With all the buzz swarming around the new MINI Clubman, new owners are gearing up to take delivery of these new vehicles and thinking of mods already. As usual, Pete from Minspeed.net is one step ahead of the competition. Listening to the criticism from many who have been studying this new MINI, he has taken the steps to provide, what many consider, to be the first necessary mod to the Clubman - Rear C Panel (rear trim) replacements to match the body color of the rest of the car. If you haven’t checked out Pete’s website, take a moment to check it out and tell him MotoringFun.com sent you .
Our friends at ALTA Mini Performance are hosting an open house on Saturday February 23, 2008 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. They will have dyno runs, tours of their new digs and even a new MINI Clubman! For complete details, click the photo below! Tell them MotoringFun.com sent you .
If you read “Sebring In The Rain”, you know that we had a photo shoot at the track with some models for an upcoming calendar. Well I am proud to announce that Massive Motorsport and The Complete Tire Company has released the 2008 Models Wearing MINIs Calendar, featuring some of the MINIs you have seen on MotoringFun.com and fellow Team Minspeed members! To order your very own copy which will ship within 3 days, call Victor @ . Tell him you saw it here at MotoringFun.com!
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.
Well they finally did it! ALTA has released their test and tune results on their R56 turbo kit. From the looks of things, power is increased higher up in the RPM range by trading a bit down low. This is not necessarily a bad thing for those of us who track our cars . For a full write up, check out the link at the bottom of this post.
Now that the holiday season is in full swing, make sure your family knows where to shop for your favorite gifts. For help, click the sponsors link above . If you are looking for a nice little mod that will free up your airflow in your JCW airbox, take a look at the ITG JCW filter from Minspeed. I recently just installed this unit in my ‘06 MCS and am very pleased.
Compared to the insanely expensive paper filter from MINI, this lifetime filter is the ticket! It is washable and fits perfectly. I have even noticed an improved supercharger whine. There is a version for the R56 as well! Give Pete from Minspeed a call today and let him know MotoringFun.com sent you!
Our good friends over at ALTA MINI Performance have made a very exciting announcement with regards to their new ECU product. Check out the full press release below:
ALTA Performance is pleased to officially announce the relationship and partnership with UNICHIP of North America! The contracts are finally signed, the vehicle prepped for the SEMA release, dyno results completed, packaging approved, and final approval from UNICHIP North America to make this announcement.
The ALTA Plug-n-Play ECU is a simple half hour installation that is completely reversible at anytime you choose. There are no wires to cut, or sensors to mount. Simply follow the included directions and within minutes you can have LOTS more power.
Essentially, the ALTA Plug-n-Play ECU is a separate computer all its own. It takes signals from both the engine sensors as well as the existing ECU and modifies them to establish changes in ignition timing, boost levels, etc. What ALTA brings is extensive dyno testing and tuning of the mapping to make this power. We offer programming that is specific to the level of performance you desire as well as with the other ALTA components you have added or will add to your vehicle. Thus if you have a bone stock R56 or one that has the entire ALTA catalog added to it already, and you wish to add the ALTA Plug-n-Play ECU you can do so immediately and see significant gains in power. The beauty of this is, that if you change things along the way you can get an updated map from ALTA to match that for a nominal fee, and no downtime. For example if you have a map for a stock R56 with ALTA Cat-Back Exhaust, then add an ALTA Intake you can then call us and request to update your ALTA Plug-N-Play ECU! The possibilities are endless.
AC Schnitzer announced its tuning package for the R56 MINI this week. Although so far the modifications include suspension, exterior and interior touches, and exhaust, engine enhancements are sure to follow. All in all I like what they have done to the R56 from a cosmetic perspective. For full details, click the link below the photo.
You may recall hearing about this electric MINI being developed by Hybrid Technologies earlier this year. Actually they have been working on it for over 2 years now and it is finally ready for production.
Just got word that ALTA is moving into some new digs, complete with a dyno tuning facility. Very cool!
The ALTA Performance Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of its new headquarters in Hillsboro, OR. The 30,000 sqft building, which is adjacent to Intel’s™ Hillsboro campus, will accommodate all of ALTA’s manufacturing, assembly and sales staff as well as a boutique style outlet & dyno tuning facilities.
In a statement on the completion of acquisition of the Headquarters building,
ALTA’s C.E.O. Adam Taft said:
“I am extremely pleased to make this step forward for our company. The new facility will enable us to gather all of our staff, machinery and vehicles into one building as well as have an extraordinary show room. We finally have a gathering place for like minded automotive enthusiasts.”
ALTA HQ.
3111 N.E. Shute Rd. Hillsboro Oregon 97124
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
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3 Comments 
Posted by Pedro in Modern MINI, MINI Products 
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