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Mini Clubman Bond Street is as special as they come

Mini is committed to applying the brand's trademark special-edition formula to the company's long roof. The Clubman Bond Street bowed under the lights of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, complete with its unique black-and-champagne color scheme. Like the Mayfair and Camden and Bayswater and Baker Street special editions that came before it, the Bond Street pays homage to a famous London street with mirror caps and a roof dipped in contrasting paint. The Cool Champagne color pops against the body's Midnight Black Metallic, and buyers can expect to find a set of 17-inch alloy wheels on hand as well.
Inside, the Clubman Bond Street gets Carbon Black leather seating with Deep Champagne accents. Each Bond Street comes equipped with the Chrome Line package. Under the hood, a 122-horsepower gasoline four-cylinder serves up thrust, though a 143-horsepower turbo-diesel mill can also be had for a little extra coin. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Next-gen Mini interior ditching familiar center speedo

A Reddit user has posted images of the 2015 F56 Mini Cooper, one each of the exterior and interior. As has been the case since the launch of the new Mini in 2001, the overall exterior shape underneath camouflage screams Mini, but insiders are still calling the coming F56 model "the most aggressively different new Mini yet." Inside, though, the two-door that defined premium hatchbacks has, according to its most devoted buyers, gone mainstream.
The giant ring atop the center console is there, but there's no longer a speedometer inside of it. Instead, in an integration that brings to mind words like "shoehorned," Mini designers have placed radio and telephone controls inside the bezel. According to the Mini experts at MotoringFile, the picture above is the base trim and one of four possible treatments - in the upper trims a larger screen for navigation takes up most of the space. The bezel itself is marked with mood lighting that supposedly "swirls around" when you start the car with the red toggle switch.
The speedo rests atop the steering column with a tachometer placed to its left. The BMW wheel pictured is just for the prototype - you can expect a familiar three-spoke Mini wheel when the car is revealed, and latest rumor is that the event will take place at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.

Next-gen Mini could sire 10 different models including PHEV

The first generation of the reimagined, BMW-backed Mini was a simple things, confined to two body styles - hatchback and four-seat convertible. It wasn't until the second-generation platform came along that Mini began truly expanding, offering a long-wheelbase model, a roadster, a coupe, a five-door crossover, and a three-door, um, thing?
BMW is aiming for 10 to 12 different vehicles from just two brands off one platform.
According to an interview between Automotive News Europe and the BMW board member that oversees Mini, Peter Schwarzenbauer, the funky British brand will be expanding far beyond the seven body styles it currently offers. "With the new ULK architecture, we currently have in mind eight to 10 models," Schwarzenbauer told ANE. That architecture he mentions, will also underpin the BMW 1 Series GT and the BMW X1, meaning that BMW is aiming for 10 to 12 different vehicles from just two brands off one platform (and that's only what we know about).