Rumor: MINI Countryman Prodrive

Recent spy photos reveal that Prodrive is working on a production version of the MINI Countyman. The Banbury-based engineering firm developed the MINI Countryman WRC that runs in this year’s rally championship.

MINI WRC is powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder Di turbo-charged engine. The power transmission takes place via an Xtrac 6-speed, sequential gearbox. For its outings on the rally stages, the MINI Countryman chassis has been fitted with a roll cage developed by Prodrive, which exceeds the strict safety.

But now, the company wants to bring a road-legal version of the Countryman WRC. According to Autocar UK, team principal and Prodrive boss Dave Richards has previously mentioned that Prodrive-tuned MINI road cars were possible.

The spy shots reveal a heavily modified all-wheel-drive Countryman Cooper S featuring a muscular body kit that includes a large fixed carbon fiber wing, along with custom unbranded alloy wheels.
Under the hood, the MINI Countryman by Prodrive would sport a Superchips-tuned version of the Cooper S’s turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine. A Prodrive-branded Milltek exhaust is fitted to the car. Sources close to Autocar reveal have indicated that the car outputs 230 hp on the dyno, but additional power can be squeezed out of the Superchips.

Read More: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/10/24/rumor-mini-countryman-prodrive/

MINI Illinois Dealers

MINI E Meetup: End Of The Line For Electric Car 'Experiment'

After a two-year run, BMW’s MINI E adventure is nearing its end.
 
The car may seem old hat to people like Tom Moloughney, who has clocked over 65,000 miles on his MINI E--and who hosted the event at his restaurant.

But to the passers-by who stopped in to check out the cars, it’s still all new.

The top three questions remain, “How far can it go?”, “It really doesn’t take any gas?” and “How long does it take to charge?” We still have a long way to go before no one takes a second look at electric cars like the MINI E.

MINI E pioneers - the name that BMW have given to the few hundred of us who leased MINI Es - are both sad and happy. It's sad to see the end of the program that delivered us one of the most fun-to-drive cars we've ever used, but we're happy that its replacement will be here soon.

That car, the BMW ActiveE, promises even more refinement, even better driving dynamics and… this is a big one… four seats. Hurray!

We tell onlookers the MINI E is a “science experiment.” And as much as we love it, it has been just that: an experiment.

BMW took 450 standard MINI Coopers for the U.S. market and adapted them with a battery and drive system from AC Propulsion. The drive system is an adapted ‘tzero’ drive train that can also be found in a handful of low-volume specialist conversions: the ACP EBOX (a converted SCION xB), the Wrightspeed Arial Atom, and the Yokohama HER02 that just finished attacking this years Pike's Peak hill climb.

Read More: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1067036_mini-e-meetup-end-of-the-line-for-electric-car-experiment