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2025 Mini Cooper four-door makes more room for the people in the back

There seems to be no end to the new Minis. The new compact range has dispensed from the Munich HQ like Pez since last September. Here's another one: the 2025 Mini Cooper four-door (or five-door, depending on where you live) with the internal combustion powertrain. This is the longer and more-doored version of the two-door Cooper and Cooper S revealed in February for our market. An additional 2.8 inches of wheelbase and 6.8 inches of length makes more room for second-row passengers and cargo room. The automaker says designers made the rear "noticeably wider" inside, giving three-up accommodations more room to swing their elbows. Using European measurements, cargo capacity stands at 9.7 cubic feet with the second row up, 32.7 cubic feet with the second row down. The U.S.-market Cooper S four-door gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 201 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque, same as in the two-door, those numbers 21 hp and 15 lb-ft better than the outgoing Mini's turbo 2.0-liter. This trim is going to cost $34,195 after the $995 destination fee when it reaches dealers in about three months. Come January 2025, Mini will add a Cooper C trim with four doors. It will use the same engine as the S but with a lower output, and be priced under the S.  International markets will also get a turbocharged three-cylinder engine as the entry-level motor, that mill making 154 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque. The outgoing 1.5-liter three-cylinder in the base U.S.-market Mini makes 134 hp and 162 lb-ft, so buyers are in for improvements no matter what market they're in and which engines they get. The European trim step will be Essential, Classic, Favored, and JCW. Omitting the three-cylinder here, we'll enjoy Classic, Favored, and JCW in a choice of 11 body colors and three contrasting roof treatments; the Favoured theme includes the option of a multi-hued roof with a three-color gradient. If wheel sizing matches the two-door, U.S. buyers can choose from 17- and 18-inch aero wheels, but not the 16-inchers on sale elsewhere.  Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mini celebrates its first Monte-Carlo victory with Paddy Hopkirk Edition

Mini's newest special-edition model is a tribute to a victory that was as unexpected as it was significant. Northern Irish pilot Paddy Hopkirk won the 1964 edition of the Monte-Carlo Rally in a Cooper S, impressively beating far more powerful cars, and the two-door 2021 Hardtop Cooper S Paddy Hopkirk Edition celebrates this victory. Fittingly, every Paddy Hopkirk Edition is finished in Chili Red with a white roof, a combination that echoes Hopkirk's 1964 model (pictured below). 37 decals on both doors create another visual link between 2020 and 1964. Mini also added 17-inch alloy wheels, black trim all around, and a white hood stripe that served as a blank canvas. Look closely: it features 33 EJB graphics (the winning car's registration number) and Hopkirk's signature.  His signature also appears on the hatch, on the sill plates, and on the right side of the dashboard. LED headlights, keyless entry, black interior trim, and a leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel come standard. There are no mechanical modifications, meaning the Paddy Hopkirk edition is powered by a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder that delivers 189 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. It spins the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission, though a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is offered at an extra cost. Mini dealers across the United States will begin receiving the Cooper S Paddy Hopkirk Edition in November 2020. It's one of two special-edition models joining the range for 2021; the second is the heritage-laced Coral Red Edition. Pricing hasn't been released yet. "Production is planned for November and December of this year," said a Mini spokesperson, "with a very limited number expected for the U.S. market. Only a few hundred." Victorious past Sir Alec Issigonis envisioned the original Mini as a practical, budget-friendly alternative to bubble cars, not as a rally-dominating machine, but the pocket-sized four-seater quickly proved its mettle on the track. Accomplished engineer John Cooper built the first Mini Cooper in 1959, the year the standard model was released in England, though it was a one-off prototype. Bolstered by a ballooning aftermarket scene, even amateur enthusiasts experimented with ways to extract more power out of the small four-cylinder and fine-tune the car's handling. It took less than a decade for the Mini to become a force to reckon with at races on both sides of the Atlantic.

2021 Mini Countryman gets a light update inside and out

Well that didn't take long. We got a glimpse of the refreshed 2021 Mini Countryman last week, and now it has been fully revealed. Sure enough, it's a light makeover of the current model, bringing it up to date with the rest of the lineup. The major changes to the Countryman are on the exterior. The front and rear bumpers have been thoroughly redesigned. At the front, there's only one main grille opening, flanked by small slots at either end. The round foglights sit on each side of the grille as part of a black plastic surround. The rear bumper is now entirely body color, and can feature a prominent skid plate-style panel. The 2021 Countryman also gets standard LED headlights, fog lights and taillights. The latter now have the Union Jack design shared with every other Mini model. The S models have a new mesh grille, too. Two new exterior colors have been added, White Silver and Sage Green, as has a Piano Black exterior trim that colors all the chrome on the outside in black. Inside, the Countryman gets a revamped center display surround with touch-sensitive shortcut buttons and flush fitting hazard light and driver aid buttons. A version of the Mini Cooper SE electric car's instruments with 5-inch display is now an option. Two new interior leather colors are added, Indigo Blue and Malt Brown, both of which have their colors extended to the lower plastics on the doors and dash. Mechanically, the Countryman is carryover. The base Cooper gets a 134-horsepower turbocharged three-cylinder. The Cooper S gets a 189-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder. The John Cooper Works gets 301 horsepower from a turbo four-cylinder. The Cooper SE plug-in hybrid combines the three-cylinder with an electric motor to get 224 horsepower. Range and fuel economy for the latter hasn't officially been announced, but it's likely to match the current model's 18-mile range and 29 mpg combined fuel economy for gas only. The Cooper and Cooper S are available with front-wheel drive and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission or all-wheel drive with an 8-speed automatic. The John Cooper Works comes only with all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic, while the hybrid comes with all-wheel-drive and a 6-speed automatic. The updated Mini Countryman is expected to go on sale this summer. Pricing and fuel economy will be available closer to the on-sale date. Related Video: