2006 Mini Cooper on 2040-cars

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BMW's DTM champ swaps rides with Mini's Dakar winner

BMW may not race in F1 any longer, and it doesn't compete with Audi and Porsche in the LMP1 class at Le Mans. It even shut down Mini's short-lived effort on the World Rally Championship. But that doesn't mean it doesn't race at all. In fact it's the current reigning champion both in DTM and at Dakar. So to highlight its varied motorsport programs, the German automaker had two of its top drivers swap rides. German driver Martin Tomczyk, who won the DTM title in 2011 and now drives for BMW, took to Nasser Al-Attiyah's Mini All4Racing Countryman on the sand dunes of Dubai. Meanwhile the Qatari driver, who has won the Dakar Rally two times now, took to the wheel of Tomczyk's BMW M4 DTM around Oschersleben in Germany. They even repeated the game of musical chairs at Hockenheim over the weekend. If anything, the promo clip shot by Red Bull just goes to show how different the varied racing machinery can be, and the challenges posed to racing drivers switching between disciplines. But lessons aside, it's a cool clip, so check it out above. Two champions swap cockpits: Martin Tomczyk drives the MINI ALL4 Racing, Nasser Al-Attiyah the BMW M4 DTM. Munich (DE), 1st May 2015. From asphalt to sand and back again: BMW DTM driver Martin Tomczyk (DE) and MINI ALL4 Racing ace Nasser Al-Attiyah (QA) both entered unfamiliar territory and took each other's cars for a test drive. As part of a video shoot for BMW Motorsport Premium Partner Red Bull in Dubai (AE), Tomczyk, a proven master of his trade on asphalt as the 2011 DTM Champion, took the wheel of the MINI ALL4 Racing, with which X-raid has won the famous Rally Dakar the last four years. During DTM testing in Oschersleben (DE), Al-Attiyah was given the opportunity to drive Tomczyk's BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM. Two wins at the Rally Dakar are just some of the successes the rally driver from Qatar has had to date. He followed up his first victory in 2011 by winning in the MINI ALL4 Racing in January 2015. "Driving the MINI ALL4 Racing through the sand and over the dunes in Dubai was a fascinating experience and was so much fun," said Tomczyk. "The car has an incredible amount of torwue – and the test in the dunes was an amazing adrenalin rush even for an experienced race driver such as myself. It's totally different to driving on a circuit.

2017 Mini Countryman is even bigger and now has a plug-in model

The least mini Mini is getting, um, less mini. Great, now we're done with the "mini" jokes from here on out. The all-new, second-generation Countryman is wider, longer, and rides on a stretched wheelbase. And oh yeah, the plug-in hybrid is the first electrified Mini since the Mini E last seen in 2010. By adding 8.1 inches of length and 1.3 inches to the width, the Countryman is easily the biggest Mini ever built. As a key-carrying fan of Mini's older pint-sized models, this is a disappointment. But the size increases pay dividends in the cabin, making this effectively the first Mini that won't result in assault charges for forcing passengers to ride in the back. The 2.9-inch stretch in the Countryman's wheelbase contributes to a hefty 3.8-inch jump in second-row legroom, and there's around two inches of extra shoulder room in both rows. There's a bump in cargo volume, too. Trunk space increasesby 1.1 cubic feet with the second row up, and 5.4 cubic feet with the back seats folded down. That cargo space is easy to reconfigure, too, with a 40/20/40 split in the seats and up to five inches of fore/aft movement. So yes, the Countryman is an annoyingly large Mini, but it's inarguably the most versatile and family friendly vehicle ever built by the British brand. Whether the overall dimensions please or anger you, everyone can get excited by the changes under the hood. Leading the pack is the first-ever hybrid Mini. Called the Cooper S E Countryman All4, Mini paired its excellent 1.5-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder with a 7.6-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and an 87-horsepower electric motor for total output of 221 horsepower and 284 pound-feet of torque, which is enough for a brisk 6.8-second run to 60 miles per hour. Fully charged from the plug on the driver's side front fender, the latest electrified Mini can cover 24 miles at up to 77 miles per hour. We like that kind of balance. But while the Cooper S E Countryman is almost certainly very efficient, there are a few sacrifices. The biggest is the 9.5-gallon fuel tank, which is far smaller than the standard car's 16.1-gallon tank. That's not a problem if you have time to charge regularly, but it will be an annoyance on sustained road trips. Like the BMW X5 xDrive40e, the Countryman PHEV will feature three separate powertrain modes. Auto eDrive leaves things up to the car's computers, Max eDrive forces the car to run on electrical power alone, and Save Battery does exactly what it says.

2025 Mini Cooper E and SE fully revamped and revealed at Munich Motor Show

The 2025 Mini Cooper E and Cooper SE are here, and as you can tell by the names, Mini is starting with the electric models.  For better or worse, the new Mini Cooper design inside and out (no longer called “Hardtop") is one of the worst-kept secrets as of late. However, now we have all the official imagery of the 3-door EV, and we even got to see the car in person before the Munich Motor Show reveal. The Mini is thankfully still mini with an even shorter length than before, as the new Countryman is the one to get supersized. Its design slants toward minimalism, but it still highlights key features such as the round LED headlights, contrast roof and mirror colors and classic proportions. The lights – both in front and rear – even feature three customizable signatures, so you can choose your own adventure for your carÂ’s outward appearance. Other big changes include the deletion of chrome, flush door handles (like other new BMWs) and the lack of black cladding around the wheel arches. Mini improved the coefficient of drag with this new model to 0.28, and thanks to this, and to new battery and motor technology, the electric Mini Coopers are far more enticing than the first Mini SE. Two versions of the electric Mini Cooper will hit the market initially, with the base model being the Mini Cooper E. This model features a single electric motor making 184 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, which Mini says does the 0-62 mph run in 7.3 seconds. It uses a 40.7 kWh battery pack that is good for 190 miles on the WLTP cycle, but expect that to be considerably lower for the EPA test. Meanwhile, the upgrade Mini Cooper SE ups output to 218 horsepower and 243 pound-feet, completing the 0-62 mph sprint in just 6.7 seconds. It also has a much bigger battery at 54.2 kWh, allowing for a range of 250 miles on the WLTP cycle. Charging speed is another big upgrade for these electric Minis, too, as the Cooper E can charge at speeds up to 75 kW, while the SE can do 95 kW. Mini says this gets both Coopers from a 10-80% charge in under 30 minutes. AC at-home charging maxes out at 11 kW. It also features a pre-conditioning program that will warm the battery pack in cold weather to ensure fast charging speeds when you arrive. This is part of a larger navigation system that will plan out your route to hit fast chargers as you go. As always, Mini is promising a fun-to-drive character from its entry-level hatchback.