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Mini designs its own folding bike

Filed under: Etc., Mini

Mini Folding Bike

Mini Folding Bike – Click above for high-res image gallery

Old world cities like London and Paris suffer from brutal traffic congestion in their downtown cores. That’s where a car like a Mini or Smart truly shines. But even a small hatchback can have trouble getting around when things really get tied up. That’s where a folding bike comes in handy. Little wonder, then, that Mini has designed a collapsible bicycle of its own.

The Mini Folding Bike is built around a lightweight aluminum frame that easily folds in a matter of seconds to be placed inside a car’s trunk or carried onto public transport with a minimal fuss. The crossbar, handlebars and pedals fold up and the gel seat retracts to save space. All told, the bike weighs only 11 kilograms (24 pounds) and packs eight gears, 20-inch wheels with mud guards, an under-seat pouch, and a Teflon-coated chain that reduces both wear and the prospect of getting dirty while handling it.

Follow the jump for the press release and check out the images in the gallery below for a closer look.

Gallery: Mini Folding Bike

[Source: Mini]

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Mini designs its own folding bike originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen gives price points for 2012 Beetle, targets Mini

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupe, Budget, Volkswagen

2012 Volkswagen Beetle reveal in NYC

2012 Volkswagen Beetle reveal in NYC – Click above for high-res image gallery

Elaborating on our previous details from the New York unveiling of the 2012 much-altered Beetle, Volkswagen North America CEO Jonathan Browning has told Autoblog, “We’re aiming to essentially go after the Mini so far as market positioning and price offerings.”

That means a price range from $20,000 to $24,000 when the coupe launches worldwide in late September, and between $25,000 and $29,000 for the 2013 convertible. These price ranges take into account the three engines on offer at the start of deliveries: the 2.5-liter five-cylinder, 2.0-liter TDI diesel, and 200-hp 2.0-liter TFSI. There’s no telling what the price will be on the hot Beetle R foreseen for mid-2013 with the newest 261-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four from the Scirocco R, much less the rumored 337-hp Beetle RS with turbo inline five “W28” engine for 2014.

Wheels available at launch will range from a standard 17-inch set to optional 18-inch and 19-inch, the latter set being the size shown on all of the Beetles that you’ll see in our photos from the 2011 New York Auto Show.

VW global branding boss Luca De Meo tells us, “We want to avoid the almost total lack of rollout planning that the former New Beetle suffered. That car had a couple of pretty good years and then it fell dramatically. We want to keep offering new things that are significant this time around so as to keep the car fresh.”

Though Volkswagen could rely on its vast worldwide manufacturing network to build the Beetle for Western Europe, China, and North America, bosses in New York say that all Beetle manufacturing will remain exclusively at the Puebla, Mexico plant.

Gallery: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle: New York 2011

2012 Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen gives price points for 2012 Beetle, targets Mini originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Videos: Mini has some fun with the Countryman WRC

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Mini

mini countryman wrc

Mini takes the Countryman WRC out for some spins – Click above to watch video after the jump

Mini is excited to get back to rally racing, and its hoping the new Countryman WRC will be a good tool for the job. The automaker has been all over the place to show off its pumped-up racer, and, thankfully for us, cameras were brought along the whole way.

We have five videos waiting for you after the jump. In the first three, driver Kris Meeke does his best Ken Block impersonation by tackling a mini (or is that Mini?) Gymkhana course. The other two videos show a bit of Mini’s racing history and give a look at the official launch of the Countryman WRC.

[Source: Youtube]

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Videos: Mini has some fun with the Countryman WRC originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini and Prodrive officially launch WRC team at Oxford

Filed under: Motorsports, Crossover, Mini, Off-Road, Racing

Mini JCW WRC

MINI John Cooper Works WRC – Click above for high-res image gallery

It’s been a long time in the making, but after confirming their participation some eight months ago and unveiling the car in Monte Carlo for nostalgia’s sake, Mini and Prodrive have finally and officially launched their joint World Rally Championship effort at the Mini assembly plant in Oxford, England.

The team is starting off with a limited schedule in the WRC this year, where it will contest a number of rallies throughout the year, before taking on the likes of Ford and Citroën – which have won every drivers’ and manufacturers’ championship in the WRC for the past seven years – for the full championship in 2012.

The S2000-spec Mini Countryman rally car has already contested three lower-level regional rallies, winning the Rally dell’Adriatico in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship. 2009 IRC champion Kris Meeke and former Citroën WRC driver Dani Sordo will debut as Mini’s official works drivers at the Italian Rally in Sardegna next month.

We’ll be watching to see how they do, but for now you can follow the jump to read the full press release, and check out the images of the WRC-spec car at its debut in Oxford and the S2000-spec machine being put through its paces during Rally Portugal in the galleries below.

Gallery: MINI John Cooper Works WRC

Gallery: MINI John Cooper Works S2000

[Source: Mini]

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Mini and Prodrive officially launch WRC team at Oxford originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini teases Goodwood special en route to Shanghai

Filed under: Hatchback, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Shanghai Motor Show, Luxury

Mini Inspired by Goodwood teaser image

Mini Inspired by Goodwood – Click above for high-res image

The Shanghai Motor Show may not have ranked among the major expos of the year until recently, but automakers flocking to the Chinese show have put it on the map. And this year’s show – now just one week away – is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet.

In Shanghai, visitors will get their first glimpse of the BMW Concept M5, Mercedes-Benz A-Class concept, the new Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Envision crossover concept, Audi’s new Q3 and Subaru’s XV crossover concept, just to name a few. In short, there’s no lack of novelty at the show in China this year. And Mini won’t be sitting out the action, either.

As we reported last month, Mini will be presenting its Goodwood show car in Shanghai, and has now released the teaser image you see above. Officially called the Mini Inspired by Goodwood, it’s a joint effort between Mini and Rolls-Royce – the two English brands at the opposite ends of the BMW Group spectrum – Shanghai’ing, as it were, Rolls-Royce’s cabin craftsmen and putting them to work on a Mini’s interior, with a price tag that’ll land somewhere in between. Stay tuned for more as the show rapidly approaches.

[Source: Mini]

Mini teases Goodwood special en route to Shanghai originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Segler moves back to Mini in BMW management shift

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, BMW, Mini

Dr. Kay Segler

Over at BMW corporate headquarters in Munich, it’s time for another game of “reise nach Jerusalem” – German for “musical chairs” (don’t ask us why) – shifting senior management around various departments. Following the announcement of management installed at the automaker’s new i Division comes a shift in senior staff at the M Division and at Mini.

The reshuffle revolves around Dr. Kay Segler (pictured), who was in charge of the Mini brand between 2004 and 2008. Over the past few years, Segler’s been running BMW M GmbH, but will now be moving back to his old job with the small car subsidiary. His role at M will be taken up by Dr. Friedrich Nitschke (not to be confused with the 19th-century existentialist philosopher Nietzsche), who was until now in charge of product development for Mini. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

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Segler moves back to Mini in BMW management shift originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: All-wheel-drive Mini Cooper hybrid caught weathering the arctic

Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrid, Mini

hybrid mini cooper spy shot

AWD Mini Cooper Hybrid Spy Shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

Once you’ve put an all-electric drivetrain into a Mini Cooper, is it that hard to hybridize one? Well, yes, especially since BMW’s limited testing program was intended to give the company information about a plug-in architecture. But our spy photographers have discovered what’s believed to be the first Mini Cooper prototype fitted with a hybrid drivetrain.

The body certainly looks the same, but – as you can see in our high-resolution gallery – BMW has affixed a sticker in the window that clearly says “hybrid test vehicle.” We don’t know many details about the powertrain sitting under the bright red paint, but sources indicate that this is a through-the-road hybrid, with the front wheels powered by a normal engine and the rear wheels motivated by an electric motor. Things like displacement, total horsepower and battery size are all as mysterious as they ever were, but rumor has it – no, really this time – that a hybridized Mini will be available when the next-generation arrives in 2013.

Gallery: Spy Shots: Mini Cooper Hybrid with AWD

[Source: Carpix]

Spy Shots: All-wheel-drive Mini Cooper hybrid caught weathering the arctic originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Latest Mini Coupe photos suggest production nearly afoot

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Mini

Mini Coupe Spy Shots

Mini Coupe Spy Shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’re inching ever closer to seeing the Mini Coupe in showrooms. The clipped Cooper is set to land on dealer lots as soon as this Autumn, and it looks like the company’s engineers are hard at work ironing out the very last wrinkles in the platform. Our spy photographer commandos managed to click off a few photos of the most recent tester out and about wearing what must be nearly production-ready sheetmetal. If we were the betting types, we’d lay a shiny nickel on the vehicle you see here being all but identical to the final iteration.

In these photos, we can clearly see that the vehicle’s retractable spoiler tucks cleanly into the trunk when not in use, though the somewhat awkward roof aero treatment is still sticking around. Up front, the Coupe wears the same corporate clothing as the Cooper line, and buyer should expect to find the same line of four-cylinder engines under the hood as well.

Gallery: Mini Coupe Spy Shots

[Source: CarPix]

Spy Shots: Latest Mini Coupe photos suggest production nearly afoot originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini Goodwood Concept headed to Shanghai Motor Show

Filed under: Concept Cars, China, Hatchback, Mini, Rolls-Royce, UK, Specialty, Shanghai Motor Show, Design/Style, Luxury

Mini logo

At the recent Geneva Motor Show, a source within Mini revealed to Autoblog that the automaker will be bringing a new concept, dubbed “Goodwood,” to the Shanghai Motor Show next month.

The Goodwood concept is a fully plushified, hand-wrought hatchback updo that pays hommage to not only the current Rolls-Royce headquarters on the Goodwood estate (hey, it’s all in the BMW Group family), but also to the Rolls-Royce/Bentley glory years of bespoke treatments by the in-house Mulliner Park Ward department. Consider it a high-margin fluff job for present-day good-taste barometer nations like China, Russia, India, Abu Dhabi and Switzerland.

Coachbuilder Park Ward of London became a wholly owned part of Rolls-Royce/Bentley in 1939, while H.J. Mulliner & Co. was absorbed in 1961. Together these workers melded into one under the legendary Mulliner Park Ward bespoke umbrella. In 1998 when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were hewn asunder, Mulliner was eventually reconstituted under the Bentley brand as its bespoke group, while Park Ward lasted until 2002 at the end of the limited-run Rolls-Royce Park Ward extended-wheelbase model.

We’re eager to get our hands on the official images and details sometime before the Wee Roller’s debut next month. Should be rich.

[Image: Drew Phillips/AOL]

Mini Goodwood Concept headed to Shanghai Motor Show originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kid-sized Mini Seven is perfect for minimalist children

Filed under: Etc., Toys/Games

Mini Seven go-kart

Mini Seven – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’re a little torn on this one. You’re looking at what could possibly be the most awesome go kart ever crafted by human hands: the Mini Seven. Mini is a company that specializes in high-end electric golf carts that vary from a proportionally-correct Hummer resort vehicle to a Bentley Continental GT lookalike. This, however, is different. The Seven was built specifically with children in mind, and Mini says that the pint-sized interpretation of Colin Chapman’s wonder is safe for operation on tarmac or in fields. Powered by a Honda gasoline engine, the car has a top speed of around 19 mph.

Four disc brakes with a fully-adjustable proportioning valve are standard, as are a set of four-point harnesses to keep your budding speed demon firmly planted in the optional leather seats. Even the pedals are adjustable to keep up with a kid’s growth.

Unfortunately, all of this unbelievable kit comes with a similarly eye-widening price tag. Expect to fork over £6,995, or roughly $11,305. Awesome? Sure. That awesome? Probably not.

Gallery: Mini Seven

[Sources: Born Rich, Gizmag, Mini Electric Vehicles]

Kid-sized Mini Seven is perfect for minimalist children originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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