BMW BLOG

Peter Trepp, the first man to take delivery of the MINI E vehicle, has a prepared a review of the electric MINI after a week of use.

The first question that comes through everyone’s mind is “How does it drive? Is the handling acceptable?” In our first test drive we mentioned that with its 200 horsepower and the lack of differential shifting and revving stages, the Mini gives you instant power from any speed and it rolls off the front-wheels quite fast. We also said that we felt the Mini E has more torque steer than a regular Mini Cooper.

Well, Peter seems to agree with us, “Virtually everyone I’ve taken for a test drive comes back feeling like they just stepped off a roller coaster with that “can we go again?” look on their face.” Again, the MINI Cooper S and high-torque electric motor seem to do the job.

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It was just a matter of time until the German tuner AC Schnitzer would release their own version of the recently launched MINI Cooper Convertible.

A new range of accessories are fitted on the new R57 Cabrio, from front spoilers and rear skirts which not only enhance the looks of the MINI but also offer aerodynamic advantages, to black or chrome/black finishes.

Performance has been also raised with a new power boost from the default 175 horsepower to 208. The uprated export version of the Cooper S takes the standard power of 128 kW/175 HP to an impressive 166 kW/226 HP. At the same time, AC Schnitzer offers a limited slip differential in the MINI Cooper S and Special Model JCW (John Cooper Works).

AC Schnitzer is also offering a choice of several wheel and tire combination with 17″ Mi1 wheels and 18″ Mi2 wheels. For tires choices, AC Schnitzer recommend Continental and Michelin in size 215/35 R 18 or optionally in 205/40 R 18. All of these options are coupled with an height adjustable sport suspension and an aluminum strut brace for the front axle.

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There are several reports coming from different trusted sources who speak of the imminent unveiling of a MINI Roadster Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The two-seater concept is expected to offer a sportier and more dynamic look than the current MINI Convertible and it will feature a steeply raked windshield  and soft top.

It will use all the qualities that turned the MINI brand into a popular choice for many enthusiasts, but will take them to a new level, creating a small Roadster which will expand even further the offerings coming out of the Oxford plant.

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The 50th annual MINI United Festival took place last week at the famous Silverstone race track on England. Every year, a large crowd of MINI fans and not only, attend the event with many participants bringing their MINIs from as far afield as Russia, the USA and South Africa.

This year, there were over 25,000 MINI loyal fans present at the festival who spent their time in racing activities, music festivals and lifestyle presentations.

As we reported last week, with this occasion, MINI has created two special editions vehicles, Mayfair and Camden, two cars derived from the popular Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper D models.

Overall, a great event for MINI and its fans and it can only get bigger next year.

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BMW and MINI USA continue to impress with their latest and most innovative marketing techniques. If the MINI viral videos are already well known and appreciated by the fans, this latest campaign surprises everyone and hopefully, in a good way.

The campaign will launch under the “True Blood” name and MINI receives some help from the TV network HBO who runs the vampire show with the same name. This latest effort by HBO comes as continuation of the last year’s launch campaign that centered on ads suggesting a blood substitute.

In this new campaign, MINI is one of the several brands being pitched to…..vampires and the marketing efforts will run until June 14th when the show returns with its second season.

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Since its introduction at the Los Angeles Auto Show, there were over 1,800 people that have applied for a MINI E lease with only 450 vehicles available in California, New Jersey and New York. At $850 per month, the MINI E is far from being affordable to everyone, but the thrill of having one of the first and few electric MINIs in the U.S, is far higher.

Sixteen dealerships in these States will be responsible for the lease and service during the one year trial period. Eight of them are located in the Los Angeles area.

Delayed several times due to the large number of applicants, the MINI E is finally meeting its first customer, Peter Trepp, Los Angeles resident. Peter was interviewed by USA Today and in the same time, he maintans a blog where he shares his electric-car experience.

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This weekend, the MINI brand and its worldwide community is celebrating the 50th birthday of the brand. The MINI United Festivail takes place at the famous British race track in Silverstone and fans around the world have gathered for this special event.

With this occasion, MINI took the opportunity to introduce two special edition models. The two cars are being derived from the popular Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper D models, and are being branded with the names MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden. The new models are set to launch in September 2009 and they will run in limited numbers.

Some of you might wonder where the naming convention came from, the 50 Mayfair and 50 Camden, were named after famous boroughs of London. To quote from the long MINI press release, ” Both in their design and their features the MINI 50 Mayfair and the MINI 50 Camden stand out clearly from the current, “regular” production models. Numerous features helping to make these two cars truly unmistakable are indeed reserved to these individual anniversary models, making each version truly unique in its own right.

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The new Life Ball MINI created in Katy Perry style by American designer duo The Blonds made its debut at the Life Ball gala earlier this week in Vienna, Austria. For the ninth year in a row, MINI sponsored the Life Ball, Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event.

The MINI Convertible inspired by Kate Perry, the artist behind the song “I Kissed a Girl”, was designed by Rican Phillipe and David Blond. Sporting a funky pink and black leopard paint, the Life Ball MINI was revealed in the presence of important personalities, from former U.S. President Bill Clinton to movie stars like Eva Longoria and former Playboy bunny, Pamela Anderson.

The Kate Perry MINI Convertible edition will be offered in a prize draw to raise money for the fight against HIV/AIDS. A ticket costs 10 euros, approximately $13, and can be purchased at all Life Ball events, from all BMW and MINI dealers in Austria, directly from the Life Ball, from the official distributor of Austria’s “class lottery” Prokopp and, of course, over the Internet. Go to www.mini.at for detailed information on the various sources.

More photos after the jump

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MINI-i - the first prototype of the MegaCity vehicles

Project i is long-term commitment by the German automaker BMW to develop a number of solutions for congested city motoring. It was 2007 when we first heard rumors around this ultra-secret project initiated by BMW. It was initially thought that BMW had to start the Research and Development of a new extremely efficient car due to a California State regulation which stipulates that large auto makers will have to sell between a few hundred and a few thousand Zero Emission Vehicle every year starting in 2012.

Clever Concept - developed by Bath University with the help of BMW

But with the recent economic downturn BMW had to reposition itself for the future and accelerated the development of Project i cars. In the past months, we have seen their first true solution of a Zero Emission Vehicle with the launch of MINI E, the first all-electric powered vehicle coming out of their plants. The BMW EfficientDynamics program is well represented by the new BMW 116d which offers combined consumption  of 64.2mpg and a CO2 emissions figure of 118g/km.

Project i has been designed to run independently of BMW under the direct supervision of BMW’s CEO, Herr Norber Reithofer which has given his full attention to this commitment. The first issue which was reported by us in the past was whether there may be a two and even three-wheeled vehicles coming and the second issue and a very important one, was whether these new vehicles will carry the BMW badge, be part of the MINI line-up or a completely new brand(Isetta was the most talked about).

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While those of us that live in the U.S. are still waiting for the first MINI diesel model, the fellows in Europe have already been enjoying them for a while. But the big news today, according to Motoringfile, is that sources close to MINI indicate the first MINI model rolling down the production line at the Oxford Plant equipped with a 2.0 liter BMW diesel engine.

Don’t get your hopes up yet, the car is still in the pre-production/testing phase and the rumors of a MINI featuring BMW diesel engines have been going around since March when Autoblog reported their findings.

The MINI diesel powered vehicle tested at the Oxford plant was the R55 Clubman, which apparently was paired with the third generation 2.0 liter twin-turbo diesel from the BMW 123d, an engine that outputs 204 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy on the 123d is rated at 54 MPG.

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