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Mini STRIP gets Paul Smith's help with graceful sustainability

For the 40th anniversary of the original Mini in 1999, British designer Paul Smith created a vintage two-door Mini overlaid with the multicolored stripes he's known for. You can buy still buy a set of his "Artist Stripe" Mini-Car Cufflinks at the Paul Smith site. For Mini's newest collaboration with the knighted Royal Designer for Industry, the partnership dropped the "e" from "stripe" to create the one-off Mini STRIP concept. Given the tagline "Sustainable design with a twist," if you wanted to show off the possibility of combining high design with unprocessed, renewable materials, the Mini STRIP is a sensational way to do it.  The project started with the steel bodyshell of a battery-electric Mini Cooper SE. Everything added to the shell needed to satisfy the themes of simplicity, transparency, and sustainability, which meant eliminating anything that could be eliminated, and rethinking the materials and forms of the rest. Outside, the STRIP bears its naked steel, complete with the grinding marks from the finishing process. There's naught but a layer of transparent paint to shield the metal against corrosion. The duller, contrasting hue in places like the front and rear apron and hood intake are from 3D-printed parts. The grille trim has been fashioned from recycled Perspex, same as the panoramic roof and the aero covers on the wheels. The silver screw heads in the black trim are intended to highlight and ease the process of dismantling the car when it's time for bits to be recycled. The only color outside is a splash of neon green that hides under the charging port cap. The cabin hardware is nothing but the indispensable, lightly trimmed. Smith insisted on painting the steel shell a vivid blue. The instrument panel is a single semi-transparent piece, a smartphone replacing Mini's usual large center gauge. The only switchgear consists of five toggles hanging above the area that's clearly missing its center tunnel. The dash and upper door pads, plus the sun visors, are made from recycled cork without any synthetic filler. The door pulls are wound climbing cord, the door openers made of milled, recyclable aluminum, same as the steering wheel spokes. The seat surfaces and piping are knitted fabric, tying in with mesh panels used on the lower doors, the airbags running along the roof, and the cover over the airbag in the steering wheel. That wheel is wrapped in bicycle tape, a nod to Smith's taste for cycling.

Guerlain Chicherit going for world record for longest car jump

Does the name Guerlain Chicherit ring any bells? It definitely should if you're into competitive skiing, as he was crowned world champion in off-trail freeriding four times. But he's also a rally driver, winning the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup in 2009 and even a stage of the Dakar Rally the following year. What really set him apart, though, was when he back-flipped a Mini Countryman rally car to set a world record last year. And now he's after another.
This time he's going after the world record for the longest ramp jump in a car. The record currently belongs to Tanner Foust at 332 feet, but Chicherit plans to break it by a good thirty more with a targeted distance of 360 feet.
He'll be using the Mini once again, sponsored by Monster Energy and Toyo Tires, and specially modified for the endeavor which he plans to undertake this Sunday under the auspices of Guinness World Record officials. We'll be watching to see how it all goes down.

Mini Superleggera Vision Concept keeps us hangin' on [w/video]

Mini's Superleggera Vision Concept may not be a Paris Motor Show debut, but this is the first time we've seen this stunning all-electric roadster in the metal, having been first shown on the tony shores of Lake Como at Villa D'Este in May. While it's small in stature, it's still big on both presence and detail, from its overall stubby yet sleek proportions to its Union Jack taillamps, Jaguar-esque rear fin and elegant rearview mirrors.
We still don't know much more about what powers this Touring Superleggera coachbuilt showcar, as any powertrain specifics are conspicuous by their absence, but we'd welcome both a pure electric version and something powered by the BMW/Mini turbocharged three-cylinder currently making the rounds in the new Mini Cooper.
Last we heard in September, any decisions on a production future for the Superleggera Vision have been tabled, with word being that a further six months of study is planned before Mini decides to greenlight or nix the project. We'd love to tell you that the fact that it's here in Paris is a great sign, but we wouldn't believe us, either.