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Mini Countryman Boardwalk limited edition strolls into the 2021 lineup

Mini released several limited- and special-edition variants of the Hardtop for the 2021 model year, but it's not forgetting about the bigger Countryman. It announced a new version of the crossover named Boardwalk that stands out with an eye-catching shade of blue borrowed from its smaller sibling, among other visual tweaks. If the Boardwalk looks familiar, it's because the metallic Deep Laguna blue was inaugurated by the Convertible Sidewalk edition (pictured in the gallery) introduced for the 2020 model year and sold globally in limited numbers. It was added to the Countryman lineup by popular demand, according to the BMW-owned firm, and its leap from the Sidewalk to the Boardwalk was accompanied by black paint on the roof and on the door mirrors. Mini pointed out its stylists drew inspiration from a boardwalk's wooden planks to design the emblems they put on both fenders. Edition-specific logos also appear on the roof, on the sill plates, and on the dashboard. Globally, the edition can be paired with the Cooper and the Cooper S. Mini confirmed to Autoblog that the Boardwalk will be sold in the United States, but it hasn't revealed how many examples it will send here, or how much the model will cost. We've asked, and we'll update this story if we learn more. Updated for the 2021 model year, the Countryman won't remain Mini's only crossover for much longer. Executives announced plans to realign the model range during the 2020s by putting a bigger emphasis on crossovers. One of the two upcoming high-riding cars will be a Countryman-sized electric models, while the other will arrive as a bigger people-mover that will allegedly ride on BMW's modular CLAR platform. Related video:

Guerlain Chicherit going for world record for longest car jump

Does the name Guerlain Chicherit ring any bells? It definitely should if you're into competitive skiing, as he was crowned world champion in off-trail freeriding four times. But he's also a rally driver, winning the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup in 2009 and even a stage of the Dakar Rally the following year. What really set him apart, though, was when he back-flipped a Mini Countryman rally car to set a world record last year. And now he's after another.
This time he's going after the world record for the longest ramp jump in a car. The record currently belongs to Tanner Foust at 332 feet, but Chicherit plans to break it by a good thirty more with a targeted distance of 360 feet.
He'll be using the Mini once again, sponsored by Monster Energy and Toyo Tires, and specially modified for the endeavor which he plans to undertake this Sunday under the auspices of Guinness World Record officials. We'll be watching to see how it all goes down.

Mini Cooper SE Prototype First Drive Review | This electric hatch is a suburban belter

MUNICH, Germany — A battery-electric Mini SE? Haven't we been here before? Well, yes: A decade ago, as part of its "i Project," BMW conducted a worldwide field trial of some 750 lithium-ion battery equipped two-door Mini Coopers. It was launched at the 2008 L.A. Show, and the lithium-ion battery pack took up most of the space normally occupied by the rear seats. Nevertheless, interest in the 450 lease vehicles offered in the U.S. (at $850 a month) was strong, with more demand than cars available. One result of the 2008-2011 trial was parent company BMW learned that the average owner of a two-door Mini drives about 25 miles a day, and the company is hoping the battery Mini will be an ideal (sub)urban-run-around for two- or three-car families. Now BMW is about to launch a production Mini EV (based on the two-door model, but with the full complement of four seats), which goes on sale at the end of the year. This will join the Mini Countryman All4 plug-in hybrid in the electrified Mini stable, but while the Countryman has an EV range of about 12 miles, this battery Mini will travel around 120 miles on a single charge. The reason we can't be too definite about the new Mini's capabilities is that BMW isn't allowed to "advertise" the car this far in front of its on-sale date. We caught up with the prototype model, mummified in camouflage tape, at an off-the-road driving event held at BMW's Munich driving center on the former military air base of Furstenfeldbruck, now known as Maisach. The drivetrain is based on the middle model of BMW's i3 range, the i3S, with its 135 kilowatt/181 horsepower motor and 94 amp-hour, 33 kilowatt hour battery. The battery is a 96-cell lithium-ion unit from Chinese supplier CATL instead of BMW's previous supplier, Samsung, and it weights 441 pounds. Unlike the team-built, mainly carbon-fiber i3, the Mini is a standard three-door model that runs down the production line in Oxford, with a metal subframe that houses the electric motor, inverter, transformers, and control electronics so they can be slotted into place like a conventional driveline. We can extrapolate a few things about the Mini from the BMW i3S. As well as its working range of 120 miles, the i3S has a top speed of 100 mph and will accelerate from 0-62 mph in 7.7 seconds. With over 360 pounds more to pull about, the 2,998-pound Mini EV will be slower, with less range, especially if used in cold conditions.