All Original 1974 Austin Mini Cooper 850 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mini to skip 2016 Detroit, Geneva Auto Shows

Following a report from the team at MotoringFile, rumors have been swirling that Mini will join Jaguar Land Rover and abandon this year's North American International Auto Show. We can officially confirm that the BMW-owned brand will be passing on not only next month's Detroit show, but also Europe's flagship Geneva Motor Show. It all has to do with positioning. See, auto shows can be two things – they can be news events, or they can be consumer events. On the consumer side of the equation, we have the sprawling Chicago Auto Show, while both Geneva and Detroit lean heavily towards being a source of breaking news. Based on Mini's official statement, it looks like it was that positioning that led the brand to pass on two of the world's most important auto shows. "The BMW Group confirms it has decided Mini will not be represented at the shows in Detroit and Geneva. This decision reflects Mini's new product and brand strategy, which was presented to the public on June 24, 2015," Mini USA spokesperson Mariella Kapsaskis told Autoblog in an official statement. "Part of the new brand strategy is focusing on selected auto shows and an increased engagement with events that increase MINI's access to other relevant target groups." Max Muncey, PR manager for NAIAS, corroborated the statement from Mini. "The North American International Auto Show is one of the few shows to carry the international moniker. As such, we focus on making news with global media outlets rather than serving as a consumer show," Muncey told Autoblog. "Mini's decision reflects this positioning." According to Muncey, Detroit hosted 5,000 journalists last year, while its media coverage was roughly double that of LA, where Mini held the world debut for the new Convertible and the US debut for the Clubman last month. In our opinion, with both those debuts out of the way and not much else coming down the pipe in the near future, prioritizing auto shows based on consumer attendance rather than media attendance seems like a sound strategy. Here's hoping Mini returns to the frigid wastes of Detroit for the 2017 installment of the North American International Auto Show.

2022 Mini Cooper Hardtop and Convertible refresh adds more grille

The current Mini Cooper Hardtop and Convertible models, while still generally fun and stylish, are getting up there in years. The last total redesign came in 2014, with some minor updates to keep it fresh. For 2022, Mini is going with another refresh instead of an all-new model, and it seems to have cribbed notes from BMW's design team. There's no getting around it, the updated Mini models have a big grille. And that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, the classic pre-BMW Minis had large grilles, but it's also messy. Every version gets a thick black grille surround that extends to the base of the bumper, and it blends into the black air dam. It makes it look overly big and hard to tell where it begins and the edge of the bumper begins. The body color center section makes it look like the grille frame was just laid on top of a plain bumper, and the various openings look a little like afterthoughts. The base Mini Cooper has the simplest design, which helps things somewhat, while the S and John Cooper Works models have bigger openings and more grille mesh. Grille aside, there are other small styling changes inside and out that are much less controversial. Mini is ditching fog lights mounted low in the bumper for minimalist openings and integrated fog lights in the main headlamp housings. The fender garnishes that Mini calls "side scuttles" have been given a tweak and some thin, long turn indicators. At the back, the rear fog lights and reflectors are gone completely for a cleaner design. A new option is the Multitone Roof that features a gradient with Soul Blue, Pearly Aqua and Jet Black. The interior is similar to the current model, but the analog speedometer has been replaced by the digital cluster introduced on the Mini Cooper SE and John Cooper Works GP. Also, the center air vents are now integrated into the dash panels and the steering wheel and ambient lighting arrangement have been redesigned. Mechanically, the Mini lineup is completely unchanged with the same engine and transmission offerings as before. That does mean that manual transmissions will continue to be available. Mini has added some new standard features to the lineup, though. All models now get an 8.8-inch infotainment screen as standard, and the interface has new graphics. Apple CarPlay and satellite radio are also included, though Android Auto is still unavailable. Lane-departure warning is now standard, and adaptive cruise control now has stop-and-go functionality.

Mini Countryman X-Raid gets some off-road chops courtesy of the Dakar team

Mini trades on its heritage quite a bit, particularly when it comes to racing. But one aspect of its motorsports history has been difficult to capitalize on: Dakar off-road racing. That's understandable, considering the disparity between Mini's road-going cars and the Mini-branded trucks built by X-Raid that do the racing. X-Raid itself seems to have figured out how to bridge that gap with its own set of upgrades for the Mini Countryman. X-Raid's example for its off-road upgrades is a Mini Cooper S Countryman All4, though we would expect the various parts could just as easily be fitted to other Countryman variants such as the base 134-horsepower Cooper Countryman. The S makes more sense for a racing company what with its 189-horepower turbocharged four-cylinder and the All4 offers off-road friendly all-wheel drive. Though Mini doesn't go into specifics about the suspension and chassis upgrades, we know that there is some level of suspension lift, as well as 28-inch all-terrain tires mounted on what appear to be 17-inch beadlock wheels. These modifications give the Mini Cooper S Countryman Powered by X-Raid (yes, that's the actual full name of the car) an extra 1.6 inch of ground clearance. As with the parts list, Mini and X-Raid haven't given precise pricing or availability for the parts. X-Raid is a German company, and we suspect it's only planning on selling the parts in Europe, but we wouldn't be surprised if there were a way to have them ship to the U.S. If you're interested in getting your own, Mini says to contact X-Raid directly for more details, and you can find their contact info at their official site, linked here. Related Video: