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2025 Mini Cooper interior reveals minimalist retro design, massive circular screen

Mini just dropped a teaser for its 2025 Cooper, and it’s all about the new interior. And while Mini might be calling this a teaser, itÂ’s essentially a full, visual reveal of the new CooperÂ’s insides. The changes and updates are everywhere, as this new Mini shares practically nothing with the outgoing model. Its new centerpiece is a massive, circular display that appears to be showing off new infotainment system software. All of your vital information is housed within this huge screen. We can see the gear selection, electric range, power meter, navigation hub and media player all in the middle and top half of the screen. On the bottom corners are temperature control dials, and in the bottom middle is a row of shortcut icons that will presumably pull up larger menus of those items. The traditional instrument cluster is gone, but Mini has integrated a pop-up glass HUD display in its place, so youÂ’ll thankfully still have a lot of the important items right in front of your face. Just below the center screen is what Mini calls the “toggle bar.” It houses switches and knobs for things like selecting a gear, turning the car on and off and the various drive modes. Quick toggles for the defrosters and the hazards sit here, too. Interestingly, the steering wheel has more buttons than the center console, and the steering wheel itself is a new design. YouÂ’ll notice the strap-like third bottom “spoke” of the wheel and the ultra-chunky top part of the wheel — Mini says itÂ’s smaller in diameter than the current wheel, too. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Minimalism dominates the rest of the interior. The dashboard is simple with a basic upswept look, but itÂ’s augmented with fancy lights and animations that play through the fabric. Mini designed a horizontal air vent that integrates beautifully with the new dash, too. As for the doors, the materials look upscale and the armrest looks comfortable. We canÂ’t see the whole center console, but a pair of USB Type-C charge ports are positioned up front with a wireless phone charger right there, too. A pair of cupholders sit aft of this, and thereÂ’s no BMW iDrive knob to be seen.  As you can see from the video (above) where the original Mini interior morphs into the new one, the designersÂ’ inspiration for the 2025 model is fairly clear. Pare back, and bring the retro vibes in a digital way.

The Mini John Cooper Works Rally is set for Dakar

In recent years, there have been convincing Minis tailored for rallying: Dakar wins were accumulated with gusto. Now there is a new version for 2017, named the Mini John Cooper Works Rally. Its debut will be the 2017 Dakar Rally running through Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. The new rally car has been built with experience gathered from rallying the earlier Mini All4 Racing, and it's based on the Countryman. Key areas reworked were the aerodynamics and the weight distribution to enable a lower center of gravity. As X-raid (Mini's motorsports partner) CEO Sven Quandt puts it: "The center of gravity has gone down substantially – we placed about 50 kilos [110 pounds] downwards by some 50 centimeters [19.7 inches] in the center of the car, which helps the handling and makes the car much more comfortable over all types of terrain, and aids the handling on a rally track with lots of corners." There is a new chassis frame, and the powertrain benefits from an updated engine mapping and thermal management. The interior has also been redone. Speaking of the powertrain, the Cooper Works Rally runs a 3.0-liter straight six from BMW's turbodiesel portfolio. In this guise, the TwinPower unit produces 340 horsepower at 3,250 rpm and a very respectable 590 lb ft of torque from 1,850 rpm. The retained ALL4 four-wheel-drive system has a six-speed SADEV sequential gearbox, together with lockable, oil-cooled Xtrac diffs with a central SADEV unit. The 2017 Dakar Rally runs from January 2-14. Related Video:

Despite Mini's woes, Clubman sales surging

The Mini Clubman has a polarizing design, but those who like it are snapping it up. According to Automotive News, the Clubman is on pace to become Mini USA's best selling model. Almost 1,700 vehicles were sold during the first quarter of 2016, and the vast majority – 1,037 units – were sold last month alone. These facts are made all the more noteworthy because Mini's sales fell 15 percent during the first quarter. The surging sales of Mini's newest model are especially good news for the brand's coffers. The Clubman is the most expensive non- John Cooper Works model you can get, aside from the upcoming Convertible. It doesn't sound like there are too many Clubman models going for the $24,950 starting price, either. According to Mini Dealer Council Chairman Michael Vadasz, dealers are doing solid business on customized orders, which, he tells AN, "is what Mini is all about." About one in four Minis built today are custom orders submitted by consumers, who love taking advantage of the Porsche-like breadth of a la carte options, no matter what it does to the final price. The fact that Mini is seeing so many custom Clubmans, then, is a very good thing. As for why the Clubman is doing so well, Mini USA Vice President David Duncan says it's because the car just isn't so Mini, moving the brand beyond its traditional subcompact class to the compact segment, where it can challenge cars like the Audi A3. "We see that as a fast growing segment, so having an entry in there gives us that opportunity," Duncan told Automotive News. "And then when you look at the car itself, it's got a premiumness about it that really takes us to the next level and allows us to compete against brands that we weren't typically competing against." Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.