Entries Tagged 'Mini' ↓

Mini just revealed the Mini E on Friday, scheduled to be revealed at the 2008 LA Auto Show. The E stands for electric, as the major difference between this and the standard Mini is the all-electric drivetrain. The Mini E will be produced in a limited quantity of 500-1000 units and leased to customers in a few major cities.

After the Mini E’s debut at the upcoming Los Angeles auto show, 500 Mini Es will be distributed to customers in California, New York, and New Jersey early next year as part of a pilot project to road-test the car. Select private and corporate customers will lease the cars for one year with the possibility of an extension, during which the Mini Es will be inspected every 3000 miles or six months. BMW will also stay in regular communication with the drivers to keep track of vehicle performance. All repairs will be covered by the lease and performed by special technicians at bases set up in the states where the cars will be leased. If necessary, the technicians will travel to other Mini dealerships if a car can’t make it back to a base.

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A unique MINI featuring a visually stunning exterior designed by legendary artist, illustrator and graphic designer Alan Aldridge, is now on show at the Design Museum in London. The MINI Aldridge Special is an exhibit in a retrospective display of Alan’s work, entitled ‘The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes’.
Alan Aldridge is known primarily for his creative work throughout the 1960s and 70s. Dubbed ‘The Graphic Entertainer’, Aldridge illustrated lyric books for the Beatles, album covers for The Rolling Stones, The Who and Elton John, was Art Director for Penguin Books and illustrated much-loved children’s books such as ‘The Butterfly Ball’.

Now working in Los Angeles, Alan Aldridge was keen to mark the opening of his exhibition by recreating an iconic cover of the Sunday Times Magazine, which in 1965 featured a classic Mini painted in his own, inimitable style. The updated interpretation of this image, using a new MINI One as the canvas for Alan’s design, featured in the 12 October 2008 edition of the publication. Again, warranting front cover status.
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The MINI Crossover Concept.

The MINI brand is continuing its overwhelming story of success – now taking a new approach with the MINI Crossover Concept.

This Design Study offers a fascinating outlook at a new facet of the brand powerfully expressed by a truly innovative body concept – the fourth body variant, to be precise, following the classic two-door, the MINI Convertible, and the MINI Clubman.

The MINI Crossover Concept is a new model variant for the first time measuring more than four metres in length, with four drive wheels, four doors and four single seats. These features alone place the new car right in the line of vision of new target groups seeking to combine the individual style of the brand with enhanced versatility within the interior and innovative functionality throughout.

A universal, multifunction fastening rail, the MINI Center Rail, extending between the seats on the centre console of the MINI Crossover Concept, offers not only offers unconventional storage options, but also provides a consistent link between the front row of seats and the rear.

A further highlight within the MINI interior is the innovative central instrument in three-dimensional finish, the MINI Centre Globe.

This combined control and display unit formed as a globe featured for the first time in an automobile worldwide sets new standards for the integrated control of entertainment, communication, navigation, and vehicle functions.

The MINI Crossover reflects not only the potential of the MINI model family in growing further and further to new dimensions, but also the innovative power of MINI’s designers. In this case, the outlook at an additional MINI concept is enriched by a wide range of visions expressing a unique driving experience and way of life only a MINI is able to evoke.

All innovations presented in the MINI Crossover Concept are conceived to expand that characteristic MINI feeling by yet another new dimension.

The innovative character of the new car comprises its body design as well as the drivetrain, the interior and the control concept. Indeed, offering options and versatility of this kind, the MINI Crossover Concept opens up new dimensions in mobility also beyond urban life.

All-wheel drive – the foundation for a new MINI feeling.
A new MINI offers more – and does so in unique style every time.

The MINI Crossover Concept clearly expresses this principle, its all-wheel drive serving to give the new model an even wider range of practical use in new areas and a new experience on routes already driven. But in doing so the MINI Crossover Concept is not limited to the usual status of a conventional all-wheeler. Rather, to offer its additional mobility potential even more consistently, the Concept Car comes with numerous design features making it an all-round talent for a unique experience in everyday life, for enjoying leisure time to the utmost, for adventure travels of all kinds and for travel planning. Hence, the MINI Crossover Concept looks at new objectives and, at the same time, new target groups. Continue reading →

Style icon, global player, “value master” and now already a classic. Now that around 164,000 units have been produced, the MINI Convertible of the current generation has reached the end of its production period. As planned, the MINI plant in Oxford ceased production of the open-top four-seater. The final specimen – a MINI Cooper S Convertible Sidewalk painted in metallic White Silver has been sold to a MINI fan in the USA. In the land of limousines, the nimble little automobile with the electrically folding soft top has won over a very loyal group of fans. Only on its domestic market of Great Britain and Ireland were more units of the MINI Convertible sold in the past four years than in the USA.
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So far we’ve known the upcoming Mini SUV, or SAV, as the Mini Colorado. However in a recent conversation with Auto Motor und Sport, Mini’s CEO said that the Colorado is only the working title. When the next Mini variant hits the roads in 2010, it may carry the name ‘Crossman.’

Engine sizes for the Mini SAV are expected to start at 1.4 liter and will go up to 1.6 liter. A 2.0 liter variant could also be in the works.

BMW will be outsourcing production of the SUV to Magna International. The Mini Crossman is expected to hit the roads around 2010 with 80,000 units planned annually.

Source : egmcartech