Classic Mini Mayfair(like Cooper) on 2040-cars

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Get lost in Evo's sublime 2013 Car of the Year testing

Every year Evo stages its Car of the Year test, bringing the best performance cars in the world to one location for an epic shootout. This year the magazine pitted eight CotY finalists against each other on Route Napoleon in Southern France - Evo claims it's the "best road in the world" - and then proceeded to nitpick the smallest of faults on each car until the winner could be named. You see, this year's lineup of machines was just so good that only one car obviously wasn't CotY material from the get-go. Can you guess which one judging from the list below?
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
- Audi R8 V10 Plus

2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP laps the 'Ring in under 8 minutes

Mini used the occasion of the Nurburgring 24 Hours race to show off a preproduction version of its upcoming John Cooper Works GP. That's fitting, because the GP — the hottest of Mini's hot hatch offerings — has been honed specifically to conquer the Nordschleife of the famous German track. In fact, Mini says it has already lapped the North Loop in under eight minutes. An official lap time will come later because testing is apparently still underway. But to put that time into perspective, the last version of the JCW GP lapped the 'Ring in 8:23, so the new version could be half a minute faster. That's impressive, even if track performance isn't always the ideal measuring stick for street cars like the GP. We know that the GP will have more than 300 horsepower, but exact power figures have yet to be released. As you can see in the image gallery above, it will have some crazy aerodynamic additions, but probably won't wear a Nurburgring-inspired camouflage wrap when it goes into production in 2020 with a limited run of 3,000 units. And now we know that it will be much faster round the 'Ring than the previous GP — but will it be faster than the lap time of 7 minutes and 43.8 seconds recorded by the Honda Civic Type R? We'll see, but we wouldn't be surprised.

Mini adds limited-edition Coral Red model to 2021 Hardtop line-up

Mini stylists took a trip to the design well and came back with a limited-edition model named Coral Red inspired by the brand's heritage. Offered with two or four doors, it's scheduled to arrive in showrooms this month. As its name clearly implies, the Coral Red edition primarily stands out from the Cooper S it's based on with Coral Red Metallic paint borrowed from the Clubman's palette. Black paint on the door mirrors and on the roof adds a touch of contrast. Mini also added 17-inch Rail Spoke wheels, LED lights at both ends, plus a long list of piano black trim pieces including the headlight bezels, the door handles, and the emblems. Photos of the interior haven't been published yet, but the BMW-owned firm noted the Carbon Red edition gains additional piano black trim in the cabin. It also receives black leatherette upholstery. Mini made no mechanical changes, so power for the Coral Red comes from the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as the Cooper S. It's turbocharged to deliver 189 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 207 pound-feet of torque at 1,350 rpm, and it once again spins the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Alternatively, buyers who want two pedals can order a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic at extra cost. Approximately 300 examples of the Coral Red have been earmarked for the American market. Pricing starts at $34,125 for the two-door and $35,370 for the four-door, figures that include a mandatory $850 destination charge. In comparison, the standard Cooper S costs $28,100 with two doors and $29,100 with four. Why Coral? Although the pink-ish Coral Red color comes from the Clubman, the first Mini to wear something like it was the 1100 Special model introduced in 1979 to celebrate the Mini's 20th anniversary. It was one of the first in a shockingly long line of limited-edition variants released largely to hide the fact that British Leyland (and, later, the Rover Group) either didn't know how to replace the original Mini or didn't have the money required to fund the project, depending on the era, market conditions, and who was in charge of either company at a given time. Sold exclusively in England, the 1100 Special was available in two metallic colors named Silver Grey (shown above) and Rose, respectively; the latter was close to 2020's Coral Red hue. Silver cars featured a black vinyl roof, while Rose cars were topped with beige vinyl.