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New Mini Countryman shows its big bones

The latest crop of Mini models are larger than their predecessors, and these spy shots let us check out the upcoming Countryman, which could be the biggest vehicle from the diminutively named brand yet. This test car drops some camouflage from the previously spied examples, which gives us a much better look at the new design. Up front, the swirling camo panels do nothing to hide the Countryman's broad, mesh grille, and you can easily make out the shape of the oval headlights. These shots offer a clear look at the lower air dam, with round foglights flanking the central intake. At the rear, the Countryman gets Mini's traditional big taillights, and the exhausts poke out from each corner of the bumper. The next-generation Countryman grows longer and wider to increase interior volume, but the crossover rides on BMW's UKL platform like the rest of Mini's latest vehicles. We also anticipate it to share the same choices of three- and four-cylinder turbocharged engines. Like the recently revealed Clubman All4, expect all-wheel drive as an additional option. After the launch of the standard version, which could happen at the Paris Motor Show in October, the brand likely plans to fill out the Countryman range with a performance-oriented John Cooper Works variant and a greener plug-in hybrid model.

Mini Oxford gives birth to 3-millionth car [w/video]

With the latest generation of Minis having only recently launched a few months ago, the company's Plant Oxford has found another reason to celebrate as it reached two major milestones almost simultaneously. Since production of the new, BMW-revived version began there in 2001, the factory has produced 3 million of the retro-looking models and 2 million vehicles exported outside of the UK. Just four years ago, it was celebrating building 1.5 million of them.
The three-millionth model was a Mini Cooper S five-door hatchback with a special Union Jack paint job. At about the same time, the factory hit its two-millionth exported Mini to leave there, as well. It was a standard Mini hatchback in Volcanic Orange heading for a buyer in Japan.
UK Transport Minister Baroness Kramer attended the ceremony and said: "I congratulate the workers at Mini Plant Oxford on reaching this remarkable milestone. The Mini is a British icon and is a major part of a thriving automotive industry spearheading the growing British economy."

Mini unveils new, stripped down logo

Quirky British marque Mini is going with a ... less-than-quirky logo redesign, unveiling a "flat design" that it says is intended to focus on the essentials. It replaces the three-dimensional white-on-black logo that first appeared in 2000. Gone are the three-dimensional style, shading, gray tones and gray-on-black name of the previous version in favor of a stark contrast of black lines and the all-caps Mini name against a white background. It keeps the wings, which first featured on the iconic cars in the early 1960s, according to the Logos History blog, which has a comprehensive collection of logos stretching back to the brand's origins in 1959 under the British Motor Corp. and the Austin and Morris brand names. It also bears a visual similarity to the logo introduced during the mid-'90s. We're not saying the new logo was designed on an old PC using MS Paint, but it looks like it could've been. Parent BMW Group says the new logo combines stylistic elements from the early phases of the classic Mini "with a future-oriented appearance that focuses on the essentials" and a two-dimensional look "allowing universal application." (Meaning, cheaper to produce?) It'll appear on all new Mini models starting in March on the bonnet, the rear, at the center of the steering wheel and on the remote control.Related Video: Image Credit: BMW Group Design/Style MINI Coupe Sedan branding logo bmw group