Touring car driver turned Fifth Gear host has a chance to compare two lightweight convertibles that you wouldn’t normally put in the same category. He admits to liking the Mini Cooper S Convertible but he says that the Mazda MX-5 is much more fun. So which is quicker around their test circuit the Japanese roadster or the BMW owned Brits?
BMW tuners AC Schnitzer have just revealed their take on the drop top version of the classic English sport compact, the Mini Cooper. The tuners from Aachen not only focused on improving the styling both inside and out of the Mini Convertible, but paid close attention to the vehicle’s performance as well. They started off by adding a pair of aerodynamic lips to the front and rear bumpers of the car, this not only makes the Mini look like more of a racecar, but also helps it to perform like one as well. However, the AC Schnitzer decals are purely decorative.
The optional 18 inch rims not only look great, but also allow the owner to mount wider rubber; this gives the Mini a larger contact patch and greatly improves the vehicle’s handling. The AC Schnitzer suspension components take full advantage of the extra grip from the wider tires; by lowering the vehicle and stiffening the chassis the AC Mini will handle like it is on rails.
The interior of the Mini is already well equipped from the dealer, so AC Schnitzer decided that all it needed was a little dressing up. So the German tuners provided pieces like metal shift knobs, parking brake handles, aluminum pedals and some velour floor mats to make this Mini their own. The German engineers have tuned the little 1.6 Liter engine in the Cooper S to make 226 HP, up from the 175 HP offered from the factory, this is quite an impressive improvement considering the displacement of the motor.
Mini’s factory tuner, John Cooper Works has just revealed another special edition of the attractive little people mover with the heritage of a thoroughbred. The Mini World Championship 50 pays homage to the trio of victories at the Monte Carlo Rally that earned the compact competitor the earned the Mini its status as a giant killer. Based on the current JCW Mini, the special edition is painted in Connaught Green and is signed by John Michael Cooper, offspring of the man himself, John Cooper.
The Mini WC 50 is powered by a 1.6 Liter turbocharged four cylinder tuned by JCW to produce 211 HP, resulting in an outstanding power per liter ratio. The 50 rides on 17 inch cross-spoke alloy wheels, and is dressed up by carbon trim pieces throughout the vehicle.
Like all of Mini’s special editions, the World Championship 50 will come in limited supply, making each one of the 250 examples worldwide, an instantaneous collector’s item.
In celebration of the make’s 50th anniversary, Mini has just announced that they will launch two special edition Coopers in honor of the occasion. Both the MINI 50 Mayfair and the MINI 50 Camden will be released this upcoming September.
The special edition Minis will be available with the choice of two gas burning engines and one diesel offering. Power will range from 120 HP all the way up to 175 HP thanks to a twin scroll turbocharger. The alternatively fueled Mini will make only 110 HP, but because it’s a diesel, should make loads more torque and boast an impressive range.
Dressing up the special edition Coopers, the MINI 50 Mayfair will come with a set of exclusive 17 inch, 12 spoke alloys painted to match the vehicle. While the MINI 50 Camden features a se of similarly sized rims featuring a trio of Silver, White and Black paint.
The next generation Mini Cooper should hit showrooms in about two years from now. Based on the current model, the new Mini will feature some new sheet metal, revised interior and bigger engines.
The front end of the 2011 Mini Cooper will be much different from the current model. The future Mini will feature more aggressive headlamps, a new nose design with a much shorter hood and a redesigned front bumper. The beltline of the future Cooper will be raised up and the taillights will become trapezoidal in shape. Overall the car will have a much more dynamic coupe-like appearance.
The latest spy shots have revealed a larger grill and wider air dam; these touches hint that the 2011 car could have one of BMW’s Valvetronic engines under the hood. That would make for a much more spirited drive for future Mini owners.
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.
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