If you thought two special edition MINIs were enough, then you probably don’t know the German automaker all that well. Known for their bombastic flair and penchant for the out-of-the-box, MINI has released another special edition vehicle, following in the trail of the Baker Street and Bayswater models.
This one’s called the Highgate Convertible, and comes with plenty of special edition goodies befitting MINI’s quirky personality. For starters, the car has been painted with a new metallic hue - Iced Chocolate - and contrasted by brown and black bonnet stripes with blue edging. Should Iced Chocolate not suit your tastebuds, MINI’s offering two other color options with equally irrepressible names: Midnight Black and White Silver. The Highgate Convertible also receives a brown soft-top to go with a new set of 17" Double Cross light-alloy wheels.
Interior modifications for the special edition MINI Convertible includes leather seats dressed up in Dark Truffle with light contrast stitching and light blue piping. Stainless steel pedals are also offered, as is a Suntouched Brushed Alloy interior trim, and last but not least, MINI’s Chrome Line Interior package.
The Highgate Convertible is being offered on four trims of the Cooper: the standard version, the Cooper S, the Cooper D, and the Cooper SD. Sales for the special edition convertible begin in April 2012.
MINI has never been the shy type when it comes to rolling out special edition models, especially when certain situations call for it.
As an official sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic Games, you can’t come up with a more ideal situation for a special edition Cooper. Heck, they even made two of them.
Joining the Cooper Bayswater Special Edition is the Baker Street Special Edition, a unique trim of the popular Cooper line that pays homage to London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. Similar to the Bayswater model, the Baker Street comes with plenty of unique trims, highlighted by a Rooftop Grey metallic finish with special racing stripes on the hood, black mirror caps, and a new set of 16" alloy wheels. Optional paint finishes - Pepper White and Midnight Black - are also part of the package.
Inside, the Baker Street model comes dressed with unique seating surfaces with a Cross Check Rooftop Grey color for the dashboard and door trim and diamond pattern, light grey contrast stitching for the floor mats, gearshift/selector lever, handbrake gaiters, and seat tags.
The Cooper Baker Street Edition is set to be available on the MINI One, Cooper, One D, and Cooper D models with sales expected to begin in Spring 2012.
With the 2012 London Olympics drawing closer and closer, official sponsors like MINI are starting to get their publicity machines going with hopes of squeezing every last ounce of marketing potential that goes with being an Olympics sponsor.
In the case of the German automaker, the marketing initiative involves the release of two bespoke MINI Cooper models: the Baker Street Edition and the Bayswater Edition.
The Bayswater Edition comes with an exclusive Kite Blue metallic finish with optional Midnight Black and Eclipse Grey finishes available for the Cooper S and SD models. In addition, the special edition "Bayswater" Cooper also received special racing stripes on the hood and side mirrors, a black-finished roof, and a new set of 17" wheels.
As for the interior, MINI dressed up the special edition Cooper’s seats in leather with exclusive colors and two-tone stitching on the gearshift/selector lever and handbrake gaiters. The car also has "Bayswater" lettering on the seat tags and door sills, a Piano Black cockpit trim, stainless steel pedals, and MINI’s standard Chrome Line Interior package.
In addition to the Cooper S and SD models, the Bayswater Edition will also be available for the Cooper and Cooper D models with a sale date pegged for early spring of 2012.
The first downloadable package for the new Gran Turismo 5 became available back in October, followed by a second upgrade package for December, and now GT5 honchos have come up with a third update to to add to the collection. Think they’re overdoing it a bit? Yeah, so do we, but making money is always at the forefront of these decisions.
The new 2.03 update package includes 12 new home themes and wallpapers, better tire wear prediction in B-Spec races, and adjustments to the Chaparral 2J race car’s performance point index. Gamers can also choose between two different packages. Car Pack 3 includes models like the Nissan Leaf, the 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage, the 2011 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, the 2011 MINI Cooper S Countryman, and the classic Volkswagen Beetle. Price for this package is $5.99.
The second update package choice is called the Speed Test Pack and includes an 18.82 miles long track where you can test models like the Red Bull X2011. The price for this package is $3.99.
One of the most talked about sports cars of the year was finally revealed a month ago, and since then, it’s been popping up everywhere, including in the popular racing franchise, Gran Turismo.
For fans of Gran Turismo 5, the thought of finally getting behind the wheel of a Toyota GT 86 is certainly worth the $3.99 price tag attached to the second round of downloadable content for the game.
Polyphony is set to release a Car Pack 2 program and Update 2.02 through the PSN Network just in time for Christmas. For the former, that means you can finally play a slew of new vehicles in the game, including the 2011 Mini Cooper S, the 2010 Volkswagen Golf VI R, the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R, and the 2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition R35. Other fixes and improvements that are part of the Car Pack 2 program include the ability to change wheels on Standard cars, free coupons that allow you to wash cars, change oil, overhaul your engine, or refresh the car body in GT Auto. The CP2 pack also allows you to see how the oil changes, aerodynamic parts, engine overhauls, and racing modifications will affect performance points and engine power in GT Auto. Meanwhile, in screens where the [Garage] and [Driver List] buttons are displayed in the A/B Spec events, Special Events, and Seasonal Events, pressing the ’square’ button will lead you to the [Garage], and pressing the ’triangle’ button will bring up the drivers list.
Then, there’s the Update 2.02, which is important to get as soon as possible if for only one - and only one - reason. By downloading the update, you finally get your hands on a 2012 Toyota GT 86.
