2003 Mini Cooper Hatchback 2-door on 2040-cars

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David Brown Mini Remastered Marshall Edition is amped-up

This year marks the 60th anniversary of British audio brand Marshall Amplification, and the company is celebrating with a special version of another British icon with the help of David Brown Automotive. The result is a limited run of David Brown's Mini Remastered Marshall Edition, packed to the gills with equipment and design references to the audio company. The Mini Remastered is painted entirely black, even most of the chrome trimmings. Gold accents such as the stripes, grille and wheel rims complete the Marshall look. The grille itself is also made to look like the grilles on Marshall speakers. The interior turns up the Marshall influence to 11. Even more gold accents appear from the stitching to the knurled control knobs and handles. The door panels feature fabric sections designed to match the speaker covers of Marshall amplifiers. The sound system features a Pioneer head unit, but all the speakers are from Marshall, including lower units with the signature white logos. Inside the glovebox is a pair of wireless Marshall headphones that sit atop a wireless charging point. And finishing it all off are the pedals with skip track (clutch), pause (brake) and play (gas) symbols. The trunk is the highlight of the car, though. It contains a Marshall guitar amplifier with its own power supply so that you can rock out wherever you park. A Marshall Bluetooth speaker is also packed into the back, in case you need tunes somewhere else. Only 60 Marshall Editions will be built. They all come with a 1.3-liter four-cylinder making 83 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque. The only transmission is a five-speed manual. Both left- and right-hand drive models are available. Pricing hasn't been announced, but part of the sales will go to a British charity called Music Venue Trust that has been providing concert venues funding during the pandemic. David Brown Automotive is taking reservations now, and deliveries will come later this year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mini attempts first-ever backflip in a car

Not too long ago, the idea of doing a backflip seemed almost impossible on two wheels let alone four, but now the stunt is routinely performed using everything from dirtbikes to monster trucks. Now Mini is getting into the game by attempting to perform a backflip with French stuntman Guerlain Chicherit behind the wheel of a highly modified Countryman, which it claims is the first-ever attempt at doing so with a car.
Another unique element of the jump that Mini is claiming is in regards to the ramp. Past automotive backflips, including Rhys Millen's 2009 jump to ring in the New Year, have used special ramps that help rotate the car, but the ramp Chicherit uses is "unassisted" and the backflip is attempted using only "a gas pedal and a prayer" according to a Mini spokesman for the event.
The video posted below is only a teaser showing the car launch up into the air, but while we have to wait until February 10 to see the final result, it sounds like the landing was a success. According to the Chicherit's Facebook page, practice for the stunt took 18 months of work with "lots of crashes."

Mini John Cooper Works 1 To 6 Edition extols the manual transmission

Throughout the final year of this generation of Mini Cooper, the Anglo-German brand has been rolling out limited editions about every 90 days. We got the Mini 20 Years Edition last September, the Mini Convertible Seaside Edition in March, the Mini Clubman Final Edition in April, now we have the fourth to complete the set: The Mini John Cooper Works 1 to 6 Edition. It memorializes Mini racing and the "pure essence of motorsport" as a JCW with a six-speed manual transmission, hence the 1 To 6 name. It copies the formula for the Clubman Final Edition in being almost only special badges, colors, and materials; there's little more to this than a retail Mini JCW with a stick shift and three more horsepower. Outside, there's a Midnight Black body ornamented with Piano Black for the grille surround, side scuttles, and waistline finisher. The 18-inch Circuit Spoke rims come in Jet Black. The gray bonnet stripe is composed of shift pattern line drawings, the same shift pattern showing up on the hatch in black. Red, white, and silver 1 to 6 badges appear on the side scuttles and C-pillars. Mini's making 999 examples for global buyers, so "One of 999" appears in places like the sunroof, steering wheel, and instrument panel. The black and gray interior shows off an antracite-colored headliner, illuminated red bezel for the instrument cluster, red ambient lighting, badged floor mats, and course, the stick shift with special stitching. The special makes its world debut at next month's Nurburgring 24-Hour race. One car will compete as part of the Bulldog Racing team wearing race number #126, driven by Charlie Cooper, a regular competitor who also happens to be the grandson of the John Cooper that Mini's fastest trims honor. It's a pairing that shows how the "essence of motorsport" has progressed; the hardcore Mini JCW that Bulldog Racing runs is fitted with an eight-speed automatic. We'll find out soon how many of the Mini JCW 1 to 6 Editions will come to the U.S. and the premium Mini will charge over the $35,400 of the regular Mini JCW.