2003 Mini Cooper Hardtop on 2040-cars

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Mini USA will temporarily stop importing manual transmissions

Emissions certification woes strike again, this time at Mini. The U.S. arm of Blighty's iconic car company has had to temporarily put a stop to importing any models with manual transmissions beginning with July production, which is when BMW typically begins rolling the new model year down assembly lines. According to MotoringFile, calibration testing for the six-speed manual is taking longer than expected. The outlet guesses the interruption will conclude by September, because it has "seen these type of delays in the past and they've lasted from 1-4 months." It has queried the brand's head of communication, who said, "As much as we at MINI USA would like to have a definitive timeline, it would be too early to say." The spokesman did, however, say that Mini remains committed to the manual gearbox. That comes in contrast to Toyota's recent breakdown of manual take-rates across a range of vehicle types, Hyundai jettisoning the manual on the 2020 Elantra, and stalwart enthusiast rides like the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and Chevrolet Corvette leaving the stick-shift fold. Nevertheless, Mini's efforts feel, at best, like raging against the dying of the light, especially because the end of the MF report states, "the other big news is that Mini USA is also eliminating the manual option from some models all-together." MF isn't yet certain about which models are affected, though. Buyers stepping up during the row-your-own intermission will get a crack at the long awaited seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or a revised eight-speed automatic. The DCT will slide into the Cooper and Coooper S models, the traditional automatic makes a home in the 301-horsepower John Cooper Works Clubman and Countryman.

Utah man builds iRacing simulator inside 2005 Mini Cooper S

Brent Cheney is an artist and part-time racer who used to own a tuning shop for time attack cars. That's why, when he decided to get into iRacing and wanted an immersive simulator, he wouldn't settle for mere technical excellence. As first covered by Salt Lake City's KSL news, then in more detail by Motor Authority, Cheney decided he wanted to cut a car into pieces, and rebuild it in the basement of his Salt Lake City, Utah house with a racing sim inside. He needed "the right aesthetic," ruling out something like a Toyota Corolla, but he refused the sacrilege of cutting up anything too precious to an enthusiast. After narrowly missing out on buying a 1999 BMW M3 convertible, then turning to a Mitsubishi Eclipse done up in splashy green like Brian O'Conner's car in the original "Fast and Furious," he ended up with a Mini Cooper. The Brit was a better choice than the German and the Japanese, in fact, thanks to a hardtop that would create a dark enclosure, and seams and shutlines in the right places to hide the necessary cuts.  Cheney found a 2005 Cooper S that had been junked over an engine issue, getting the coupe for $1,000 and parting out the internals he didn't need for the same $1,000 he paid. After watching a YouTube video on how to cut a car, he dismembered the Cooper into seven pieces with a cordless reciprocating saw wielding a Diablo Steel Demon 6-inch blade, and carried the pieces into his man cave. He reassembled those pieces on a wood base with the aid of 200 brackets and many more sheetmetal screws, nuts, and bolts. Once the car was put back together, body parts and trim pieces hid all the seams. Before reinstalling the interior, the artist laid in the sim equipment. After doubling the minimum requirements for iRacing, Cheney's system included an Intel Core i9 8-core processor NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB Founders Edition video card running Windows 10 inside a Thermaltake PC case under the Cooper S hood, as the new "engine." A Fanatec Podium DD1 direct-drive steering column and wheel and Fanatec V3 pedals went in the cabin, along with a Harman Kardon home theater 5.1 surround sound system. He mounted the wheel on the Mini's steering column with a fabricated adapter, put the Fanatec pedals where the car's pedals had been, put a ButtKicker Mini transducer in the original Mini seat for extra realism, and hid all the wiring beneath the carpet and interior trim components.

2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible First Drive

Is there a better place to launch a roofless Mini than Los Angeles in the middle of winter? Temperatures during the drive event for the new 2016 Mini Cooper S Convertible hovered in the mid-80s, and (a begrudging thanks to CARB here) there was only a thin haze to attenuate the sun. Moreover, the sprawled-out and uniquely Californian metropolis doesn't seem to hem in the longer, broader, ever so slightly taller Convertible. Even if you don't necessarily enjoy vehicles that inherently make a statement, driving a Cooper S Convertible around this style-conscious town at least attunes your sensibilities to the Mini norm. Since there isn't much mechanically or stylistically to differentiate the new Convertible from its Hardtop fraternal twin, we can cover the basics quickly. The exterior sheetmetal is, for better or worse, not much different. That means the large proboscis – a nod to pedestrian impact standards and a variety of other engineering and safety concerns – and longer rear overhang carry over. The jutting underbite and slightly walleyed headlight stance exaggerate how bulbous the front end has become with each subsequent generation. Taken in isolation, the Mini Convertible is still undeniably cute, but the English bulldog vibe is slowly being pushed out of the corporate design language as each new Mini is gently inflated. At some point, we'll hit the bursting point. The Mini Convertible is still undeniably cute, but the English bulldog vibe is slowly being pushed out of the corporate design language. Even in the space-compromised Mini Convertible, total cargo area increases by 25 percent to a useful 7.6 cubic feet maximum. The Easy-Load function, which props up the back edge of the soft top on a pair of spindly plastic struts, is a bit fussy but helps get awkward items in and out of the surprisingly deep cargo area. Smaller or soft luggage should go in without issue. Larger items might be better suited for the back seat. If you're buying a four-seat convertible, you should be prepared for these compromises ahead of time. Speaking of time, the top's operation is reasonably quick. It takes 18 seconds to raise or lower the top, at up to 18 mph. It was fast enough for a stoplight change to test out the situation with the lid on. If you've ever been in a last-generation Mini 'Vert, it's about the same – big blind spots mar the view, but it's remarkably quiet.