MINI News

The Geneva Motor Show is one of the top auto shows each year for new cars, concepts and car technology, and 2011 was no exception. Under the shining lights and amongst the glamorous girls were some pretty hot ideas and cool technology, so here we've chosen our favorite gadgets, details and tech...

MINI’s string of recent concept cars have a tradition of heading straight to production, except for perhaps the rugged Beachcomber, which was deemed too unsafe for the real world due to its lack of doors. With the unveiling of the latest MINI Rocketman concept, we could soon have yet another...

Positioned as a curious "3+1" seater with three doors and a scant 10-foot overall length, the 2011 MINI Rocketman concept is one MINI that’s actually mini. It’s currently only a design study, though it certainly looks like it could be promoted to the big leagues if the reception is warm...

Leaks, teasers, previews...the Geneva Motor Show is gearing up to a fever pitch this year, and MINI wants to be part of the action. Its entrant to the concept category? The MINI Rocketman Concept. Positioned as a curious "3+1" seater with three doors and a scant 10-foot overall length, the...

Monte Carlo is one of the classic homes of rally racing, and the original Mini was no stranger to its wiles. The new MINI WRC isn't, either, now that the two have shown off at the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique. Posed beside its forerunner, the new MINI WRC looks gargantuan, despite being based on...

If you’re still unfamiliar with the John Cooper Works (JCW) branding, either you’re not a MINI fan at all or you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years. JCW is the official tuning arm for the MINI brand and not only produces its own range of upgraded cars but is...

MINI will be using next month’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show to unveil a range of new sporty diesel models based on the regular Cooper and Cooper Convertible, as well as the longer wheelbase Clubman and Countryman SUV. The new range will be badged as SD models and will come fitted with a 2.0-liter...

If you thought 19 teenage girls squeezing into a Smart ForTwo was impressive, wait until you watch this video of 26 girls hopping inside a MINI Cooper. The previous record stood at 25 people but this latest group of dancers from the Pilobolus dance company, all 26 of them, managed to squeeze into...

File this one in the "we hope, but we don't expect" drawer, as it's almost too good an idea to be true: a road-legal, widebody, 300-horsepower MINI Countryman based on the World Rally Championship car. The source of the rumor? Anonymous and sketchy, but we almost don't care. Almost, because we hate...

The iconic original Mini, of British Motor Corporation origin, is inimitable in its proportion and style. The new BMW MINI, as much as it pays homage to the original, is an entirely different beast. The next-gen MINI will take the car's design even farther, however, according to the latest reports...

It was shown as a concept, but the MINI Paceman crossover/coupe has already been given the greenlight for production, rocketing this world premiere from interesting to important. It was also intensely odd event, as you'll see in the video below. MINI, as a brand, has embraced the odd in its...

MINI seems to have a knack for unveiling cool concept cars that eventually make it to production. It started with the original Clubman concept and then the Crossover concept, which progressed into the Countryman, and more recently we saw the Coupe and Roadster concepts, both of which have been...

We've already brought you the full details and official studio shots of the 2011 MINI Paceman, the "crossover coupe" version of the MINI Countryman, but now we have live shots from the unveiling at Cobo Hall. Despite the awkward market segment (crossover coupe?) and a name that runs dangerously...

If the words MINI Connected sound alien to you, you’re probably not a heavy smartphone user… or a MINI fan. MINI Connected is MINI's latest smartphone-controlling, Internet-enabled connectivity system, paralleling parent BMW's system of the same name. This week MINI has announced that...

MINI's Connected system, borrowed and reworked from corporate parent BMW, and its Pandora and Twitter app capabilities, were announced back in August, but today at the 2011 CES, we've learned a few more details. Unfortunately, what we learned is that it's a slower process than you might expect...

Building niche models for motorsports homologation is a time-honored tradition, particularly at BMW. The MINI Paceman Concept looks to be a good example of just that, likely as a basis for future World Rally Championship cars. It's due for a debut--as a concept only, for now--in Detroit in a few...

The 2011 MINI Countryman is the first four-door in the British brand's lineup--but a new two-door version could be in the works, if the MINI Paceman concept is any indication. The Paceman concept will make its world debut at the 2011 Detroit auto show on January 10. Calling the new design study a...

With the release of models like the Clubman and new Countryman crossover, there are fears that the MINI brand is treading away from what its very name reflects, mini cars. Heck, even its smallest model, the MINI Cooper hatch is nearly double the size of the original 1960s models, an issue BMW...

If you're a fan of literature and graffiti, this 2010 MINI Cooper S may be just what you're looking for. Signed by Garrison Keillor and 17 other Penguin authors, the car offers a unique chance to marry the love of fiction with the love of driving--in real life. Not surprisingly, the seller of the...

We're still waiting on the official debut of the MINI Countryman-based World Rally Championship entrant, but the German-based X-Raid team today gives us a look at what a beefier, brawnier Dakar-worthy version of the MINI looks like with the MINI All4 Racing. The Dakar Rally, if you haven't been...