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Mini Vision Next 100 Concept: It's the autonomy, stupid

The concepts that Mini and Rolls-Royce showed off today – the Vision Next 100 Concept and 103EX, respectively – are all about autonomy. The Rolls-Royce doesn't even have a place for a "driver." And even though both are very much blue sky concepts, corporate parent BMW thinks it will make fully-autonomous cars within the next five years. That's according to Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, MINI, BMW Motorrad, Rolls-Royce, and Aftersales BMW Group, who also told us that both cars, at least in concept, are fully electric. The Rolls-Royce has dual-drive, 250kw motors mounted fore-and aft, on front and rear axles. While the Rolls is clearly a luxury concept for the monied few, the Mini is very much focused on a shared economy. Holger Hampf, Head of User Experience, BMW Group, said the chief design challenge of a car-sharing world is producing a car that could in theory mean different things to different borrowers. You get exclusivity because each car would morph according to the borrower's desires. BMW/Mini already have a car-sharing program in London called DriveNow, and a pilot program in Seattle called ReachNow, focused on the idea of shared exclusivity. ReachNow, which allows Mini/BMW owners to lend their cars out in an AirBnB-type scheme or to borrow "fleet-style cars," are immutable – however the car that was ordered is what the borrower or the owner will get. That's great if you're the owner, but it's also challenging for both anyone who'd buy that car used or for anyone borrowing the car. And if the future of most cars is a shared model (Ford is now offering multi-person leases among up to six buyers in a pilot program in Austin, Texas), customization is impossible. The result is what Schwarzenbauer derogatorily calls "normed." He says carmakers have to relearn to brand for a world where ownership is devalued but customization is key. To that end the MINI VISION NEXT 100 is "skinned." We've seen this before with the BMW NEXT concept that was revealed at the NY Auto Show this past spring, and the idea is to use the exterior of the car as a canvass that changes according to setting. Indeed Mini envisions that in a multi-driver household, the vehicle's customization could easily include changing colors according to driver preference – automatically. Dr.

Mini SE gets the art car treatment with The Flash superhero painting

What better superhero to put on an electric car than The Flash? Admittedly, the speedy superhero may be a better fit for the Porsche Taycan Turbo or Tesla Model S Performance, but a Mini SE is a fine option itself. The Mini flashes through corners instead of the quarter mile. There, we made it work. Mini has decided to attend the international comics, gaming, animation and fantasy fair, Lucca Changes 2020, with this art car. This year, the fair is completely online. The author who made this art car is Carmine di Giandomenico. He’s an Italian cartoonist who actually made 34 issues of The Flash. Obviously, he had an idea of what he was doing going into this project. Previous to this project, he earned the nickname of “fastest cartoonist in the world” when he drew 56 comic tables in 48 hours. The work of art drawn on this Mini is meant to be a recreation of the cover for Issue 123 originally drawn by Carmine Infantino. Very few details of the actual process were detailed by Mini, but itÂ’s said to have taken di Giandomenico just 10 hours to complete it from start to finish using a “mixed technique.” That tracks with the speeds at which he typically completes his drawings. Art cars can take days to create depending on their complexity, but this is not one of those. As we look at the number of photos provided, “The Flash” is the main event along the sides of the Mini. Lightning arcs up and down and front to back. The lightning bolt symbol on the hood is the same as what youÂ’ll see on The FlashÂ’s chest. It all fits quite nicely with the electric MiniÂ’s persona. Now, if Mini can just find a way to harness The FlashÂ’s power to increase the carÂ’s 110-mile range on a full charge ... Related Video:

Mini to offer a double-clutch transmission, but not in U.S.

Mini has padded next year's option sheet with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, so long as you're not buying in America. Available for the three-door, five-door, and convertible Mini models using "selected engine types," the DCT will provide a third transmission option after the standard six-speed manual and six-speed Steptronic automatic. Minis fitted the twin-clutch will be known by the meaty new gearshift lever that, BMW style, returns to its central position after the car's put into gear. A button at the top of the lever activates Park. Sensibly, you push the lever forward to downshift, and pull it back to upshift. When a buyer springs for navigation and the DCT, the transmission taps into map routing data and camera images to hone shift programming; the gearbox will downshift early when approaching a turn, or read a series of bends to know when to shift and when to hold steady. Fitted with a crawl function for ease of use in stop-and-go traffic, the DCT additionally supports stop/start, and coasting in Mid and Green driving modes for those times the driver takes his foot off the accelerator. For the time being, though, we're not invited to the party. Mini USA Communications Manager Mariella Kapsaskis told Motor1 that manufacturing the wet-clutch, dual-mass flywheel DCT "takes up lots of capacity." Which is the automaker equivalent of being told, "We're just not that into you right now." We expect that would change at some point; however, some of Mini's most sporting U.S. competitors also don't offer DCTs, so who knows. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Mini Double-Clutch Transmission View 17 Photos Image Credit: Mini MINI Hatchback