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500-hp Acura V6 turns this classic 1974 Mini into a mid-engined sleeper

Originally designed on a napkin, the world-famous Mini launched by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1959 was envisioned as a cheap, practical city car for families on a budget. Now, 61 years later, it's a sought-after classic that many aftermarket companies hail as the ideal foundation on which to build their wildest dreams. Gildred Racing thought further out of the box than most by turning a Mini into a mid-engined, 500-horsepower sleeper. Starting with a 1974 model, the California-based firm removed the original four-cylinder engine (and the four-speed manual transmission bolted right under it, where you'd normally expect to find the oil sump) and completely stripped the interior. Only the front seats ended up going back in; the space occupied by the tiny rear bench is now home to a 3.2-liter V6 that started life under the hood of an Acura CL Type S from the early 2000s. It's mounted transversely, and it spins the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Acura quoted the six's output at 260 horsepower, which would be a healthy upgrade for the little Brit, but Gildred tuned it to 500 horses and 383 pound-feet of torque by making a long list of modifications (including, significantly, adding a supercharger). That's a 466-horse increase compared to a stock 1974 Mini 850, so the scope of chassis upgrades is long. It includes bigger brakes made by Wilwood, and a fully redesigned suspension. And, although packaging a V6 in a small, front-wheel drive car like the Mini was as challenging as it sounds, Gildred pulled it off admirably. The engine bay is now home to the fuel tank and the radiator, while opening the trunk reveals a huge exhaust. The trade-off, of course, is that there's no longer a trunk, but it's a sacrifice we'd happily make. Performance specifications haven't been released yet. Gildred simply said its 1,400-pound Super Cooper is "quite impressive," which we believe. The original wasn't; it took 34 seconds to reach 62 mph from a stop. Gildred also made several changes in the name of modernity. It added a 9.7-inch iPad where you'd expect to find a touchscreen for the infotainment system in a modern car, an Alpine sound system, a push-button ignition, power locks and windows, LED headlights, plus automatic A/C. We imagine the whole cabin gets hot when the V6 works up a sweat. The passengers sit on leather- and suede-upholstered Recaro bucket seats that are heated and cooled.

2025 Mini Cooper reveals its OLED screen, retro gauges and dog assistant

We got to see the 2025 Mini Cooper’s interior the other week, but now Mini is peeling back the veil on everything there is to know about the new round screen in the center and the all-new software itÂ’s running.  Mini is calling this fancy, round screen the “Mini Interaction Unit.” From a hardware perspective, itÂ’s rather special. The super-thin screen itself is a perfect circle and measures 9.4 inches in diameter. That might sound small in the world of ever-increasing car screens, but every other screen out there is rectangular, so the measurement applies in every direction, rather than just the diagonal of a rectangular screen. We sat in the driverÂ’s seat of the new Mini, and thereÂ’s certainly no lack of screen size to be seen here. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To make matters even better, Mini is using OLED technology — Samsung is the supplier — for this round screen. That means extra vivid colors and the darkest-possible blacks. Cadillac uses OLED tech for its screens in the Escalade, too, and the result is beautiful. Of course, the software playing on this screen is the real star of the show, and itÂ’s called Mini Operating System 9. ItÂ’s a completely new-from-the-ground-up software suite, and you can wave goodbye to the old BMW iDrive control knob, too, because this is touch-control-only. The pictures describe the design aesthetic best. ItÂ’s vibrant, colorful, modern and full of pleasant surprises. We'll also note that while the photos here depict the electric Mini Cooper, the new Countryman will feature the same screen setup. What you see on screen is largely dependent on what “Experience Mode” youÂ’re in. Those include Core, Go-Kart, Green, Balance, Timeless, Vivid and Personal (Trail is added for the Countryman). Core is going to be your standard mode that provides a simple interface with your navigation, media and phone status spread out across the screen. A lot changes in the other modes, but certain things remain consistent across all modes including the auto climate controls, speedometer, range and the shortcut bar at the bottom with often-used menus. You can store even more (customizable) frequently used commands into a “tool belt” that is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

BMW will invest $750 million to build Mini EVs in the UK

LONDON — BMW said on Monday it will invest 600 million pounds ($750 million) in its UK plants to take its Mini brand all-electric by 2030, giving a fresh boost to Britain's car industry after years of Brexit-related uncertainty. From 2026, the German premium carmaker will make two electric models at its Mini plant in Oxford — the Mini Cooper 3-door and the compact crossover Mini Aceman. The plant will make only electric models as of 2030 and many of those cars will be exported to markets around the world, BMW production chief Milan Nedeljkovic said. Speaking to journalists in Oxford, Nedeljkovic said the company wants to use batteries made in Europe in the new models made in Oxford, but did not specify whether they would come from the UK, saying it depending on the attractiveness of the market for its suppliers. The same two models will also be made in China and exports of those cars will begin in 2024. Also speaking in Oxford, British business minister Kemi Badenoch said: "We want auto manufacturing not just to stay in the UK, but to be the best in the world, and this is part of that story". Badenoch declined to comment on the level of subsidy to be received by BMW for Mini production, reported by British media to be 75 million pounds. BMW will also invest in its plant in Swindon which makes parts for Mini models. It was too soon to say what would happen to the engine plant in Hams Hall, near Birmingham, Nedeljkovic said. The small, fast and affordable original Mini went on sale in 1959 and has remained popular under BMW since it revived the brand in 2001, but its future in Britain has been uncertain for years, exacerbated by fears that Brexit would prompt the company to relocate production to Germany, China or elsewhere. Still, the industry remains on edge with both Britain and Europe's carmakers calling for a delay in the implementation of post-Brexit "rules of origin", under which 45% of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. "The [auto] industry is screaming at the EU," Badenoch said in Oxford, arguing that tariffs on EU and UK-made cars would only help Chinese manufacturers and that more time was needed to build local capacity. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.