2012 Mini Cooper Turbo 1.6l I4 16v Manual Fwd Coupe Premium on 2040-cars

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2024 Mini Hardtop has fun in the snow before its unveiling

Mini is nearly ready to unveil the first member of the next-generation Hardtop family. It will introduce the two-door hatchback variant in 2022, and it released official spy shots showing a test mule in a frozen part of Sweden to give us a better idea of what to expect from the car. The BMW-owned firm stresses that the prototype shown on frigid Swedish roads is fully electric, though it stopped short of publishing any technical details. We're expecting that the plucky little hatchback will offer users more horsepower and more range than the current Cooper SE. And, there's no word yet on whether the line-up will include versions powered by an internal-combustion engine for buyers who are not interested in going electric. We've reached out to the company for more information, and we'll update this story if we learn more. It's clear that the next Hardtop’s proportions havenÂ’t significantly changed; it remains recognizable as a member of the Mini line-up, but designers have reimagined many key styling cues. Spy shots of a completely camouflage-free prototype taken in December 2021 reveal evolutionary updates made to the front end and a reimagined rear end characterized by angular lights connected by a black piece of trim. At first glance, it looks like the modern-day Mini is in for the biggest makeover since BMW rebooted the model at the turn of the millennium. More details about the next-generation Mini Hardtop will emerge in the coming months, and we expect to see the model make its debut before the end of 2022. It will later be joined by a four-door hatchback and a two-door convertible (Mini has confirmed it wonÂ’t leave the drop-top segment). Meanwhile, the company is sending off the current Hardtop by releasing a number of design-led limited-edition models. While the Hardtop stands proud as the car that MiniÂ’s image is pegged on, the segment of the market that it competes in is shrinking on a regular basis. Buyers prefer crossovers to hatchbacks, even across the pond. To that end, Mini is also working on the next-generation Countryman — which could be its biggest and most powerful model — and it announced plans to show a new crossover concept in 2022. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2024 Mini Hardtop, official spy shots View 23 Photos Green MINI Hatchback Electric

BMW's Mini plant closes for 4 weeks for the Brexit that didn't happen

LONDON — BMW's Mini plant in Britain is closing for four weeks starting Monday in a move planned over a half year ago to help the company deal with any disruption resulting from Brexit, which has since been delayed. The German carmaker, which builds just over 15 percent of Britain's 1.5 million cars, moved its annual summertime shutdown to April to "minimize the risk of any possible short-term parts-supply disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit." But Britain's departure from the EU has now been pushed back from March 29 until at least April 12 or potentially much later, scuppering the timing of major contingency plans for some carmakers. Shutdowns are organized far in advance so employee holidays can be scheduled and suppliers can adjust volumes, making them hard to move. "This is what our company and our workforce have planned for over many months, and it is fixed into our business planning," said a BMW spokesman. It represents the latest headache for Britain's once roaring car sector which had been on track for record production but since 2017 has posted sharp falls in sales, output and investment. The overwhelmingly foreign-owned industry has become increasingly incredulous as a stable and attractive investment environment descends into one of its deepest political crises, risking the free and frictionless trade the sector relies on. BMW's Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood will close for two weeks whilst Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) three car plants and engine facility and Honda's Swindon facility will also shut for a few days this month as part of Brexit contingencies. It has been a turbulent few months for the sector after Nissan canceled plans to build a new sport utility vehicle at its English Sunderland plant and Honda said it would shutter its plant in 2021 in the biggest blow to the sector for years. Toyota provided a rare boost when it announced plans to build cars for Suzuki at its English car plant. BMW, which is also closing its central English Hams Hall engine facility and Swindon press shop and sub-assembly site for four weeks, has said it could move some engine and Mini output out of Britain if there is not an orderly Brexit. Carmakers face a number of risks if there is a disorderly Brexit, including delays to the supply of ports and finished models, new customs bureaucracy, the need to recertify models and an up to 10 percent tariff on finished vehicles.

Junkyard Gem: 2011 MINI Cooper Clubman

The original BMC Mini changed the automotive world forever in 1959, staying in production in essentially the same form all the way through 2000. Its innovative transverse-mounted engine and front-wheel-drive transaxle became the layout for most cars built in the world today, and its cheap price tag put millions of new drivers on wheels for the first time. Like the Volkswagen Beetle and Fiat 500, it was inevitable that the shape of such an iconic machine would be applied to a modern platform for the retro-ization craze of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and that's just what happened when BMW ended up owning the Rover Group. The BMW-built MINI Hardtop first appeared on our shores for the 2002 model year, and used-up examples of these cars are now extremely plentiful in self-service wrecking yards across the continent. The Cooper Clubman, which debuted here for the 2008 model year, has been a rare sight during my junkyard travels, and so I documented this one in Denver a few weeks ago. The Clubman wasn't quite as nimble and easy to park as the regular Cooper, but its increased cargo capacity and split rear doors made it a lot more useful for trips to the big-box store. It also offered more space for rear-seat passengers, and the right-side suicide rear door made it much easier to get into the back seat (on that side). The new MINI started out much larger than the clown-car-tiny old Mini, anyway. The added usefulness and more recent release of the Clubman have made it an uncommon sight in American car graveyards. This one was uncrashed and still had the original manuals inside, which suggests that some owners of first-generation (2008-2014) Clubmen are no longer willing to pay for major mechanical repairs when needed. We'll see how this sorts out during the next few years. As the owner of a 2000s wagon with a manual transmission, I applaud the original purchaser of this wagon for the choice of three-pedal setup. The interior looks to have been fairly tidy before junkyard shoppers tore it apart. The Colorado toll-road transponder suggests that this machine was a well-cared-for commuter for its decade on the road, but proved to be not worth repairing when some major component failed. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The future will look exactly like the MINI CLUBMANIA human-scale pinball machine. This content is hosted by a third party.