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Mini teases third-gen hatch to debut next week

All it takes is a small spark to set off a fire. Just look at what has happened since BMW brought back the Mini in the early 2000s. What started with a hatchback has since spawned more bodystyles than we care to count and almost as many imitators. The second generation followed in 2007, and now Mini is preparing to launch the third.
The new Mini is scheduled to debut a week from now on November 18 at the Oxford plant in England, just days before the LA Auto Show and Tokyo Motor Show kick off and on the birthday of the original's designer Sir Alec Issigonis.
The third generation of the popular retro hatchback is expected to closely follow the lead set by the Mini Vision concept revealed a few months ago, but then we already knew that, having seen numerous undisguised photos of the new car in action. Still, the half-minute teaser video embedded below does a decent job of drumming up some enthusiasm, so if you're enamored of the Anglo-Saxon retromobile, head on down to check it out.

Watch Jay Leno bounce around with Dakar winner Roma in his Mini All4Racing

With Jay Leno off the Tonight Show, he has all the time in the world to focus on his passion for cars and can even travel a little. Leno teamed up with two-time Dakar Rally winner Nani Roma to jump and slide a Mini Countryman All4 racing truck around the dunes in Death Valley, CA.
The Mini-branded trucks are highly modified for off-road duty. They have won the Dakar Rally consecutively in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and even took a 1-2-3 finish in the most recent running. The specialized Minis are propelled over the dunes by a BMW-sourced, diesel engine with a six-speed sequential gearbox and heavy-duty all-wheel drive system with a locking center differential.
It is amusing to see the big smile on Leno's face, and Roma appears a little worried while Jay is driving. If this is what to expect from the post-Tonight Show Jay Leno's Garage videos, then things are only getting better from an already fantastic series. Scroll down to watch Leno and Roma take a Mini through the dunes.

Mini Oxford gives birth to 3-millionth car [w/video]

With the latest generation of Minis having only recently launched a few months ago, the company's Plant Oxford has found another reason to celebrate as it reached two major milestones almost simultaneously. Since production of the new, BMW-revived version began there in 2001, the factory has produced 3 million of the retro-looking models and 2 million vehicles exported outside of the UK. Just four years ago, it was celebrating building 1.5 million of them.
The three-millionth model was a Mini Cooper S five-door hatchback with a special Union Jack paint job. At about the same time, the factory hit its two-millionth exported Mini to leave there, as well. It was a standard Mini hatchback in Volcanic Orange heading for a buyer in Japan.
UK Transport Minister Baroness Kramer attended the ceremony and said: "I congratulate the workers at Mini Plant Oxford on reaching this remarkable milestone. The Mini is a British icon and is a major part of a thriving automotive industry spearheading the growing British economy."