17 replies to this topic

[chipster196]

http://www.bbc.co.uk...siness-11167721

they say its not like an old mini

[mab01uk]

Here is the new TV ad:

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[Puddings]

More intersting is the fact that in the BBC article it says they are returning the bini to rally? That should be fun to watch they don't stand a chance againced those fords and citrons

[lindy119]

I'm sorry, but even ignoring all criticisms of the car itself, that advert is crap!!

[tomfogg]

I've read they are going to make a bigger mini too

[lindy119]

I've read they are going to make a bigger mini too

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

More intersting is the fact that in the BBC article it says they are returning the bini to rally? That should be fun to watch they don't stand a chance againced those fords and citrons

They do i bet, I'm sure they'l be well up the top. Backed by Pro-drive, and we all know how well the did in Rally a few years ago, and how well they are doing in Lemans right now.

I can't wait for the new season, to me having a Mini in international rallying again is going to be awesome -

Prodrive

[mab01uk]

More intersting is the fact that in the BBC article it says they are returning the bini to rally? That should be fun to watch they don't stand a chance againced those fords and citrons

Can't believe how negative some people are about anything new or different..............
Hopefully you will be eating your words within 3 years though!

Prodrive MINI WRC boss David Richards has said that the team will aim to win the World Rally Championship within three years.
Richards told Reuters: "The target is clearly to be competitive from the outset and we have set a target with BMW and Mini of the world title within the next three years. We [Prodrive] have got six world titles to our credit already so we've been there before and know what it takes to do it. We are setting about that task very meticulously."
"We expect to do half the championship next year," he added.
Richards then went on to say that he would like to see a British driver in the Mini Countryman WRC.
"Obviously our priority is to get the best drivers, whatever nationality. But I have always tried if possible to have one British driver in the team," he said. "There are a few candidates and maybe we will go for a younger driver, in the way we did with Colin [McRae] and Richard [Burns]."
The former Subaru chief also stated that Prodrive was taking a new approach to the Mini project.
"We took what's now been 18 months out, where we've actually gone back to basics," he said. "We've taken all the data we've accumulated over the last 20 years, analysed everything and gone into a lot of detail in design, manufacturing and purchasing.
"It is a radical new way we have gone about this project and I am very confident it will reap its rewards as well."
http://www.rallybuzz...tle-in-3-years/

But what about the established players in the WRC? Does MINI even have a chance? The short answer is more of a chance than you’d think. There are two big things in MINI’s favor. First are the WRC regulations that will effectively level the playing field and introduce a new engine configuration (more on that in a minute). The second is the fact that the Countryman WRC is being built by Prodrive, the most successful rally outfit of the past 20 years. You can read more about Prodrive here in our recent feature on the company: “Why the Prodrive WRC MINI Countryman is Important“
As expected the car that will be competing is the MINI Countryman WRC and as we’ve reported it is being developed by Prodrive. The race car (design in close cooperation with MINI) will be heavily based on the production Countryman. But here’s where it gets even more interesting. At the heart of the racing car is a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from BMW Motorsport. The car complies with the new Super2000 regulations put in place by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), which stipulate the use of turbo engines with 1,600 cc displacement and four-wheel drive combined with an increased emphasis on road relevant technologies over previous WRC regulations. The result is a significant 25 per cent reduction in overall costs. The first test drive for the MINI Countryman WRC, which will also be available to customer teams, is planned for autumn 2010.
That last bit shouldn’t go unnoticed. We expect several privateer teams to invest into the MINI Countryman WRC and run the cars alongside MINI.
Drivers linked to the car are rumored to be Norwegian rally protege Mads Ostberg and rally legend Marcus Gronholm.
One final thing. If you like the look of this car stay tuned. Rumors persist that MINI will build a special edition JCW Countryman WRC with similar looks and surprising performance.
http://www.motoringf...ing-in-the-wrc/

[Redbaron6969uk]

Sorry guys but that is NOT a mini..........I like the new MINI as it is now....I would never have one....but that country man IMO is disgusting they should have called it the marina or the allegro.............

[Redbaron6969uk]

I've read they are going to make a bigger mini too

LMAO

[joe90gt]

Sorry guys but that is NOT a mini..........I like the new MINI as it is now....I would never have one....but that country man IMO is disgusting they should have called it the marina or the allegro.............

hear hear
"Yet somehow it still looks like a member of the Mini family" - how does big fat and ugly (and i bet bloody expensive) look the same as small and cute

[rimmer1993]

I don't mind the normal Bini infact i would own a cooper s, but how is that a MINI it's an X1, it basically has the same front lights and is the same size

[ap0llo_*]

So they've made it longer and wacked some bigger wheels on?

Mini executives are eager to stress that it is not an off-road car

Well what the hell is it then!? Can't people simply design cars for one fit purpose, to be driven on the road, there's enough 4x4's and trucks out there now. We really don't need anymore useless bulk on the roads.

BMW IMHO should be looking more into the future. Why can't they reinvent the Mini sticking with it's proper size and shoving an electric engine in, that would be more interesting than a set of bigger wheels.

Edited by ap0llo_*, 03 September 2010 - 03:56 PM.

[mab01uk]

BMW IMHO should be looking more into the future. Why can't they reinvent the Mini sticking with it's proper size and shoving an electric engine in, that would be more interesting than a set of bigger wheels.

This is one of a fleet of 600 experimental Mini Es, built as an early part of BMW’s Project i, a plan to build the perfect “megacity” car in about four years’ time.
Mini Es are being run in six-month stints in a dozen major capitals across the world to investigate exactly what the new car needs. Forty have come here – half run by fleets, half by individuals.

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Driven by 2006 MINI Challenge champion Thomas Jager a modified race-spec version of the electric MINI E completed a lap of the Nurburgring in a time of 09:51.45 minutes, hitting a top speed of 187km/h (116 mph). “Lack of noise and the ability to access its full reserves of torque at all times makes for an extraordinary race car,” said Jager. The 150 kW/204 hp electric motor is supplied with energy from 5,088 lithium-ion battery cells and drives the front wheels via a single stage helical gearbox.
http://www.autocar.c...e-150kW/236051/

[lrostoke]