Archive for the ‘MINI’ Category
Ok, I may be being a little optimistic there but get through Christmas and you’ll all be looking for signs of it! Those first few days of sunshine where the temperatures crawl above freezing and the first spring bulbs poking their heads above grass level will all be hailed as the fact that summer is on its way.
You certainly won’t get past March without a few brave souls putting the top down on their convertibles and braving the elements for the touch of sun on their faces whilst driving. And there’s a very good reason for this: the new Mini convertible due for release on 28th March 2009.
For those who live in the vicinity of Silverstone, they will be used to a plethora of cars descending on them on regular occasions. However, come May 22nd 2009, things are about to become a darn sight more interesting around those parts!
In celebration of Mini’s 5oth birthday, the third ever MINI United Festival is to be held at the Silverstone race track from 22nd to 24th May and is the largest fan event of the year.
Mini has been bought by the big German car maker BMW and they have tried to capture the old Mini flair and presence in the new model that has been developed substantially.
BMW released a sporty Mini Cooper S that offered a much more sporty and racy experience for those who wanted to enjoy a much more immersive driving experience. But this was still not as demanding or crazy enough for some people and that is where the Mini John Cooper Works comes into the picture.
Just a baby at only one month old, the new MINI John Cooper Works has steamed in and taken the title of Best Hot Hatch for 2008. Competition from the Volkswagen Golf GTi and Clio Renaultsport was simply no competition at all!
From a 1.6 litre turbo charged engine comes 211 hp.
This is the same engine that is in the Mini Challenge race car yet the emission and fuel consumption figures beats other cars easily. This Mini will give you over 45 miles per gallon while the VW sits miles behind at 35mpg and the Clio lags further still with 33mpg. As for emissions, we have 149 g/km from the Mini and 189 and 199 from the VW and Clio, respectively.
There’s nothing quite like having a gleaming new car sitting on the drive, just waiting for you to jump in, rev up and take off for a pose in your new status symbol. Nothing, that is, unless you’re talking about a car that has no less than a one in one thousand chance of having a replica somewhere.
An almost unique car that has been customised with your choices really feels like yours. It doesn’t feel like a run of the mill,, off the shelf vehicle that just anybody could have. And you would have to travel pretty far and wide to find another car the same as yours so you can be fairly sure that anybody admiring your car is doing it because they haven’t seen another quite like it.
But how can you do this?
mini-convertible-300×176.jpg” alt=”" width=”300″ height=”176″ />For those who never thought of the Mini Cooper as being the type of flash car for the trendy individual, think again.
Let’s set the scene a little. It’s the height of summer, not a cloud in the sky, not a care in the world and you’re cruising along the road in a sleek white Mini (or any other colour of your choice). The soft top is down and you’re soaking up the rays as you glide along on 17″ double spoke alloy wheels that raise barely more than a whisper against the tarmac. The only thing missing is some really cool music.
The influence of flower power and hippy Sixties chic is patently obvious in the Alan Aldridge design on a unique MINI that is now on show at the Design Museum in London.
This famous illustrator and graphic designer has worked his magic on the exterior of a MINI leaving it covered in a pastel design of colourful flowers and accompanied by resident hippies painted on the window. The fact that Aldridge also illustrated lyric books for The Beatles shows through in this stunning creation. The driver’s side is predominantly decorated in pale blue with the passenger side being predictably pink and an array of images, shapes and patterns covering the surface.
The whole concept of electric cars has taken quite some time to take off. The problem was that they severely lacked the performance of petrol or diesel engines and could not get that far on one charge. However, with the increased cost of fuel over recent years and the ever present climate change in the news, advancements in electric cars have been pushed forward to try and provide the public with cars that do not pollute the air but still maintain a certain standard of performance.
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