MINI
MINI Takes The States Rally Begins Tomorrow, Autoguide Will Be There
MINI fans will be able to preview the new MINI Countryman as the brand kicks off the MINI Takes The States rally in different locations across the United States starting tomorrow. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and New York City will play host to the start points, and Autoguide will be in New York…
MINI to Compete in 2011 WRC Series With Prodrive-Built Countryman
MINI has officially announced that it will enter the World Rally Championship (WRC) next year, teaming up with Prodrive and running a Countryman crossover. The MINI Countryman WRC is being developed by the legendary Prodrive race team (which helped Subaru win six championships) to run part of the 2011 season as it prepares for a…
Celebrity Designer MINIs are the Belles of the Life Ball in Vienna
If you’re going to hit the red carpet, you’d better be dressed by a designer. And not just any designer will do – it has to be household names. It’s a good thing MINI kept this in mind as it strutted its stuff down the red carpet in Vienna. Making a fabulous debut at the…
MINI to Announce WRC Entry This Week
Rumors that MINI will enter the World Rally Championship have been swirling for almost a year now, but that could all end later this week. According to the most recent reports, MINI will confirm its intentions to join the WRC series later this week with renowned British racing firm Prodrive set to take over operations…
MINI Minor Concept to Debut at Geneva Auto Show
MINI will unveil a new concept car at the Geneva Auto Show next March that will foreshadow a future model to slot in underneath the current Cooper range and compete with the likes of the Smart fortwo and Toyota iQ. Possibly called the MINI Minor, the concept car will be based on a shortened version…
MINI Countryman Specs Released
MINI‘s Countryman SUV is likely going to have some tough competition from the Nissan Juke, but the announcement of some specifications for the newest MINI should take away from some of the buzz that Nissan’s strange-looking crossover has been enjoying. The Countryman’s engines will be familiar to most car fans, with a 1.6L, 122 horsepower…
MINI Canyon 3-Door Under Consideration, Based on Countryman
After the positive reception given to the Beachcomber concept, MINI is interested in bringing a similar model to market, but one that could take the form of a 3-door Countryman. According to BMW company insider Scott27, MINI just doesn’t see a market for the Beachcomber concept, due to its 4-doors and niche-market appeal – namely,…
BMW And MINI Get New Special Editions For The Japanese Market
The original Mini was an immensely popular car in Japan, and the new one seems to be doing well in its position as a “premium” compact car. To help generate excitement after 4 years of the same body style, MINI is launching the Saville Row edition, which, ironically, is only available in Japan. Sporting a…
Smart Wraps Up the ForTwo with Customized Vehicle Wraps
How do you stand out from the huddled masses in traffic? If you’ve got a Smart ForTwo, there is a multitude of ways, thanks to their new vehicle wraps. You’ve got one on your phone, you might as well get one for your car too. Wraps are the latest way to customize your car. Following…
Refreshed 2011 MINI Lineup Officially Unveiled
MINI has just officially taken the wraps off its refreshed 2011 lineup of models and while we’re sure the MINI-faithful will debate the changes for months and years to come, were not sure most folks will notice the difference. It’s a good think the original design of the car is timeless. Notable updates include the…
Porsche Beats MINI at its Own Game, MINI Still Comes Out On Top
With Porsche refusing to take part in MINI‘s challenge to race at Road Atlanta (which was neither a real race, nor actually on the track at Road Atlanta), MINI decided to go ahead and stage the comparo anyway. And the plucky British automaker… lost? That’s right, the MINI Cooper S couldn’t best the German juggernaut…
Hyundai Calls Out MINI, Offers to Stand-In for Porsche at Road Atlanta Race
By now were sure you’ve heard about MINI‘s challenge to Porsche to come out and race at Road Atlanta. A genius piece of marketing no doubt, but it appears two can play at this game as Hyundai has just turned the tables on MINI in a new YouTube video, offering to step in for the…
MINI Countryman to Compete in WRC in 2012?
MINI is set to join the World Rally Championship in 2012, competing with the new Countryman crossover. Rumors to this extent swirled just ahead of the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year where the Countryman was unveiled, but nothing ever came of it. The MINI fans at MotoringFile say the project is still in the…
MINI Taunts Porsche in Rocky IV Training Montage
It’s possibly the best 80’s montage of them all; yes, we’re talking about the training scene from Rocky IV where the underdog Balboa trains in a wooden hut in the Russian countryside while Captain Ivan Drago (aka, Dolf Lungren) pumps up on steroids and makes use of the world’s most sophisticated machines to tone his…
MINI Exploring New Models Says Design Boss
In a recent interview MINI design boss Adrian van Hooydonk admitted that the BMW sub-brand is looking at expanding with new models in the future. “Because Mini is on the threshold of turning into a proper brand, we will be looking at a pallet of models for the future,” he told AutoCar. But that’s not…
MINI Re-Challenges Porsche to Road Atlanta Race: Puts Justin Bieber Tickets on the Line
Exploiting social media for all it’s worth, MINI isn’t about to let up on its David vs Golliath challenge. As we’re sure you recall, MINI recently challenged Porsche to a race at Road Atlanta. Porsche subsequently declined, trading MINI’s fun jabs for biting disdain of the fun British brand. (Funny, we always thought German’s were…
Porsche Shoots Down Proposed MINI Race At Road Atlanta
MINI’s challenge to race their Cooper S against a Porsche at Road Atlanta didn’t go over so well. The publicity stunt initiated by MINI USA’s Jim McDowell was met with a terse and dismissive response by Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev Von Platen today, as he issued a statement where he declined McDowell’s challenge,…
New Suzuki Swift Pictures Released
One day after spy photos of the new Suzuki Swift were captured, Suzuki has released official shots of their new MINI-rivaling subcompact, and the car looks great, despite it being more of an evolution than a clean-sheet design. The car is slightly long, lower and wider and weight has been reduced, though Suzuki didn’t specify…
BMW’s Active Sound Design Gives MINI Cooper V8 Sound [video]
Last week we brought you a story about an innovate technology BMW is working on called Active Sound Design. The primary use of the technology is in sound deadening using an electro-acoustic system (aka, your car’s stereo) to minimize or change the sound you here. This is particularly important for BMW when it comes to…
Next-Gen BMW 3 Series to Get Turbo 3-Cylinder
News that BMW is developing a new direct-injection turbocharged 3-cylinder for the next generation of MINI models has been circulating for a few weeks now, but now it appears as though the same pint-sized powerplant will be used in the BMW lineup as well. According to a recent report by the well-informed MINI faithful at…
Mini VP: Coupe, Roadster, To Arrive Within Two Years
Two stripped down models will join the MINI range within two years of the debut of the MINI Countryman crossover, one a Coupe, the other a 2-seat Roadster. “The Coupe will arrive six months after the Countryman, and the Roadster 12 months after the Countryman,” said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA. The Countryman will…
MINI Coupe On Sale Next Summer, Roadster to Follow Six Months Later
The production MINI Coupe is set to hit dealerships across North America next Summer. According to Mini Vice President Jim McDowell, MINI will use a six-month buffer between models an with the Countryman crossover set to arrive in February of next year, the Coupe should then be available in August of 2011. That would then…
Mini Vs. Porsche Race Is A Great Publicity Stunt That Might Just Work
A video and a series of print advertisements from MINI has the BMW subsidiary throwing down the gauntlet against German sports car maker Porsche, challenging them to a “race” at Road Atlanta, daring them to let their 911 Carrera go up against the diminutive MINI Cooper S. This challenge sounds fun on paper, but MINI never really defined the…
MINI Planning 7-Seat ‘Countryman Plus’ Model
The MINI brand looks to expand in a big way – and not just in numbers either. While several new models are set to debut over the next few years, the biggest news might just be an even bigger model. According to a report by the notoriously speculative AutoExpress, MINI plans to introduce a larger…
