Mini has launched a special edition Cooper inspired by The Beatle’s guitarist George Harrison’s unique take on a 1966 Mini Cooper S, the vehicle that starred in the band’s Magical Mystery Tour film. The psychedelic Mini will be handed over to George’s wife, Olivia Harrison, at Mini United, a three day enthusiast gathering at the Silverstone circuit in the U.K. The one off Mini will then be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Material World Charitable Foundation, a charity set up by George in 1973. As a final homage to the great rock star Mini will be releasing a new Cooper inspired by the design of George’s creation.
The English automaker Mini is releasing a new value-minded option package that upgrades the appearance of their base models to match that of their higher-performing options. Every version of the Mini Graphite will be covered in a Dark Silver shade of metallic paint, choice of white or black hood stripes, piano black interior and unique Graphite badge on the B pillar. Rolling stock for the upgraded Minis consists of either 15 inch Rotator Spoke rims or 16 inch Bridge Spoke alloys for the Cooper models.
This value minded appearance package will start at £13,075 for the Mini One version, £14,590 for the Cooper version and up to £15,660 for the diesel powered Cooper D.
This is one interesting Mini. The pink convertible was designed by the American designer duo, The Blonds, for the Life Ball, a benefit event to raise awareness and funds for Aids research. The singer songwriter Kate Perry, "I kissed a girl", will escort this one of a kind Mini down the blue carpet at the event where it will be raffled off with all the proceeds going towards the Life Ball.
Formula 1 is full of surprises this season. Like the sudden success of the new for ’09 Brawn GP team and Jensen Button’s ability to stand atop the podium. In the spirit of the nation’s recent reason for national pride with, the automaker Mini has announced the John Cooper F1, a special edition that celebrates the 50th anniversary of John Cooper’s first F1 car.
The Mini Cooper F1 will be unveiled at the MINI United event on May 22nd in Silverstone, England. The vehicle features a flat coat of British Racing Green, high performance JCW drivetrain, a unique aero kit and some exclusive F1 badging throughout. Mini will only produce about a hundred of these limited edition John Cooper F1S.
It was only a matter for time before the in-house tuner division at Mini got tired of twiddling its thumbs. The people at John Cooper Works have already finished
thier work on the new gasoline-powered versions of the Mini coupe and convertible, so now the team may be crossing over into diesel engines.
The high-performance diesel could raise the power of the Mini D’s 1.6-liter engine by almost a third. That translates into going from 110 hp to around 160 hp, without taking the MPGs out of the mid 40s range. The only problem: the diesel Mini is not currently sold in the U.S.
Since the folks at JCW are already stepping outside their usual box, they may just try to take over the whole Mini lineup. Although it was preciously reported that John Cooper Works wouldn’t touch the Crossover, they may just try to cure their boredom again by working their magic on the production version of little SUV.
Mini is having some fun with its new convertible. After all pure entertainment is the only reason to have an "Openometer” that counts the minutes the top is down. Now Mini is using an ad campaign to remind everyone that a Mini convertible should be "Always Open".
Mini wants to put even more wind in your hair. The hottest version of the Cooper, John Cooper Works (JCW), is now available for the new cabrio. The JCW comes with 208 hp for the U.S. (211 hp on European models) and a function Mini calls “Overboost”, which takes the engines 197 lb-ft of torque and raises it to 207 lb-ft by increasing charge pressure between 2,000 and 5,300 rpm.
The JCW cabrio’s 1.6-liter twin scroll-turbocharged engine is the same displacement as the other Cooper models, but its 208 hp is a 33 hp increase over the Cooper S model. The transmission’s gearing is strengthened to handle the extra available power, but fuel economy is still frugal at an estimated 39.8 mpg.
Just like the other Mini convertible models, this one comes with the large 16- inch sunroof that can be created when the top is stopped half-way through the convertible process. There is also the odd/fun “Openometer” that counts the minutes the top has been down on the car.
Sales should begin in April starting at $34,950.
Full details and more pics in the press release after the jump.
At the end of last year we got to see the Mini Cooper and Cooper S Cabrio break cover, but Mini was still saving the hottest version for a cold day in Geneva. The John Cooper Works (JCW) version is on the way, and it will get its first showing in March at the Geneva Motor Show.
The most-powerful drop top Mini will be powered by the same 1.6 liter engine as the rest of the Mini Cooper family. For JCW purposed, a twin-scroll turbocharger is added to yield 211 hp (up from 172hp in the Cooper S) and a peak torque of 192 lb-ft. (up from 177 lb-ft.). The topless JCW will come with upgraded brakes and suspension. Outside the car will get John Cooper Works branding on the front grille and tailgate, a small body kit and a set of 17-inch alloy wheels (18’s optional).
The Mini convertible is now playing catchup to the hard top. The second generation has been available as a fixed roof and wagonish Culbman since 2007, and so now its time to complete the line. So the most noticeable elements on the 2009 Mini Cooper Cabrio when it appears at the Detroit auto show will be the updated bodylines and interior panels that match the rest of the family.
The updated convertible top can be lowered at speeds up to 20 mph, and the large rear roll bar that slithered across the back headrests has now been replaced with a pop-up unit. Like the soft-top on the previous model, there is still a large sunroof that can be created when the top is stopped half-way through the convertible process.
If you’ve driven the coupe, there’s nothing too special underneath the skin of the convertible. It features the same 1.6-liter units from the coupe, making 118 hp and 175 with a turbocharger.
Orders for the drop-top Mini are being taken now, and deliveries should begin by the end of March. Pricing for the 2009 Mini Cooper Cabrio should start at $24,550 for the regular version, and $27,450 for the turbocharged Cooper S model.
BMW will unveil the Mini Convertible in January 2009 at the Detroit Auto Show, with sales to begin later in the spring. The latest spy shots reveal that the differences between the old and new versions of the Convertible are minimal, and the new car retains the current model’s canvas folding roof.
What you see in the spy picture (judging by the paintwork mostly) is a Cooper S model, which will uses the 175bhp 1.6-liter turbocharged engine. This should be good for a top speed of 140 mph and make the 0-62mph sprint in 7.1 seconds.
In europe, the Convertible will be available with a diesel option coupled with BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology for the first time, using the Cooper D’s 1.6-liter 110bhp engine – which should be able to return a combined fuel economy of over 70mpg.
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