original design was equal to its function”.

In the following chapters among other things the three icons of the MINI era are presented: Alec Issigonis, inventor of the Proto-Mini, John Cooper, who brought MINI to the racetrack, and Rauno Aaltonen, which help bring him fame in Monte Carlo from 1965 to 1967. Three unconventional thinkers, without whom the MINI would not be what it is today. It continues with the journey through the MINI world. The most sensational actions around the MINI are put down in the book. Whether the entry in the Guinness Book of Records, the MINI XXL stretch-limousine, the Bisazza MINI, or as a Christmas tree in London ñ the book shows: MINI is more than just a car. MINI: The Book is a must on the bookshelf of every MINI lover and those who want to become one.

MINI: The Book can be had from HOFFMANN UND CAMPE at a price of 29.90 euro. [Sold by Amazon.de]

[Translated by James from MINI.de]

It appears that right now this book is only offered in German. We’ll let you know if we find it offered in English, either ours or the Queen’s.

Update: We have confirmed the book is in English.†