1963 Austin Mini Mki Series With 998 Cc Cooper Engine New Zealand Import on 2040-cars

Auto blog

How Mini shacked up with John Cooper

The late Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis, Alec Issignonis to his Internet friends, designed a car that was sold as the Morris Mini-Minor, the Austin Seven and later the Austin Mini. Go to the Mini USA website and check out the models, though, and every one of them is called a Cooper of some sort, e.g., Mini Cooper Paceman or Mini Cooper S Roadster. So who is Cooper?
It's probably obvious that it's the same Cooper we get in "John Cooper Works," those JCW Minis that always make up the top of the line. But many probably don't know that that John Cooper, founder of John Cooper Cars, is the same man who accidentally got the motorsports world to switch to rear-engined race cars and the same Formula One constructor who won two titles in 1959 and 1960 and who fielded drivers like Bruce McLaren and Stirling Moss.
On its way to driving the Mini John Cooper Works GP II, XCAR goes back to the beginning to find out when Alec met John, and how the first Mini Cooper came out in 1961, two years after the first Mini. You can watch the story and the car review in the video below.

Mini reveals new design details, including a round touchscreen

It’s not that the Mini brand wants to reinvent the wheel. Except that maybe it does. It's even reinventing the circle. “Charismatic Simplicity” is what the brand has termed its new design language, which will show up on a new family of all-electric models. The looks will appear on the next-generation Cooper and Countryman. The interiors reflect the most noticeable changes on the cars, marked especially by a round OLED (organic light-emitting display) — yes, the entire central circle of the infotainment system will be a touch-sensitive display. It will have a diameter of 9.4 inches and will combine all the functions of the infotainment system and the instrument cluster. Touch control will manage infotainment and climate functions. That's certainly the most intriguing detail previewed, but Mini did not share images of the touchscreen. Here's all they've shared so far:  At the centre of the visually reduced interior is the circular central instrument display iconic of MINI, which will be reinterpreted in the form of an OLED display in the upcoming model family. MINI is the worldÂ’s first car manufacturer to offer a touch display with a fully usable round surface. The OLED display has a diameter of 240 millimetres and combines the functions of the instrument cluster and the on-board monitor. The sleek design and frameless look give it a particularly high quality appearance. The touch control enables a completely new, minimalistic user interface that also controls the integrated infotainment and climate functions. With the purist dashboard as a stage for the circular central display, MINI continues the traditional design heritage of the classic MINI. The steering wheel, not really reinvented but tweaked, will be available in a couple of versions, with either two spokes or three, and Mini will offer a variety of colors, patterns and fabrics for the seats. Finally, the alloy wheels are updated, to “no longer focus on the sculptural nature of the spoke structure, but on a graphic design characterized by strong color contrasts,” the company says. “This creates an illusion of size, which is further emphasized by the outward-pointing spokes.” “Our purist, progressive approach combines the simplicity of functional elements with the emotionality that Mini is renowned for,” says Oliver Heilmer, head of Mini Design. “We are convinced that the conscious reduction to a few, but expressive elements enable innovations that would have been unthinkable before.”

2025 Mini Countryman S All4 will start at $39,895

Mini uploaded a bit more information on the 2025 Countryman S All4 to its retail web site, including output figures and price. For now, this is the least pricey trim in the new Countryman lineup, powered by the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder used in its sibling, the BMW X1 xDrive28i. It’s making the same 241 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, too, which Mini says this is enough to get the all-wheel-drive SUV from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 6.5 seconds, 0.3 second behind the time BMW claims for the X1.  The automaker calls this "a super-sized sequel to our original Countryman." It will come with a substantial price increase that one might also call super-sized, although it's difficult to line up this variant of the new Countryman with the current range. The 2025 model is going to cost $38,900 before a $995 destination fee, totaling $39,895 not counting options and the rest. ThatÂ’s about $6,000 more than the starting point of todayÂ’s three-strong range, the $33,645 134-hp non-S Countryman. The 2024 Countryman S makes 189 hp and 207 pound-feet of torque and starts at $33,895. For comparison, the price difference between the 2024 Countryman JCW and the 2025 version is $4,095. The additional cost of the new model will buy a larger car with 20% more cargo space, almost 30% more power and more than 40% more torque, the latest tech, and some snazzy two-tone, 19-inch wheels.  We've got a price on the battery-electric 2025 Countryman SE ALL4 as well: $46,195, according to the web site. This represents the upper trim with 313 hp and 363 lb-ft when using the boost function, able to hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and go an estimated 245 miles on a charge. Along with the other variants mentioned above, it can be reserved now. The Countryman S All4 and JCW are expected to begin reaching dealers in the spring with the electric versions coming a few months later. We're still waiting for price, powertrain, and range details for the entry-level battery-electric 2025 Countryman E coming next fall. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.