MINI Previews New Coupé, Publishes Information on Lineup and 131 Photos

We’re still more than three months away from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but the BMW Group has already begun dropping information and photos of the models it plans to introduce at the show. Following the presentation of the all-new 2012 BMW 1-Series hatchback during the weekend, today the Bavarian group unleashed specifications and a large gallery of photos of the MINI Coupé.

While the model seen in the official pictures is partially covered in the firm’s characteristic swirly camouflage, it’s clear that the production version has barely changed from the 2009 concept car. Pictured here in John Cooper Works (JCW) form, the top-end Coupé hangs on to the concept’s sportier aero package that includes modified front and rear bumpers, side skirts and extended wheel arches that leave room for larger alloy wheels. The Coupé is also the first MINI to get an active rear spoiler that extends automatically at 80 km/h (50 mph).

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U Spy: 2012 Mini Roadster Testing in Britain

The new Mini Roadster isn’t expected to reach showrooms before late next year, but Carscoop reader Klaus M. has spotted a prototype model in a swirly camouflage at a roundabout near Oxford in South East England. Caught by surprise, Klaus managed to shoot a single photo of the 2012 Mini Roadster but promised to keep an eye open and send us more photos in the future.

Mini has already revealed plans to debut the Coupe version of the series at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show this September, with sales to follow towards the end of the year. The ragtop Roadster model will follow at a later date.

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Take that Goodwood: Vilner’s Mini Cooper S Inspired by Bentley

The BMW Group’s decision to launch a new posh version of the Mini hatch called “Mini Inspired by Goodwood” motivated Bulgarian design studio Vilner to develop its own luxed-up variant of the British supermini. However, while the Goodwood model received the Rolls Royce touch, Vilner’s proposal tries to emulate a Bentley – at least in the interior.

Even though Vilner has baptized the car “The Italian Job” as homage to the famous movie, for obvious reasons, a more appropriate name would have been “Mini Inspired by Crewe”. The Bulgarian company has dressed the Mini hatchback’s interior with fine materials such as brown Nappa leather and Alcantara, with parts of the seats, door panels, dashboard and roof lining featuring a diamond shape theme. In addition, the doors have gained elements of black leather while the original plastic was re-sprayed in a sparkling gray finish.

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British Study Reveals the Most Popular Hairdresser’s Car in Real Life

And no, despite what you may have heard or read, the Audi TT ain’t the most popular car among hairdressers – or at least not in Britain. According to a new study made available today by UK women's car insurance specialist Diamond, that title goes to…*drums please*…the one and only, MINI One hatchback. In fact, the BMW Group’s MINI brand had two vehicles in the top five positions.

The UK insurance firm came to this conclusion after looking at data from over 18,000 hairdressers in Britain. The company said the MINI One is three and a half times more likely to be driven by someone working as a hairdresser than everyone else.

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Rough & Tough MINI DSQUARED² Glides Down the Catwalk in Vienna

The BMW Group’s Mini division continues to support the Life Ball gala, Europe’s largest annual charity event in the fight against HIV and AIDS, by commissioning designers to fashion up its cars and then offer them up for auction. For this year’s event in Vienna, Austria, brothers Dean and Dan Caten, who are better known as the Canadian designer duo DSQUARED², crafted the Red Mudder based on the three-door Mini Cooper S.

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Study finds the Most Vandalised Car in Britain is the Lexus IS

Bad news for Lexus IS owners across the pond: if you happen to own one of the Japanese brand’s entry-level sedans, you’re in possession of the most vandalised car in the UK. Runners up are BMW’s Z4 sports coupe and MINI’s entry-level One model. It’s all been revealed as part of SwiftCover.com’s Vehicle Vandalism Index (VVI), whereby the UK-based insurer analysed some 2,000 motor insurance claims. SwiftCover claims director Robin Reames explains:

“Our analysis shows that luxury cars are more likely to be targeted by vandals, however, it's interesting to see the MINI One in the top three. The majority of vehicles in the top ten are what we call 'executive cars', likely to be driven by high earners who see their car as a status symbol, with just one 4x4 making up the top ten.”

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One-off Mini Red Mudder to be Unveiled at Life Ball Event on May 21

In keeping with the tradition it started in 2001 by allowing famous fashion designers to play around with its vehicles for Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event, Life Ball, Mini will once again reveal a special one-off model at this year’s happening. After established names like Gianfranco Ferre, Donatella Versace, Diesel and Calvin Klein got their way with the MINI, this year the honor has been awarded to DSquared². Read more »

Video: Peugeot EX-1’s Record Breaking Run on the Nurburgring

On April 27, 2011, for the first time in the Peugeot’s history, the French car maker set an official lap record on the Nordschleife race track in Germany. And this was no ordinary feat as Peugeot established an electric speed record with a concept model, the EX1 design study, which we first laid eyes upon at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

With Stéphane Caillet, driver and tuner-technician from Peugeot’s Research & Development Centre, behind the wheel, the futuristic looking EX1 completed a lap around the Nurburgring in 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds (9:01.338) at an average speed of 138.324 km/h (85.951 mph).

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Mini to Use Rolls Royce-Prepped Goodwood as a Sub-brand for Bespoke Models

In the same way the John Cooper Works moniker designates high-performance models, Mini plans to use the Goodwood name as a sub-brand for high-end luxury versions of its cars. According to British magazine Autocar, which quotes sources from within the company, the Goodwood badge will be used on luxurious, bespoke Minis just like the JCW badge is put on its high-performance models.

The first model of the Goodwood line is the “Mini Inspired by Goodwood”, which made its world premiere at the Shanghai auto show. The car is essentially a Cooper S that sports unique styling cues and trim options designed “in close collaboration” with Rolls-Royce. The name itself pays tribute to Rolls-Royce's headquarters, while the Shanghai unveiling signals the importance of the Chinese market for very expensive Minis.

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Mini Launches New Folding Bike, Priced at €499 / $728

After last year's electric scooters, the Mini brand continues to explore two-wheel territory, this time with a folding bicycle. The Mini Folding Bike stays true to the company's tradition, in the sense that it fits into the boot of almost any vehicle when it's folded. Not surprisingly, all Mini models can accommodate the small bicycle into their trunks. Read more »

MINI by Rolls Royce: Posh Limited Edition Model Revealed Ahead of Shanghai Show

A couple of years back, we shared some scoop photos of a prototype MINI with styling elements from Rolls Royce models. A company spokesman had then confirmed that the car was real, but to the dismay of many fans, he said that it was a one-off for a special dealer event. If you happened to like the idea of a Rolls-Royce-flavored MINI we have some good news for you as the British company will premiere a special edition model at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show next week.

The limited production model is called “Mini Inspired by Goodwood”, with the name paying tribute to Rolls Royce’s headquarters. Only 1,000 examples of the special Mini will be built at the British firm’s Oxford plant, with first deliveries to take place in the spring of 2012.

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MINI Officially Launches WRC Team, Unveils Countryman Racers

MINI's preparations for the brand's imminent return to the World Rally Championship have culminated with the official launch of the team less than a month ahead of its first WRC event, the Rally d'Italia Sardegna (May 5 - 8). At the company's plant in Oxford, England, the MINI WRC Team unveiled its two MINI John Cooper Works WRC cars, the driver/co-driver lineup and its plans for 2011.

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BMW Group Smashes Monthly Sales Record in March with More than 165,000 Units

The BMW Group is on track to reach new records in 2011 with the company posting its strongest monthly sales ever in March. The Bavarian automaker delivered a total of 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the past month, not only significantly beating the figure for March 2010 (141,717 units / +17%) but also the previous sales high of 152,721 vehicles recorded in December 2007. March sales rose in Europe by 7.8% to 93,540 vehicles, in Asia by a whopping 52% to 35,048 units, as well as in the Americas by 18.6% to 32,020 vehicles.

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VIDEO: When in New Zealand, Beware of the Most Annoying Mini in the World

Did you ever think about adding on some harmonicas to your car's bodywork? Of course not; you don't want people in your neighborhood to vandalize your car. The folks from Mini New Zealand, however, decided to stick 300 harmonicas on a Mini Clubman, just for the sake of a marketing campaign.

Once the job was finished, they created an interactive app on the local Mini website that allows visitors to combine the different sounds from the Mini Carmonica's adventures and create their own compositions. Creative marketing or the result of boredom? Who knows, but one thing's for sure; many of you will definitely turn off the sound after the first seconds of the video below…

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SCOOP: 2012 MINI Coupe JCW Remains Remarkably Faithful to Concept Model

Given that BMW Group officials recently confirmed that MINI’s new coupe model will arrive in the market before the end of the year, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that the company is gradually stripping away the camouflage from its test cars. Spotted here by our scoop photographers in Germany, is the most potent version of the MINI Coupe lineup, the John Cooper Works model that’s easily distinguished by the aggressive body kit with the flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.

MINI first showed the Coupe and Roadster models through a pair of concept cars at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. As predicted, the production version of the Coupe has stayed remarkably faithful to that show car’s design. In fact, with the exception of some very minor details such as the grille and the tail lamp crystals, nothing else has changed, including the shape of the top that’s supposed to resemble a baseball hat worn backwards.

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MINI Launches New USB Flash Drives for the Car Gadget Geeks

For all you MINI fans and car gadget geeks, BMW’s British subsidiary has released a new collection of USB flash drives. The data storage devices come in three unique shapes: an 8GB stick in the form of a MINI ignition key with an illuminated ring; a 4GB unit in the shape of a bulldog, which is said to reflect the firm’s British heritage, and a dual-purpose liquid mouse with a white MINI miniature swimming around in a two-tone, transparent orange fluid. More photos after the jump.

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BMW Confirms Plug-in Hybrid Version of 5-Series for China as well as New 3-Cylinder Turbo Engine and 2012 1-Series

For the past few months, we’ve been hearing various rumors about BMW’s future plans, but today, the German automaker came out with official details at a press conference in Munich starting with the debut of a plug-in hybrid version of the China market 5-Series at next month’s Shanghai Auto Show.

“A highlight at the Shanghai Motor Show in mid-April will be the presentation of our New Energy Vehicle, said BMW Chief Executive Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “This model will be our e-car from China for China – a long version of the BMW 5 Series as a plug-in hybrid. This car will benefit from the strength and the excellent reputation of the BMW brand.”

Reithofer confirmed the presentation of the production version of the MINI Coupe, first seen as a concept model at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the second generation of the BMW 1 Series, both of which will be launched this year alongside the new M5 sports saloon and the 6-Series models.

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BMW Group Posts 21.7 Percent Increase in Global Sales in February

The BMW Group, which includes the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, sold 111,720 vehicles in February 2011, recording a 21.7 percent increase over February 2010 (91,763 units) and setting a new record high for the month. For the year to the end of February, the German group’s sales volumes were 24.7% higher than in the first two months of the previous year, at 216,911 units compared to 173,913 in January-February 2010. Read more »

MINI Shows off New Rocketman at Milan Fashion Week [New Photos and Video]

Only a few days before its motor show debut at next week's Geneva Salon, the MINI Rocketman concept made its first public appearance at a special event on the sidelines of the Milan Fashion Week. The presentation was held at the Istituto Europeo di Design, which is a design school with a focus on automotive and product design.

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VIDEO: A MINI Cooper S Powered by a Helicopter Jet Engine

Rolls-Royce and MINI may have the same owner, but the two iconic British brands have never been intended to cross paths. That was until a Texas-based firm called BMP Design decided to squeeze a Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C20B jet engine sourced from a helicopter in the back of a MINI Cooper S. Yes, that's right, just behind the front seats.

The consequences of this action are easy to imagine: the 420-horsepower, 400 lb-ft of torque RR engine drives the rear wheels, turning the MINI into a 4WD monster. Managing to drive the car is a major achievement, since the driver needs to balance the conventional controls with the separate levers that command the jet engine.

As you are about to see, the speed and the acceleration of this little rocket are mind-blowing. As is the noise coming from the turbine engine. Watch the videos after the break.

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