2005 Mini Cooper Silver Convertible - Only 36k Miles ! - Sunday Driver - Mint ! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mini stretches out with new Hardtop 4 door [w/video] [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Information on US availability, specification and nomenclature added to the updated text below.
Few automakers have managed to spin off as many variants of essentially one vehicle as Mini has. The second generation produced even more versions than the first, and now that the third generation is upon us, the process is starting all over again. The jury may still be out on whether parent company BMW will roll out as many body-styles of this latest Mini as it did with the last, but here's our first indication.
Following the introduction of the new three-door Mini hatchback at the LA Auto Show, the Anglo-Saxon marque has introduced a new five-door model. Or four-door, depending on which Mini office you're speaking to: while this new model - an addition to the lineup and not a direct replacement for anything previously offered - is called the Mini 5 door by the factory, here in the US it's called the Mini Hardtop 4 door. Whatever you call it, though, this new Mini is essentially the same as the three-door model (or two-door model with a tailgate), only with - you guessed it - two extra doors. The new Clubman will be a separate model altogether.

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.

Mini interns turn Paceman into Adventure pickup

With coupes and convertibles, hatchbacks and crossovers, Mini has done just about every bodystyle we could think of, and then a few more as concepts. But it hasn't done a pickup. At least it hadn't until now.
What we have here is a Mini Paceman (that, of course, being the coupe version of the Countryman) which has been transformed into a pickup by a group of BMW interns. It's called the Mini Paceman Adventure, and it's currently on display at the Mini dealership in Munich. According to BimmerToday.de, the project involved not only chopping the roof and installing a makeshift pickup bed, but also reinforcing the body, reforming the underbody and B-pillar, fitting off-road tires (including a spare fitted to a roof rack) and a handful of other minor modifications.
The photos are a little sketchy (although the dealership tells us a better set will be available soon), but from what we can see, it looks like a pretty solid project - one that makes us wonder if the apprentices' bosses might be paying attention. Because next to the Mini Coupe with its oddball backwards-hat roof treatment, this one-off looks as sensible as you'd expect from a group of German interns.