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Cool Shunnings: Mini helps the Jamaican bobsled team train in lockdown

Need to train for an upcoming outdoor Olympic competition, but COVID restrictions are forcing you to shelter in place? Well, if your sport happens to be bobsled and your place happens to be an indoor ski slope, that just might be doable.  Perhaps you remember Jamaica's national bobsled team for pushing a Mini Cooper convertible around earlier this year as a conditioning exercise. If that sounds like a stunt straight out of "Cool Runnings," well, that's pretty much the idea. Now, they're doing it in isolation, within the safe confines of an indoor skiing facility in the UK.  Evidently, they're still at it, only now they appear to have better corporate sponsorship (note the Jamaican flag livery on their spankin' new 'vert) and a pandemic-friendly training venue as they undergo conditioning at the UK’s largest indoor slope at The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead, ahead of the World Championships in Lake Placid, New York, in February.  "This second lockdown has been even harder on our training," said team pilot Shanwayne Stephens. "Matt [Wilson] and DyÂ’Neal [FeÂ’ssal] are new to the team so weÂ’re focusing on gelling together as a team and getting them up to speed – they have never been in a bobsled or even seen one yet!" "Pushing the MINI here may seem like a bit of fun but this has been an important exercise, just being on ice is completely different to training in the summer – the toll on your body is entirely different and you use energy in different ways," Stephens said. "The Snow Centre is only -3 degrees [27 degrees Farenheit], thatÂ’s pretty mild compared to what weÂ’re normally in, and theyÂ’re already complaining about the cold!" Lake Placid is just the next step toward qualification for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

2020 Mini E spy photos reveal its interior

The 2020 Mini E electric hatchback has been spied once again. It doesn't reveal much on the outside, in fact it actually shows less than the last time, since this one doesn't have the groovy concept-inspired wheels. But our spy photographer managed to get a good shot of the interior, which reveals some neat details. Chief among the interior's changes is the instrument panel on the steering column. While current gasoline-powered Minis have a typical needle-and-dial set of gauges on the column, those have been replaced by a thin screen. In an effort to keep it from looking too out of place, it has semi-circle ends and a chrome ring around the screen. Odds are that the actual screen will likely be in the middle, and additional warning and indicator lights will fill up the circular ends. Other than the screen, the only other major change is the shifter. Instead of the round leather knob of conventional automatic Minis, it has a more rectangular knob made entirely of plastic. The rest of the Mini's interior is like any other current model. The vents, controls and infotainment are all taken right from the other Minis. Interestingly, this Mini E has carbon fiber interior trim. This will probably be an option, not standard equipment. We expect the electric Mini Hardtop will make its debut sometime next year. If we're lucky, it may make the same 204 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque as the original Mini E and more than that car's 150 mile range. Related Video:

2015 Mini Cooper Hardtop officially revealed

There are occasions in life when something happens in the outside world and I think, "Damn. I wish Dad was here so we could talk about this."
In the past 13 years, that's happened every time Mini unveils a new model. And that's been quite often in the 12 years since the car was reintroduced - it has expanded to include seven different models, which is a testament to how quickly the updated Mini caught on. My Dad, who passed away in 1996, loved the brand. His first car was a Mini, and he'd race it in illegal rallies around the Irish countryside in his 20s, before he emigrated to the US and tried to (mostly) stay on the right side of the law.
Mini released photos and specs for the third-generation "original" hardtop car today. The company had to slap in the term "original" in there to differentiate it from the Convertible, longer-wheelbase Clubman, Countryman crossover, Paceman three-door crossover, Coupe and Roadster. Coming out with that many nameplates in 13 years is unprecedented growth for a company that's essentially brand-new in the US.