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One of the MINI Coupé JCW press cars was spotted today in New York City stopping for, we can only guess, a big slice of pizza. Keep your eyes open in The Big Apple, as this car will be making the rounds among local automotive journalists. Speaking of which, this photo was snapped just a few blocks from Jalopnik’s headquarters. </img><br/></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

MINI WRC driver Kris Meeke gives us a first-hand tour of his “office” in this video from MINI. He shows off the controls and layout of the cockpit of his MINI Countryman WRC race car — a place where he gets to spend a lot of quality time. It’s sparse in there, but at the same time functionally beautiful in its simplicity. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

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Just what you needed after a weekend of blowing things up, a fresh batch of White Roof Radio. News from Motoringfile? Like we like to do. About a little more chatter about the Fiat 500? Sure, we’ve got that too. And, as an added bonus, we wrap everything up with a little Ask Chad. Speaking of which, we always need questions for the Ask Chad inbox. Fire those questions off to askchad@whiteroofradio.com and we’ll get them answered. Or, rather, Chad will. We do like to help. Woofcast 384 Download |23.5MB | 51:26 |WRR @ iTunes </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

When MINI partnered with racing fabricator Prodrive, we knew that they wouldn’t be building just any ordinary racing car. By choosing Prodrive — the company famous for making Subaru a worldwide household name in rally racing — it was obvious that MINI was taking its foray into WRC very, very seriously. One area where this commitment is particularly evident is in the safety innovations built into the Countryman WRC race car. Specifically, Prodrive has designed unique side-impact structures into the Countryman WRC’s roll cage structure that offers superior protection for the driving team. Complete info after the break. [Official Release] The MINI WRC Team is setting new standards, and for its debut into world rallying has made an important step forward in the safety of its car by designing a ground breaking roll cage. The MINI John Cooper Works WRC’s roll cage has a unique side-impact structure which the engineers from Prodrive believe make it the safest rally car ever. In any accident, be it on the public highway or on a rally stage, a side-impact is the most dangerous, as the distance between the occupants and the point of impact is the smallest. To overcome this, the car has innovative door beams which curve outwards, allowing them to withstand much greater impact forces and to begin the deceleration of the car sooner and over a longer period of time. This significantly reduces the G-forces experienced by the crew. The MINI WRC Team’s Technical Director, Dave Wilcock, explained the simple but very important philosophy behind their work in this area: “The new generation of rally cars are more compact than before, however we wanted to ensure that the crew were safer than ever and also that the car felt as spacious as possible. This brought some unique challenges.” It was in the early days of the project that this work started with the engineers doing an exhaustive study of crash data. “The Eureka moment was the redesign of the side impact protection bars, routing them farther away from each crew member and subtly changing their shape,” explained Wilcock. “In an impact, this brings the structure into play much sooner, allowing softer materials to be specified to safely decelerate the crew over a much longer period of time.” The convex curve shape of the door beams allows them to withstand much higher impact forces than traditional straight bars, as well as feeding the loads into nearby welds in a controlled direction, minimising the chance of failure by tearing. The beams are now so far outboard that they pass through the car’s B-pillars, to which they are welded, contributing further strength to the structure. One important factor that helped this part of the project was the strength of the MINI Countryman bodyshell. “For previous rally cars, we have effectively ignored the original road car bodyshell in calculating the design of the roll cage. However, the Countryman is such a strong and safe car that we very much used this to our advantage and integrated it into the roll cage design, reducing the material we needed to add and so saving weight,” said Wilcock. To evaluate how different roll cage joints and welds performed, Prodrive specially prepared more than 50 roll cage joint samples and carried out physical tests on each one to see how each would fail. This led to the complete redesign of many of the joints and the use of a different welding process, as well as the application of a new grade of steel for the cage tubing. The team is justifiably proud of its achievement which has come at no cost to the car’s performance. Also so safe is the new design that the FIA is now looking to make the unique side impact configuration mandatory in future designs of motorsport roll cages. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

Last Sunday the 26th of June Top Gear Season 17 debuted with Jeremy Clarkson driving the BMW 1M and James May racing the MINI JCW Countryman WRC against a sled. We’ll leave the 1M to our sister site and of course focus on the JCW WRC. Unfortunately this version of the video omits Captain Slow giving the rally car the business on public roads. To say he was impressed would be an understatement. But we’ll have to make due with just the main event: Chris Meeke racing against him is Amy Williams, the British Olympic skeleton gold medalist. We won’t give away the result but we will say (in true Top Gear fashion) it’s very close. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

June 2011 June 2010 % YTD 2011 YTD 2010 % BMW brand 21,637 19,182 12.8 113,705 100,632 13.0 BMW passenger cars 15,474 14,490 6.8 82,338 78,423 5.0 BMW light trucks (SAVs) 6,163 4,692 31.4 31,367 22,209 41.2 MINI brand 5,228 4,149 26.0 29,816 20,953 42.3 TOTAL Group 26,865 23,331 15.1 143,521 121,585 18.0 [Official Release] MINI USA reported sales of 5,228 automobiles in June, a new record for the month. The June 2011 sales are an increase of 26% over the 4,149 sold in June, 2010. “Fuel prices have moderated in the last month or so but we are still seeing an increase in MINI sales” said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. “It’s not just the new Countryman that’s popular but the entry hardtop as well, telling me that more Americans are embracing small cars as a rational choice.” Year-to-date, MINI sales in the U.S. are up 42.3% on volume of 29,816 compared to 20,953 in the first six months of 2010. The January to June numbers are the highest achieved in that six month period since MINI was launched in the U.S. in 2002. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

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Hot on the heels of the Coupe debut, here we have a pre-production prototype of the MINI Roadster getting spied by WorldCarFans in Germany. No big surprises here, just a nice glimpse of the car-to-be. Having now seen the Coupe and how closely it kept to its concept car roots, we expect the production R59 to be pleasantly unsurprising. Head on over to WCF for their full gallery of spy shots. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

Editors note. MINI is insisting that ‘Inspired by Goodwood’ be in all caps. We think it’s plainly ridiculous looking at won’t be following that custom here on MF. As MINI Inspired by Goodwood makes its European debut this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, MINI announces UK pricing for the stunning car which blends Rolls Royce luxury with the unmistakble MINI driving experience. From 30th June 2011 customers will be able to place their order for one of just 1,000 MINI Inspired by Goodwood models priced at £41,000. The first of these unique cars will be delivered in March 2012. MINI Inspired by Goodwood is the result of an exceptional collaboration between MINI and the Rolls Royce Motors Cars design team. The special edition MINI features top-grade materials and the highest level of workmanship. The exterior and interior design features, were conceived at the Rolls-Royce Design division in the Sussex town of Goodwood and provide the car with a luxurious charisma and an incomparably high-quality ambience. Inside the MINI Inspired by Goodwood, specially selected materials and precise craftsmanship guarantee the highest degree of comfort. The dashboard, central console, air vents, carpets, heated lounge leather seats, roof lining, doors and interior cladding all boast the exclusive Rolls-Royce colour Cornsilk. The dashboard and doorhandle surfaces, which are manufactured in Goodwood are finished in Walnut Burr, a premium wood trim exclusive to Rolls-Royce. The MINI Inspired by Goodwood also features cashmere roof linings, sun visors and rear storage tray as well as deep-pile lambswool foot mats – a quality also featured in current Rolls-Royce models. The most striking features of the exterior design are the body finish in the exclusive Rolls-Royce colour Diamond Black metallic and 17-inch light alloy wheels sporting a multi-spoke design. The MINI Inspired by Goodwood is powered by a l.6-litre 135 kW/184 bhp four-cylinder engine with Twin Scroll turbocharger, direct petrol injection and variable valve control. The power unit, which is featured in the new MINI Cooper S – it is the most efficient engine in its displacement class. The MINI Inspired by Goodwood’s range of high-quality equipment offered as standard also includes Xenon Adaptive Headlights, Park Distance Control, automatic air conditioning, an onboard computer, MINI Navigation and the audio system Radio MINI Visual Boost, which includes the Harman Kardon hi-fi speaker system. The car also comes with MINI’s 5 year servicing package; MINI TLC. Customers can find out more about the MINI Inspired by Goodwood at www.mini.co.uk and can place an order at their local MINI dealership. Source: MINI UK News Full Gallery [show as slideshow] [View with PicLens] 12► </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

Download |29.1MB | 1:03:42 |WRR @ iTunes Apologies for the delay in getting this posted. That said, let’s move on. We swapped Chad for Gabe tonight which is always a treat, as long as he isn’t trying to steal the show from me. But, even more Coupe talk, quite a bit more Fiat 500 talk and I even let some Bimmer talk in. And, some Top Gear talk. White Roof Radio live is coming together nicely! We would still love for you to RSVP either way (Yes/No/Maybe) to give us an idea of how many of you fine people are planning on attending. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

The MINI gets compared to a lot of other cars, both here and in Europe. The comparison de jour for the Cooper is the newly stateside Fiat 500. The MotoringFile review of the Fiat 500 goes live in a few hours. In the meantime, we wanted to share this fantastic comparison from Winding Road. Unlike many surface-level, mostly sensationalized comparisons we’ve read in the past few months, Seyth Miersma does a great job of comparing the two cars objectively, on their actual merits. I like the conclusion, because for once it’s not about one car “beating” the other. Drive both, buy one, be completely satisfied, no matter which you chose; that’s the prescription here. We can’t wait to see if the upcoming Abarth version of the Fiat 500 has got what it takes to finally top the Mini, in Cooper S form, too. Here’s to the delicious pain of waiting, and some great small car driving in the meantime. The full article is definitely worth a read. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

Personally, I’m a big fan of creative philanthropy. Being charitable and generous is awesome, but doing so in an interesting way is even better. A great example is the recent partnership between MINI and the iconic band KISS. MINI created four unique, KISS-themed Countryman S four doors, each custom painted to match one of the KISS band members. The cars were then auctioned on eBay to benefit UNICEF. The grand total came to $129,000 raised for Japan relief and global initiatives caring for children in need. At an average of just $32,250 each, that’s not far above MSRP depending on final spec. A modest premium for a good cause and unique MINIs. Kudos to all involved and congrats to the auction winners. Full info after the break. [Official Release] The world watched in horror as the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan; so the legendary rock band KISS partnered with MINI USA and unleashed the power of The KISS Army to battle the elements with dollars – and plenty of them. KISS (www.KISSonline.com) and MINI USA raised $129,000 during an eBay online charity auction of four custom-painted and autographed MINI Countryman vehicles. After shipping, all proceeds will be donated to UNICEF to help children in Japan and other emergency efforts around the world. And the initiative keeps on giving… KISS vehicle wraps based on the auctioned designs are still available for purchase through www.MINIUSA.COM/KISS or local MINI dealerships. MINI USA’s proceeds from those sales will continue to help those in need. “The KISS Army is the greatest army in the world and when they heard the cry for help, they fought back in the best way that they knew how – with their wallets,” said Paul Stanley. “The KISS MINIs are the ultimate way to show your KISS Army colors and it’s a reminder that we have the best fans in the world.” The four custom-painted vehicles are the all-new 2011 MINI Countryman, and each vehicle features the iconic makeup and costume association of one KISS member, including co-founder and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley (Starchild), co-founder and bassist Gene Simmons (The Demon), lead guitarist Tommy Thayer (Spaceman) and drummer Eric Singer (Catman). All of the MINIs are autographed by all four members of KISS and have become instant collector’s items. “The KISS MINIs are rare one-of-a-kind collector’s items and KISS salutes the winners of the auction,” said Gene Simmons. “The new owners have the satisfaction of knowing that they not only have an instant investment that will keep growing in value, but every time they look at the car, they’ll also be reminded that the real value is knowing that their dollars helped children in the greatest need.” “Thank you to the auction participants and MINI owners who bought vehicle wraps, thereby contributing to this charitable effort. MINI USA is proud that our vehicles were featured as part of such a remarkable initiative and helped raise much needed funds,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA. “It is fantastic to see what started as a simple idea grow into something that will touch the lives of so many. UNICEF does great work and I hope that the ties with KISS and MINI have elevated awareness and support of their tireless efforts.” The eBay auction winners are located in North Carolina, Oregon, and Massachusetts. The vehicles will be delivered in the coming weeks to their new homes. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

This weekend MINI competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours and came away two cars running at the end. It was a test and learn race for MINI but they did a little more cracking into the top 50 at one point. However with 24 hours on the most grueling track in the world and a pair of new cars, things didn’t go perfectly. But still there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the result. We’ve pulled together the best of the official footage and the behind the scenes to give you a flavor of the weekend’s activities. It’s also the best look yet at the car and the team. And as we find out at the end of the video, it’s a team that will be competing later this year at Spa Francorchamps. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

MINI enthusiast Ozan Halici sent us a link to his entry in a video competition put on by Castrol Edge in Germany. He’s looking for votes, but given the quality of the video, we have no problem giving him the MF bump. Head on over to the Castrol microsite and click on “Mein Favorite” so we can get Ozan bumped up the rankings. The site might require a bit of clever German language wrangling for those who don’t read/speak it, but it’s well worth the hassle to help push on a great piece of video work. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

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We’ve seen the car in pictures, and on the track. I’ve even seen it in person and sat in the driver’s seat. But nothing quite compares to seeing the JCW Endurance actually at the ‘Ring being driven in anger. And that’s exactly what we have. Almost 10 minutes of the car driving at the track among some of the other competitors. One thing you’ll note about the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, the race-cars are more varied than any other form of motorsport. You’ll see a 1980′s 3 Series being passed by the latest BMW M3 LeMans/ALMS car. It’s quite frankly the most extreme for of endurance racing we can think of. And exactly the kind of race MINI should take on. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

As some of you likely know, there is a race to be run this weekend. And for MINI it’s a pretty big deal. Sure they don’t stand a chance to win outright. But if following the team and their two cars is your goal, you’re going to need to be a bit nimble on the interwebs (provided you’re not in Germany where all 24 hours are broadcast live). So we’ve created a quick guide that should help you find coverage throughout the weekend. You can watch a stream of the race at adac.24h-rennen.de (when it’s working) along with official timing and scoring. Of if you’re preferred method is iOS, you can download this iPhone app (German only) that should give you live timing and scoring as well. Finally Youtube and Justin.tv are your friends. If you know where to look, you’ll find plenty of video either as it happens or shortly afterwards. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

MINI France has commissioned a rather creative Facebook application, MINI MAPS, that combines Facebook, Google Maps and Flash to let you not only race a virtual MINI on virtual roads all over the world. You can challenge your FB friends or just random people using the app. You pick the track, location and even time of day. The game even simulates weather and other environmental factors. Win races to unlock new MINIs and zoom your way up the worldwide rankings. Take that, Farmville. [source: Creativity] </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

The JCW Endurance officially launched this morning at the famed Nurburgring. Powered by a 250 bhp version of the JCW race engine (which itself is mostly the stock engine) the JCW Endurance will take on the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes at the toughest 24 hour race in the world. And now we can actually see it under its own power. We’ve managed to get a hold of some video of the car at the track that gives you a greater appreciation for everything that MINI has done in this one-off race-car. (Second video after the break) In addition to the video, here’s a look at the car from this morning’s launch at the ‘Ring. We’ll have much more on the car and the race in the coming days. </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше

<a href="http://www.motoringfile.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MINI_JCW_Coupe_Endurance_02.jpg"> [View with PicLens] MotoringFile Photos [show as slideshow] [View with PicLens] </img></img> </img> </img> </img> </img> Читать дальше