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MINI is both the name of a subsidiary of BMW, and a car produced by that subsidiary since 2001. The car is marketed as a "retro" redesign of the original Mini, which was manufactured by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 to 2000. To distinguish it from its predecessor (the 'classic Mini'), the brand name for the new car is MINI (written in capital letters). It is often called 'The BMW MINI', 'The New MINI', or simply 'MINI'. The MINI is manufactured in Cowley in Oxford, United Kingdom, in what was historically the Morris car plant.
Models
The MINI is available in seven models: the MINI One D, the MINI One, the MINI One Convertible, the MINI Cooper, the MINI Cooper S, the MINI Cooper Convertible and the MINI Cooper S Convertible. In Portugal, the MINI One is powered by a 1.4 l version of the Tritec engine but all other gasoline powered MINIs use the 1.6 l version. Since 2004, a soft-top convertible option has been available across the entire range. Gateway to Official MINI websites worldwide
There are numerous styling and badging differences between the models, perhaps the most obvious are that the Cooper S has a distinctive hood scoop cut into the bonnet (which improves airflow over the top mounted intercooler), it also has twin exhausts. The (non-S) Cooper has more chrome parts than the MINI One and has a single exhaust. The MINI One/D has no visible exhaust pipes at all.
In some markets, such as Australia and the US, only the MINI Cooper and Cooper S are sold because the MINI One's engine was considered to deliver insufficient power to run an air conditioner - a necessary feature in those climates. However, the only difference between the engines in the 'One' and the 'Cooper' models is a software change within the engine control unit which is tuned for optimum fuel economy on the MINI One and for a compromise between power and economy on the Cooper. Almost fifty percent of all MINIs sold in Australia and about seventy percent of those sold in the US are the top-of-the-range Cooper S model.
The names Cooper and Cooper S echo the names used for the sportier version of the classic Mini which in turn come from the involvement of John Cooper and the Cooper Car Company. The Cooper heritage is further emphasised with the John Cooper Works (JCW) range of tuning options that are available with the MINI.
Technology
The MINI One, Cooper and Cooper S use a Brazilian-built Tritec engine while the MINI One/D uses a Toyota-built diesel engine. While the modern MINI uses none of the engineering of the original Mini, it does capture much of the spirit of the classic car. Like the original, it uses a transversely-mounted four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels. All four wheels are pushed to the corners of the body which is a 'two-box' or 'hot hatch' design. The styling of the car, like that of the Volkswagen New Beetle, is a retro design that is deliberately reminiscent of the original Mini with contrasting roof colours, optional bonnet stripes, optional rally lights and with black trim around the wheel arches and rocker panels that mimic the wide wheel flares found on many classic Minis.
The MINI One and MINI Cooper are available with a continuously variable transmission or with a conventional Getrag five-speed manual transmission. The Cooper S comes with a six-speed Getrag manual or (from the 2005 model year onwards) a fully automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
Technical innovations include an electrically driven power steering system that avoids taking power from the engine when accelerating out of corners, and equal length driveshafts to eliminate torque steer. The MINI has a 'drive by wire' electronic throttle, electronic brakeforce distribution, and electronic stability control to improve control and handling in adverse conditions. These innovations give the MINI vastly better handling than any of its competitors.
Adding a supercharger to the Cooper S model required that the battery be relocated into the rear of the car — leaving no room for a spare tyre. Hence this model comes with run flat tyres as standard.
Convertible
At the 'Salon International de l'Auto' (Geneva Motor Show) in 2004, MINI introduced a cabriolet (convertible) model which was released in the 2005 model year and available in One, Cooper and Cooper S versions.
The convertible roof is fully automatic — an unusual feature in such a small car — and can be opened partially to act as a sunroof whilst the car is driving at speed. The convertible model forsakes the rear hatch of the hardtop MINI — replacing it with a drop down 'tailgate' design reminiscent of the classic Mini and incorporating similarly prominent external hinges. The convertible also adds two small power windows for the rear seat passengers which are retracted automatically as the roof opens. The roof is made from a heavy cloth with many layers of insulation; the rear window is of glass and has a heater/defroster but no washer or wiper.
As a joke, (and undoubtedly as a part of MINI's viral marketing approach) purchasers of the MINI convertible were asked to sign a 'contract' promising that they'd drive the car with the roof open at least 90% of the time. MINI also set up a telephone hotline (in the USA: 1-888-DO NOT CLOSE) which one may call to report convertible owners who are driving with the roof up inappropriately. The automated system offers such helpful advice as how to administer a wedgie to the offender.
Success story
Whilst the car has been criticized for its poor space-efficiency compared with the original Mini (despite its significantly larger size), its faithfulness to the original's razor sharp handling characteristics and its unique styling has seen the MINI become a sales success in Europe and (from 2002) in the U.S..
BMW has received a significant backlog of orders throughout the life of the car and the Cowley factory is working at its full capacity of around 100,000 cars per year; all of this with little conventional advertising.
The car has featured in many movies, most notable of which is the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. (See also: List of movies in which Mini cars are featured.)
As with the classic Mini, the new MINI has a widespread club and enthusiast following and strong after-market support for performance upgrades and styling enhancements. Such community support keeps the brand highly valued and shows BMW's decision to relaunch the MINI as a successful business strategy. The MINI Cooper/Cooper S won the North American Car of the Year award for 2003.
Criticism
Dr. Alex Moulton, designer of the suspension system for the original classic Mini, is reported to have said of the new MINI, in an interview with MiniWorld magazine ―"It’s enormous — the original Mini was the best packaged car of all time — this is an example of how not to do it… it’s huge on the outside and weighs the same as an Austin Maxi. The crash protection has been taken too far. I mean, what do you want, an armoured car? It is an irrelevance in so far as it has no part in the Mini story."
Many classic Mini enthusiasts are sharply critical of the new MINI, citing the fact that it is two feet longer, a foot wider and almost twice the weight of the classic car — yet it has less rear leg room and less luggage space. Undoubtedly much of this is to do with modern crash protection requirements and the desire to incorporate features such as air conditioning, a supercharged engine with modern emissions controls and a higher level of front-seat comfort than the classic Mini was capable of. This opinion is far from universal and other classic Mini enthusiasts have embraced the modern MINI as a natural evolution of the original concept with many of them owning both kinds of car.
Some MINI convertible owners criticise the poor rear visibility in the convertible. With the roof up the wide areas of cloth down the sides of the car block visibility to the rear quarters and the lack of washer/wiper on the small rear window — combined with the tendency of all MINIs to accumulate dirt on the back end — effectively eliminates all rear visibility. Even with the roof down, the large roll-protection bars above the back seats and the bunched up cloth of the folded roof tends to block a significant fraction of rearward visibility. In an attempt to counter this problem when reversing the car, the MINI convertible comes with rear-mounted proximity sensors as standard equipment (these are available as an option on the hardtop MINI).
The next generation
The last cars to be made with the Tritec engine will be the "MINI Cooper S Works GP", a lightweight, race-prepped John Cooper Works model. It will be produced as a limited-production run of 2000 cars in 2006, around 400 of those ear-marked for the US market. It has racing style front seats and no rear seats, reduced sound-deadening, optional air-conditioning and other refinements that reduce the overall weight by approximately 15%. Additionally, it will have enhanced brakes and suspension as well as 218 horsepower from the John Cooper Works engine modification package. In place of the rear seats will be additional body stiffening and below-floor storage areas.
MINI will introduce a new version of the car for the 2007 model year, on a reengineered platform with many stylistic and engineering changes. This architecture is shared with PSA Peugeot Citroën and will be more flexible. Italdesign Giugiaro is reportedly handling the engineering.
The Tritec engine will be replaced by the so-called Prince engine, developed with Peugeot. An optional turbocharger will replace the supercharger in the Cooper S model.
The MINI Traveller concept vehicle will appear on a stretched wheelbase version of the MINI — possibly in 2008 or 2009.
Prototype and concept cars
BMW first showed the MINI as a concept car that looked very different from the production cars. It had circular headlamps, huge wheel flares and a much more rounded appearance overall compared to the production design.
Before the first sales of the MINI, prototype versions were shown at the 2000 Paris Auto Show. These were essentially identical to the version that was finally sold except that the colours used ('Candy Blue' and 'Flamenco Orange') have never been used in production cars.
BMW demonstrated a hydrogen-powered internal combustion technology in some of their concept cars in 2000 and 2001, and MINI showcased a hydrogen powered concept car in 2001 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The car differs from electric-motor hydrogen concepts, such as the Honda FCX in that it uses a cylinder-based internal combustion engine.
An all-electric MINI is in use at the British Embassy in Mexico that uses around 200 kg of Lithium Ion batteries. Three electric MINIs were also made for use in some subway scenes in the 2003 movie The Italian Job to satisfy the subway authorities concerns over possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
With higher powered engines, the standard front wheel drive MINI tends to produce more wheel spin instead of more acceleration — a four wheel drive would be a natural solution to that problem. Getrag (who make the MINI's gearbox) demonstrated a four wheel drive version of the MINI in 2004.
At the Frankfurt Motor show in 2005, MINI revealed a retro version of the classic 'Mini Traveller' station wagon. Based on a stretched wheelbase with two side-hinged rear doors and separate rear seats replacing the split bench seat of the standard MINI. At the Tokyo show, the same basic concept reappeared with some fanciful additions — a circular roof section could be removed to form a picnic table with four folding chairs. The rear side windows were replaced with fold-down storage containers containing cutlery, cups and plates. In Detroit, a further version was presented without the table and chairs — but with a radically restyled interior.
Additional MINI models, including a four-door version, a two-seat roadster and a dune buggy have been shown as computer-graphic mock-ups at various times.
See also
References
External links
Car manufacturers | BMW vehicles | Front wheel drive vehicles | Motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany
"MINI (BMW)"