Posts Tagged ‘mini news’
Small, but significant exterior upgrades highlight the redo.
by Michael Strong on Jan.10, 2018
The the new year, Mini gave its original two-door and four-door model as well as the convertible a freshening.
Mini’s been tweaking much of its line-up for the past two years adding more space, new technology or a mix of both, but it’s finally gotten to the original two- and four-door hardtop and convertible with a few new updates.
Perhaps the most noticeable update will be the new LED tail lamps with the Union Jack design, which were created as a supplement to the new LED headlights. The optional lighting provides brighter lighting, improving safety and enhancing performance.
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Not far behind is an updated Mini logo, which appears on the bonnet, tailgate, steering wheel, central instrument display, remote control and optional driver’s side puddle lighting all models. It is a re-interpretation of the existing logo and now features a two-dimensional “flat design.” (more…)
Tags: Mini Yours Customization program, Mini adds tech to new Mini, Mini freshens original car, Mini mavens getting options, Mini updates original coupe sedan and convertible, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, mini news, new Mini updates for 2018, thedetroitbureau
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Brand offers buyers a chance to put their stamp on a new vehicle.
by Michael Strong on Dec.27, 2017
The new Mini Yours Customised program, Mini owners can personalize their new Minis.
For decades, Mini owners have been customizing their cars with all kinds of lights, roll bars, roof racks and other adornments, not to mention specialized graphics and paint colors, but now the brand has a way to make your vehicle, well, yours.
The Mini Yours Customisation (British brand, British spelling on this one!) program that allows owners to special order parts of their cars with designs, including names, created by the owner. Customers can design personalized inlays for the side scuttles, trims for the passenger side in the interior, LED door sills and LED door projectors, or welcome mats.
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For those looking to take the personalization of their Mini to the next level can select and design the upgrade parts at the new Online Customiser specially developed for the new options. From start to finish, it takes just a couple of weeks, the company says. (more…)
Tags: Mini Yours Personalised, Mini offers custom car program, Mini's custom program, Mini's new personalization program, Mini's newest upgrade, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, michael strong, mini news, thedetroitbureau
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“Driving fun in its purest form.”
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.05, 2017
Mini is looking back to its racing history with its John Cooper Works GP Concept.
Exactly 50 years after scoring a major victory at the Monte Carlo Rally, Mini is offering a hint of its next big race effort with the unveiling of the John Cooper Works GP Concept set to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
A good bit wider than the current Mini, with large front and rear aprons, side skirts and and a can’t-miss rear spoiler, the GP Concept also makes use of plenty of lightweight carbon fiber, the British maker explains, to enhance the three-door Mini’s go-kart-like manners.
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“This is driving fun in its purest form,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, the BMW AG board member who oversees the Mini brand. “The Mini John Cooper Works GP Concept is all about the unfettered feeling of driving and levels of performance found in motor sport competition.” (more…)
Tags: Mini Monte Carlo Grand Prix, Mini debuting grand prix racer, Mini grand prix racer, Mini racing, Mini racing again, Mini racing history, Mini's new race car, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, mini john cooper works gp, mini news, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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British maker adds Electric Concept to long list of debuts.
by Joseph Szczesny on Aug.30, 2017
Mini's new Electric Concept will make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.
The number of electric vehicles ready to make their debut next month at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show continues to grow as Mini announced it preparing to show its Electric Concept at the event.
Given Mini’s history, the introduction of the electric Mini represents something of a third act for the company. In its first iteration, the Mini was an affordable staple of the British automobile era; however, it disappeared after the British companies were broken up and sold off in the 1980s.
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The second act was its re-emergence in the late 1990s with coaching from its new owner, BMW, the German premium brand. (more…)
Tags: 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, Mini EV in Frankfurt, Mini Electric Concept, Mini product plans, Mini's new electric vehicle, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, joseph szczesny, mini news, new electric vehicles, thedetroitbureau
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Shanghai for Mini's new performance crossover.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jan.17, 2017
The JCW version of the new Countryman.
The latest-generation Mini Countryman is the biggest model that the British automaker has ever brought to market. And now, Mini is about to launch the most powerful version of the all-wheel-drive crossover it’s ever produced.
Sharing the turbocharged engine found in other JCW models, the 2018 Mini John Cooper Works Countryman All4 will churn out a hefty 228 horsepower, enough to sprint from 0 to 60 in just 6.2 seconds, or nearly a full second faster than the current Cooper S Countryman All4.
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But Mini has some other tricks up its sleeve, outfitting the new JCW Countryman with a sport-tuned suspension, Brembo brakes, 18-inch light alloy wheels and new sports seats and a sportier steering wheel.
(more…)
Tags: 2018 mini john cooper works countryman all4, Mini SUV, auto news, car news, mini all wheel drive, mini all4, mini countryman, mini jcw, mini news, mini shanghai, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, shanghai auto show, thedetroitbureau
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New Mini-ute gets brand’s first plug-in drivetrain.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Oct.26, 2016
The 2017 Mini Countryman gets an injection of size and power in the new model, which is 8.1 inches longer than its predecessor.
When it first drove onto the scene in 2011, the Mini Countryman rewrote the rules for the downsized brand. And so, with the rest of the line-up growing a bit bigger this generation, it would seem only appropriate that the latest Mini ute also adds a few inches.
But it also gets the brand’s first-ever plug-in hybrid driveline – the first battery system since the all-electric Mini-E was pulled from production in 2010.
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Already the biggest seller in the Mini portfolio, the British maker is hoping to take even bigger advantage of the surge in compact SUV sales with the arrival of the Countryman. Growing by 8.1 inches in length and 1.3 inches in width, it’s “not only the largest Mini we’ve ever built, but it’s also the most technologically advanced,” explains Thomas Felbermair, vice president of Mini of the Americas. (more…)
Tags: 2017 Mini Countryman, Mini Countryman grows, Mini crossover grows, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, bigger Mini Countryman, mini news, not so mini Countryman, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Five-door model gets a performance upgrade.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.20, 2016
The 2017 John Cooper Works edition Mini Clubman puts out 228 horsepower and 258 ft-lb torque.
The brand that showed “small is beautiful” has been playing a different tune lately, the newest additions to its line-up suggesting “bigger is better.”
And that goes for power and performance, as well as interior space when it comes to the new John Cooper Works edition of the 2017 Mini Clubman. The JCW model gets what the maker is describing as a “motorsport-inspired turbocharged four-cylinder engine” that pumps out an impressive 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the highest-performance engine Mini has yet offered.
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“Performance and versatility are part of our DNA and our heritage,” said Thomas Felbermair, vice president of operations in the Americas region for the British maker. “So, naturally, there has always been a plan to bring the John Cooper Works variant to the Mini Clubman model.” (more…)
Tags: 2017 John Cooper Works Mini Clubman, John Cooper Works Mini, Mini's performance brand, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, high-performance Clubman, high-performance Mini, latest JCW Mini model, mini news, new JCW Mini Clubman, new Mini Clubman, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Cross-country trek gives eccentric brand new life, great back.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jul.22, 2016
A thousand people, and several dogs, are taking part in the biennial Mini Takes the States cross-country road trip, which ends in Palm Springs.
“We plan to keep the car until the rims fall off, and then we’ll probably just replace the rims,” laughs Kevin Evans, as he and wife Nancy took a break at Detroit’s Eastern Market.
They’ve already clocked a fair bit of mileage on the 2006 Mini Convertible, and they had more coming during the next few days.
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The Missouri couple were among the thousands of people who were expected to join in and at various stages of the biennial Mini Takes the States drive, a mobile, two-week festival that began in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 9 and will wrap up after a meandering, 4,500-mile trek, in Palm Springs during the weekend. (more…)
Tags: Mini brand, Mini car event, Mini driving cross-country, Mini owners rally, Minis parade across U.S., TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, cross-country Mini rally, mini news, mini takes the states, paul a. eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, thousands of Mini owners
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“A completely individualised, permanently available form of urban mobility.”
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Jun.16, 2016
Mini's vision of the future suggests we'll be more dependent upon car and ride-sharing.
Mini has made a specialty out of squeezing big things into little packages. But how might it take this “clever use of space” philosophy even further?
The British maker is offering up a hint in the form of the Mini Vision Next 100, one of three futuristic concept vehicles unveiled as part of the celebration of parent BMW’s 100th anniversary. The Mini prototype offers up some intriguing ways to enhance ingress and egress while also focusing on the connected car technologies that are rapidly becoming a part of mobile life.
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With the Vision 100, “Mini looks to offer smart and bespoke mobility in cities that engages all the senses. And in the future, you might not actually have to own a vehicle to enjoy the benefits,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, the global director of BMW Group Design.
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Tags: auto news, battery car, car news, car sharing, mini car, mini concept, mini hatchback, mini news, mini vision concept, mini vision next 100, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, ride sharing, thedetroitbureau
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Mini Seven celebrates British marque's roots.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.10, 2016
The new Mini Seven is the first limited-edition spin-off of the latest-generation Hardtop.
Mini has always a premium on customization, so it’s no surprise to see the British maker unveil its first special edition from the latest generation of Mini vehicles.
For those who haven’t been steeped in the brand’s heritage, the name, Mini Seven, harkens back to August 1959, when two very similar models, the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor made their debut, both crafted by legendary designer Alec Issigonis.
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This special version of the newest Mini Hardtop, the 2017 Mini Seven will make its formal debut in U.S. showrooms late this summer in both two and four-door versions. Like the stock Mini Hardtop, the Seven will be available in both Cooper and Cooper S variants.
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Tags: Austin Seven, Mini special edition, auto news, car news, mini hardtop, mini hardtop seven, mini news, mini seven, morris mini minor, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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