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Mini Superleggera gets the green light

With the fairly lackluster designs coming out of Mini recently, leave it to a group from outside the company to get things right. The minds behind the Berlinetta Lusso and Disco Volante at Touring Superleggera did just that with the retro-inspired Mini Superleggera Vision Concept from last year's Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance. Now, according to Car in the UK, the droptop has a green light for production from the BMW board and could arrive in showrooms by 2018. The concept stole our hearts with its rounded shape, rear fin and Union-Jack-shaped taillights. Inside, the interior went for extreme minimalism with an aluminum dashboard that positioned just a simple tachometer and thin steering wheel in front of the driver. The production version reportedly rides on the third-gen Mini platform but retains all of the concept's major styling elements. In place of the electric motor, expect the current engine offerings with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder available under the hood. Patent documents might provide an even better hint at what to expect. They also show the design not changing much, other than the lights no longer in the grille, a framed windshield and slightly smaller fin. The Union Jack taillights remain, though. Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW Group member in charge of Mini, asserted the company was testing the waters for production shortly after the Superleggera's debut. At the time, the price was speculated to be around 35,000 euros if the car arrived on the market in Europe. Related Video:

2014 Mini Cooper interior spied uncovered in China

As we approach the November 18 debut of the new Mini Hardtop, the trickle of news is starting to increase. We've already shown you the exterior of the new hatchback, and now we can show you the interior. These images, captured by Car News China, show a cabin that maintains a few key Mini styling items, but is a fairly progressive evolution of the current R56 model.
Mini's most iconic interior treatment, its center-mounted speedometer, is now gone. The new speedo sits atop the steering column, flanked by a (too tiny, in our opinion) tachometer. In the speedometer's former position are the radio controls. Our friends in China put it best when they say, "The large dial is much uglier than before." There's a mass of buttons and unfriendly black plastic that, at first glance, look far cheaper than the rest of the cabin. Of course, we'll wait to see how this is all ironed out for the production-spec car.
The other parts of the interior, however, look quite good. There's a small bank of toggle buttons at the bottom of the center stack, and the checkerboard dash insert looks clean as well. The seats sport extensions for the bottom cushions, meaning there'll be the option of more support for drivers with longer legs. GTI fans might also notice the plaid bolsters on the seats. Mini's treatment is a bit more subtle than what you'd see on a Volkswagen, though.

Mini stretches its legs with new Clubman Vision Gran Turismo concept [w/video]

The Clubman may not be the first model you think of when it comes to sporty Minis, but with the next-generation wagon variant just around the corner, the Anglo-Saxon automaker is evidently keen to reshape the Clubman's image, using it as the basis for its Vision Gran Turismo concept. Designed entirely for the virtual reality of Gran Turismo 6, the Mini Clubman Vision Gran Turismo may not be as extreme as some of the creations dreamed up by other automakers. But as far as Minis go, it's pretty out there. Into its beefed-up, long-roof form it packs a powertrain of undisclosed dimensions but producing 395 horsepower (and evidently requiring six tailpipes – two on each side and two out the back). Exhaust tips aside, all that muscle – nearly twice what any road-going Mini has produced to date – drives through all four wheels to theoretically deliver it to 62 miles per hour in a scant 3.5 seconds. Throw in the track-tuned bodywork – including a proliferation of spoilers, added ventilation, a wider track and 22-inch rims – and you're looking at one very serious Mini indeed. But before you balk at the concept, consider that Mini has had some serious motorsport bragging rights over the years: it dominated the Monte Carlo Rally (among others) in the mid-1960s, and though it canceled its more recent World Rally Championship effort, it went on instead to win the Dakar Rally four years running now. What you're looking at here is the form it would likely take were Mini to shift its attention (as Citroen recently did) to touring cars instead. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. MINI goes Gran Turismo®6. From today gamers can enjoy driving the virtual MINI Clubman Vision Gran Turismo. 26.02.2015 Munich. Inspired by the brand's legendary motor racing success, the MINI Design Team has created the essence of a MINI to enable maximum racing performance in the game Gran Turismo®6 for PlayStation®3. "MINI has many highly emotional achievements to its name in motor racing. The MINI Clubman Vision Grand Turismo literally puts these onto the virtual race track in Gran Turismo 6. The image of a go-kart on the road has recurring appeal," says Anders Warming, Head of MINI Design. The 395 hp engine accelerates the MINI Clubman Vision Gran Turismo from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds.