37 replies to this topic

[Pete - W.Sussex]

Ah but the point is, if the original Mini had not been invented there surely wouldn’t be a BMW Mini would there? The logic that is behind the design and spec of the Up! seemed to me to be the same as it was for the Mini in the 50’s brought upto date with the latest technology, that’s all.

[hazpalmer14]

I had an r50 it was an alright car. But I bought a bit of a lemon. I would consider one again maybe for when my children learn to drive. I've driven a modded r53 and it was quick! And I tried the clubman I borrowed off a friend and think its a poor design. The suicide door does nothing unless you can fully open the front door then the suicede door. And the rear doors have such a small opening it's hard to fit large items in and you don't gain that much boot space

[Vinay-RS]

Might have been mentioned, but would a hatchback tailgate and a fold down rear seat not have been nice changes? Maybe would have made the little car a little more practical.

[l_jonez]

Self adjusting handbrakes and service free ball joints

[some1158]

Might have been mentioned, but would a hatchback tailgate and a fold down rear seat not have been nice changes? Maybe would have made the little car a little more practical.

 

The Clubman was originally planned to have a hatchback: as depicted on https://www.aronline...n/mini-clubman/ . The aim of the Clubman project was partly to be able to charge more for the cars (and as a replacement for the Wolseley/Riley models) so the range would have had the classic booted model as the base model, and the hatchback Clubman further up the range. There was also an extended saloon considered akin to the Riley/Wolseley.

 

The Minki projects in the 1990s also experimented with a hatch (and a nice dashboard which prefigures the R50). See http://www.austinmem...d-29/index.html

[Vinay-RS]

 

Might have been mentioned, but would a hatchback tailgate and a fold down rear seat not have been nice changes? Maybe would have made the little car a little more practical.

 

The Clubman was originally planned to have a hatchback: as depicted on https://www.aronline...n/mini-clubman/ . The aim of the Clubman project was partly to be able to charge more for the cars (and as a replacement for the Wolseley/Riley models) so the range would have had the classic booted model as the base model, and the hatchback Clubman further up the range. There was also an extended saloon considered akin to the Riley/Wolseley.

 

The Minki projects in the 1990s also experimented with a hatch (and a nice dashboard which prefigures the R50). See http://www.austinmem...d-29/index.html

 

This was a very interesting read. Thank you for sharing :) 

[Matt Brighton]

A teeny tiny twin cam with a teeny tiny turbo. Also paint in places that aren’t immediately visible like behind the suspension mounts.

 

 

My daughter had an old k11 micra a while ago and it was turbine smooth with a 5 speed box...

 

I wouldn't change from an a series because for me thats whet mini's are..... (unlike my vw camper which now has a Jap subaru engine 

 

But the1.0  nissan micro engine was impressive - so a BL/BMC engineered version and of course rust protection is my want to change 

[MacGyver]

I had a k11 micra and it had a similar 'soul' or 'feel' to it. Shame the electronics gave out at 250k miles, was stil going tho and not a spot of rust despite driving all year in the salty snow and staying outside.
I think the mini could've been 'updated' in a similar fashion...
A crumple zone, 5gears and better rust protection would have been nice from factory.
But all this Can be remedied with some careful engineering. ?

Ben

Edited by MacGyver, 26 July 2019 - 03:12 PM.