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BMW restores classic Mini as it revives production in Netherlands

Mini will be kicking off production in the Netherlands, a country that hasn't built a Mini-badged machine since 1966. In honor of this event, BMW Group Classic, the team responsible for all the cars in the BMW Museum, as well as being a spare parts and restoration company in its own right, revived a classic 1959 Austin Seven. That particular car, number 983, was one of the first Minis to be built in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands' JJ Molenaar's Car Companies built 4,000 Austin Sevens and Morris Mini-Minors between 1959 and 1966, although we imagine Dutch Mini production will be much bigger when it starts up again in summer 2014. A five-person team from VDL Nedcar, the group handling production of new Minis, took to the job of restoring the diminutive British car from nose to tail.
The 34-horsepower engine and the transmission were both completely rebuilt, while the door panels were redone by hand. Help from the Mini community aided the VDL Nedcar team in finding authentic replicas or original parts where possible. All told, the new classic Mini is a striking example of what a good restoration can do to a car. The Seven was repainted in its original Farina Gray, adding to the car's sense of authenticity.

60 Minis will race in the Silverstone Classic for Mini's 60th anniversary

It was just 60 short years ago when Mini established itself as a manufacturer of small cars as part of the British Motor Corporation. Over the years, the Mini became popular among the British people and beyond, not just as a car but as a cultural icon. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Mini is taking over Silverstone Circuit in England. The racetrack announced that 60 classic Minis will be racing in the Silverstone Classic outing, July 26-28. Back in May, Silverstone sought pre-1966 Mini Cooper S models to participate, and the APB received an overwhelming response but fell just short of the 60-car goal. But with the help of Motorsport UK, Britain's motorsport regulatory council, Silverstone was able to find two additional Mini Cooper S models to participate. "It only seems right and proper that we mark the Mini's 60th milestone with a 60-car grid, so we are really grateful to those at Motorsport UK and Masters Historic Racing, who are organizing these anniversary races, for securing this special permission," said Nick Wigley, Silverstone Classic's CEO. "As well as being a sixties fashion icon, the Mini's reputation was built on some wonderful motorsport successes, so there could neither be a better, nor more appropriate, way to celebrate its 60th anniversary than with an incredible 60-strong grid at the world's biggest classic motor racing festival." The Mini first received world recognition as champion of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally with Paddy Hopkirk and co-driver Henry Liddon. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Hopkirk will be present for 60-year Mini tribute and will be reunited with his original winning car, Cooper S #37 with license plate 33 EJB. Hopkirk will lead the Silverstone Classic's Diamond Anniversary track parade with his Cooper S. "I'm really flattered to have been asked to front this fantastic parade," Hopkirk said. "It's great that I'll be back in my old car, and I'm going to be bringing the Monte trophy along, too. It was presented to me by Princess Grace.The Classic is such a brilliant event and, oh my goodness, it will be absolutely amazing to see 60 Minis altogether on the track at the same time." All of the Mini Cooper S models invited are powered by the same race-prepped 1.275-liter inline-four, so it'll be an adorable and exciting race and a pure test of driver skill.

2020 Mini Cooper S E electric car's reveal date announced

Although we've pretty much seen the production 2020 Mini Cooper S E electric hatchback, we've been in the dark about when the car, and more importantly its specifications, will officially be revealed. But now the company says we'll see it on July 9, just a few weeks away. As you can see above, the car pulls many design cues from the Frankfurt concept such as the mostly filled-in grille with a yellow-green stripe and the nifty four-spoke wheels. Of course it's also clearly and closely based on the regular Mini Hardtop, and it even features the Mini Cooper S hood scoop. That's another indication that Mini intends for it to be comparable to a sporty gas-powered model. We're most anxious for confirmation on performance specifications. In our prototype drive, we learned that the motor is based on the one from the BMW i3S, so it should make about 181 horsepower, just 8 shy of the gas-powered Mini Cooper S. But the range estimate given during the prototype drive was a rather low 120 miles. That's actually a little less than the 150 miles of the prototype Mini E from about a decade ago. More finalized numbers should be available after the official reveal.