Mini Cooper 2009 News

Car companies are about to be put to the test in the Global Green Challenge and Carsguide is going along for the ride. There are two key buzz words in today's world of clean, green motoring: more and less.Car buyers, pricked by an environmental consciousness, are driving demand for better efficiency to reduce the impact on their wallet and less emissions to reduce the impact on the environment.And there's an added caveat to this quest for green sustainability: it has to be affordable without robbing the family car of performance or driveability.Welcome to the challenge facing car designers as they chase motoring's holy grail — producing a workable, green friendly car for the future. A bookmark of just where the industry is at will be on display at the end of the month when the Eco Challenge for production cars, run in conjunction with this year's Global Green Challenge, sets out from Darwin on October 24 and heads south to Adelaide.It will be real-world 3000 kilometre reality check, albeit most of the driving will be on highways, to show buyers what more-for-less cars are available now, or the near future.This week car companies have been jostling as they line up for the starting grid — some have still to fully show their hand but organisers say 21 cars are expected to contest the Eco Challenge while a further 38 dedicated solar-powered cars will also follow the same route the following day in their own race.This year's production car field is an eclectic mix.Hyundai Hyundai is using the Global Challenge to launch its 2010 Santa Fe wagon, promising more power and reduced fuel consumption which will attract caravan owners looking for an alternative to heavier 4WDs.Hyundai's Team R has entered two Santa Fes, one of which will be driven by CarsGuide. The wagon gets Hyundai's new R turbo diesel and a new six-speed manual transmission along with a recalibrated suspension and steering package for our tougher road conditions. A six-speed automatic will be optional. The Santa Fe goes on sale at the end of the year.Skoda Skoda will use the event to showcase its new flagship, the Superb saloon. Skoda says the 2-litre direct injection turbo diesel is capable of 5.4l/100km on the highway, meaning you can marry luxury with economy.Suzuki will use the event to showcase the ability of the tiny Alto, which the carmaker claims can travel 100 kilometres on just 3.5 litres of precious fuel on the highway. Tests in India have already shown it can do better at 3l/100km.The car is being kept on the road by a team of apprentice automotive engineers from the Melbourne's Kangan Batman TAFE college.Holden Holden and Ford will be fighting each other in the Challenge. Holden had been tipped to show of a Commodore, which like Saab, can run on 85 per cent ethanol, or a diesel, but the General will instead showcase its recently launched 3-litre Omega Sportwagon, fitted with the new SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) engine and six-speed automatic transmission.Holden won't reveal what fuel economy goal it is aiming for but it maintains the SIDI is now the most fuel efficient Aussie-built six-cylinder in the market. Holden says the engine, rated at 9.3l/10km is 13 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous motor at 10.7l/10km.Ford Ford will come out fighting with an XR6 Turbo and a Fiesta Econetic which will be launched in November and has the potential to run at 3.7l/100km. Again, Ford won’t talk about economy goals.BMW BMW is another keeping its cards close to its chest until closer to race. It will have a fleet of three diesel Mini Ds, one of which is will be driven by former Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan. The 1.6-litre Mini diesel is capable of 3.9l/100km combined and 3.5l/100km on the highway.Tesla While all eyes will be on the known brands, one entry which will likely steal the limelight will be the all electric Tesla roadster — the world's first production all-electric car which is being entered by broadband company Internode.The company's managing director Simon Hackett imported the first car to Australia recently.Kia Kia has entered two LPG electric hybrid Fortes, which have a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a small electric motor and lithium-polymer batteries — a first for a mass-production small automatic car. Kia says it can return 5.6l/100km.Based on the Cerato, the Kia Forte has the potential to make it to the Australian market next year for less than $30,000. Based on the Cerato The Forte was launched in South Korea in August and displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month.NON-PRODUCTION AND EXPERIMENTAL CARS Independent team Deep Green Research has come to the party with an electric Honda.Students from South Australia's Annesley College have built a petrol/electric hybrid Holden Viva. The all-girl Annesley team has taken part in previous solar challenges but this is the first time they have entered the production car class. The students will be driving the car on the 3000km journey.Research and development company Intex is entering a four-cylinder petrol Ford Spectron Van with a retrofit hybrid system that converts the drivetrain to a plug-in hybrid electric.Absent This year Toyota is a notable non-starter after impressing in 2007 with its Prius.And there has been a late scratching with Volvo confirming it was withdrawn its two C30 DRIVe hatchbacks because they are stuck on a ship from Europe, a victim of stormy weather in the Atlantic. Volvo had high expectations for the 1.6-litre diesel which sips a claimed 3.8l/100km. The eco hatch will now be launched in Australia early next year. 

It was also the start of a countdown to production for two all-new models of Mini.The first, the Coupe Concept was shown in the lead-up to the German motoring milestone but Mini kept its all-new droptop a secret until the first-day action at Frankfurt. It also saved the best until last because the Mini Roadster Concept - already confirmed, like the coupe, for production in Britain next year - is a sure-fire hit with Gen-Y buyers.It slightly odd looking, and has only two seats, but has the quirkiness which will set it apart on the road and turn heads around the world.The second open-air Mini in the family, after the existing four-seat Cabrio, was introduced at Frankfurt by BMW Group's global head of sales and marketing, Ian Robertson, who believes it and the new two-seater coupe will be winners for the brand. "Mini is a brand which is so exciting and has so much potential. Mini will continue to grow and create new segments," says Robertson.Both pick up the turbocharged 1.6-litre engine from the Mini Cooper S with 128kW and 240Nm of torque. The basic body is much the same as the regular hatch, at least from the window line down. But the screen is raked backwards, there is a good looking rollbar just behind the seats, and the boot space has been much larger with the loss of the back seats. The result is a much more low-slung stance, helped by a folding canvas roof that disappears when it is not in use.To make it more fun for Y-buyers, there is a multi-function display that shows Nature Guard (how eco-friendly you are driving), Highspeed Shifter (when to shift for maximum power), Gravity Indicator (lateral and g-forces), Heart Beat (engine speed reflected in a beating heart) and Buddy Radar (showing the location of other Mini drivers)."The focus of the Mini Roadster Concept is maximum driving fun with nothing but the sky above. The soft top opens and closes manually in a very quick and easy action. The Roadster comes with extra-short body overhangs front and rear, emphasising that it is also a top-athlete," says Robertson. 

             

They will be making a major contribution to the greening of our new-car fleet as they kill the engine at stoplights instead of wasting fuel and creating pollution as they idle at a red.I first drove a stop/start car around 1994 when Volkswagen brought an evaluation car to Australia to highlight the EcoMatic technology in its then-new Golf III. The greener Golf never got past the evaluation stage here, and only lasted about 18 months in Europe because of very slow sales, but it was the start of something special.I can still remember the horror of pulling up to a red light in Sydney's city centre and having the engine die. My instinct was to re-start it immediately, but I resisted the temptation and it fired when I selected a gear as the light turned green.I had the same mild panic when I drove a stop/start Land Rover Freelander in Britain a couple of weeks ago. As I selected neutral the engine died, but when I dipped the clutch to select first on the green it fired immediately with no drama.We are all going to have to overcome the same panic in future years as stop/start leads us into a generation of cars with all sorts of new systems. Some will have 'active' alternators which only charge on demand, others will have electric water pumps to cut engine drag, and there will be cars with all sorts of new controls for the power steering and airconditioning. Some will have the lot.We've already seen cylinder deactivation systems in cars from GM Holden and Honda, which effectively cut the size of the engine in low-load situations, and they will also be commonplace.Land Rover had hoped to be first in Australia with stop-start technology but is going to be pipped by Mini.The Cooper D will be in showrooms on May 1 with stop/start and the claim that it is the most fuel-efficient car sold in Australia.Other makers are likely to follow Land Rover, although Fiat and Citroen have already looked at stop/start for Australia and ruled it out because of the cost.But the price of fuel is creeping back up again and no-one is going backwards on emissions.So stop/start is definitely coming, although it is currently only available on manual cars because of the complication of re-starting an automatic which is stopped at the lights in drive. Many companies are already working on a stop/start system for their autos, but it usually involves some sort of special starter-alternator pack and American brands are calling theirs a new form of mild hybrid.Once the stop/start automatics start to land we are really going to see the dominos beginning to fall.

The original Mini, which debuted in 1959, was the brainchild of Alec Issigonis. Tasked by the British Motor Corporation (BMC was the merging of Austin and Morris) with designing a small family car, Issigonis produced one of the most outstanding design packages in motoring history. The original Mini was an enormous commercial success and its peculiarity was extended by the fact it also had an illustrious racing career, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and Bathurst twice.Even with an overall length of just over 3m the car could accommodate four adults in relative comfort. To achieve this feat Issigonis used a combined transverse four cylinder engine and gearbox, a packaging solution relatively unique for a period of front engined rear wheel drive cars. This configuration allowed a much shorter front as well as less intrusion into the cabin. Issigonis also used his expertise in suspension design with the incorporation of fully independent suspension at each corner, a solution that provider efficient use of space and superior handling.Originally launched with a 848cc engine producing 25 kW, BMC commissioned John Cooper (famous at the time for winning the 1960 Formula One Championship with Jack Brabham) to produce a tuned performance version. Cooper increased engine capacity to just under a litre and increased the power output to 41 kW. Other improvements included the use of two SU carburetors and disc brakes up front. A legend was born.In 1963 John Cooper further developed the Mini with an even more track-focused version. The Cooper S was launched. The S used a larger engine than the Cooper, a BMC A-series unit that Copper used in his Formula Junior single-seaters. Capacity was slightly decreased for the mini as it had to also be suitable for road-use. In competition trim these engines would easily reach 75 kW, road going examples were stated as 52 kW. The racing Mini was a huge hit with race spectators, consistently raising an inside rear wheel while overtaking more powerful V8s through a corner.In 1966, the Mini Cooper S racers gained the top nine places at Bathurst. Mini Cooper S cars were a staple of the Bathurst Great Race through to the mid-1970s, at which time they became no longer eligibile to enter.The original Mini was not just a success on the track though. It also had quite a celebrity following and itslef became somewhat of a movie star in The Michael Cain movie, The Italian Job. and more recently The Bourne Identity as well as many others..The success of the last original Minis and the continued retro-chic status continued which allowed for special editions to be produced through the 1980's and 90's, this kept production going through to 2000, 41 years after its launch. These special editions became fashionable icons and helped keep the name `Mini’ a bankable commodity that BMW seized upon when they gained control of Rover.The highly respected magazine Classic and Sportscar named the original Mini Car of the Century.Here in Australia we started producing Morris Minis under the BMC Australia group in 1960 with the first being sold for the 1961 production year. Australian Minis, which were produced at a plant in Zetland, often had unique features to their European siblings. The Australia Cooper was introduced in October 1962 followed by the Cooper S (imported version) in April 1963, Australian production of the Cooper S commenced in September 1965. In March of 1964 a uniquely Australian variant was introduced – the Morris Mini Deluxe. BMC withdraw factory support from racing in 1970 and British Leyland Australia took up racing development on its own.Local production ceased in October 1978 after producing more than 176, 000 examples.  

The little oil-burner will start at $33,750 and is being spruiked by Mini as the most efficient and cleanest vehicle to go on sale in the Australian market yet.Using stop-start and brake energy regeneration systems, the Cooper D will lay claim to 104 grams of CO2 per kilometre and a thirst of just 3.9 litres per 100km.By comparison, the current number-one is the smart fortwo micro-hybrid, which claims 3.9l/100km and 105g/km of CO2.Toyota's Prius petrol-electric lays claim to a thirst of 4.4l/100km and emissions 106g/km.The company expects the Cooper D won't send the beancounters into a frenzy as it's an unknown segment for diesel.But Mini staffers say the Cooper D will be used as a barometer for diesel variants for other Mini models — but no decision has yet been made on which will be Australia's next Mini diesel model.Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

A new diesel-powered Mini will arrive in Australia later this year to claim the title of Australia's cleanest new car, soundly beating the high-profile Toyota hybrid Prius.Australian Mini models will start coming off the production line in Oxford, England, in March and are expected to be in the showrooms by late May, early June.Pricing is yet to be finalised, but it is expected the base Mini D will come with a $34,000 price tag which is $700 more than the existing 1.6-litre entry level petrol model, the three-door Mini Cooper.A better equipped Chilli version is expected to be priced at just under $38,000, about $1000 more than the petrol version.The turbocharged 1.6-litre diesel will come with two big drawcards - frugal fuel economy and boasting rights, being greenest engine of any new car sold here.Mini says the Cooper D's fuel consumption is a claimed 3.9 litres per 100km, while CO2 emissions will be just 104g/km. The fuel consumption, in theory, gives the four-seater a range of 1025km from its 40-litre tank.The engine is sourced by Mini from Peugeot. It's the same engine which powers the Peugeot 207 HDi, but the Mini beats its French rival in fuel consumption bragging right because it is almost 240kg lighter in kerb weight.The cleanest car sold in Australia at present is the tiny tot 1-litre smart fortwo cabrio. Its CO2 level is 105g/km and achieves a claimed 4.4l/100km.Other green-friendly fuel misers include the 1.5-litre petrol/electric Prius (106g/km, 4.4l/100km) and the 1.3-litre diesel Fiat 500 (111g/km, 4.2l/100km).Australia's small car favourite, the 1.8-litre Toyota Corolla can only manage 172g/km and an average fuel consumption of 7.3l/100km.Mini says the new D will feature fuel saving technology borrowed from parent company BMW including automatically switching off the engine when the car is stopped as well as brake energy regeneration and a dashboard display prompting the driver when to shift up a gear for maximum efficiency.Other fuel-saving measures include a water pump for cooling and electric assistance for the power steering which are only switched on when needed.The Cooper D will come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard and a six-speed auto as an option.The common-rail 1.6-litre diesel with variable turbo boost produces 80kW and 240Nm of torque between 1750rpm and 2000rpm, but 70 per cent of maximum torque is on tap at 1250rpm. Torque can be boosted to 260Nm using maximum throttle for swifter overtaking.On full boost, the Mini D takes a leisurely 9.9 seconds to hit 100km/h from a standing start, two tenths of a second quicker than the 207 HDi.On the styling front, the D comes with an aerodynamic undertray, a slightly larger power dome on the bonnet and a slightly different grille to the air intake below the bumper.On sale: Mid yearHow much: $34,000 to $38,000Power: 1.6-litre turbo diesel, 80kW at 4000rpm, 240Nm at 1750rpm (260Nm under full boost).Fuel consumption: 3.9l/10km claimed, CO2 104g/kmTransmission: Six-speed manual, six speed auto optionalKerb weight: 1090kg

The new Mini Challenge will hit Australian racetracks in style with a spectacular opening race next year, probably at the Australian Grand Prix.Though Mini Australia spokesman Alexander Corne can't reveal details of the new series calendar, he says it will have a big beginning.“I can't confirm anything specific but we want to start things off with a bang,” Corne says. “We want to put the Mini Challenge in front of the widest possible audience.”Mini already has a history at the Australian Grand Prix, it provided the cars for the Celebrity Challenge in 2002.Negotiations about next year's calendar are taking place with several key stakeholders. It is likely to support the V8 Supercar Championship and run alongside the Porsche Carrera Cup. According to Corne several parties have already shown interest in the category.Mini will unveil the new-for-2008 Challenge racer at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October. The new cars will be built at the company's English factory and be race-prepared in Germany before coming here. The plan is to try to have a race car here later in the year to help promote the new series to competitors and fans.Next year, cars will use a turbocharged version of the engine, replacing the previous supercharged model. They will produce the same amount of power, 154kW but the turbo engine delivers better torque and mid-range performance.Another addition is a limited-slip differential to improve traction in tight corners.The company has also improved the cars' aerodynamics to improve performance and keep the racing close.The Challenge racers will do 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds and have a top of 240km/h. 

It has been a long and painfully infuriating search, but I have finally, blessedly found it, it's the world’s most pointless button. It lurks on the roof of the new Mini Cooper S and if it wasn’t designed by a woman, or perhaps a committee of women, I’ll eat a beach towel. Amazingly, I very nearly missed out on finding this simpering switch altogether. I had merely made a mental note to moan endlessly about the fact that the interior lighting was far too bright, and an annoying shade of blue to boot. But then I went on a stupidly long drive to the snow from Sydney, entirely in the dark. By the time I got to Goulburn I was so annoyed at being bathed in the sort of light you normally only find in tanning salons that I decided there had to be adjustment available to me. After playing with all the available and beautifully funky feeling toggles and buttons I found the right one, flicked it and nearly crashed the car. Far from dimming this blithering blue light, the switch merely changed it to a pinky hue I can only describe as “dawn at the beach”. Intrigued, yet revolted, I kept flicking and found that the car’s mood lighting can be changed to vermillion, purple, a Midori green, a yellow-and-brown Austin Powers kind of motif and, thankfully, orange. I say thankfully because at least the orange choice blends in with the rest of the dash lighting, although the combined effect is so bright you feel like you’re driving around in a ’70s kitchen. Of course a little bit of kitsch is to be expected when an idea like the Mini is recooked, as this one was recently, gaining a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine and exterior tweaks so subtle that they’re like the effect of ageing on Elle McPherson’s body. You know they must be there, but they’re not really noticeable, and the overall effect is still so darn pretty. The shame about this shameful mood-lighting switch (surely it would make more sense in a 7 Series, where you can stretch out a bit) is that it taints what is otherwise an excellent, and much-improved, interior. The last Cooper S had a grey plastic finish that looked like it had been set upon by a whole childcare centre full of greasy fingered little fiends. It was supposed to look like brushed aluminium, I think, but it just looked liked rushed ab-libbing by the designers. Our test vehicle was all red leather and funky fake-wood plastic, but it all felt pleasant and of BMW build quality. And the dash just might be the coolest in the whole car world. The centrally mounted speedo has an indicator arrow whizzing around the outside, like one of those old-style weighing scales you used to find outside chemists, leaving space in the middle for a groovy little screen. This screen displays functions that can be selected with a very simple but still slightly iDrive- like controller, or the satellite navigation map. On the steering binnacle in front of you is a rev counter which can, if you like, also display a digital readout of your speed. When the Mini was first launched here, they couldn’t get away with that arrangement, due to ADRs, and we were the only country in the world with the speedo stuck to the steering wheel, but this time they’ve got around it. Looking at your speed on the massive central dial is totally impractical and no one likes having that information displayed where your passenger can see it so clearly anyway, but you put up with it because, as I say, the dash just looks so cool (even in vermillion-bathed light). While the old Cooper S was supercharged, and had a wondrous whine to go with that, the new engine, shared with the PSA Peugeot-Citroen group, is an award-winning turbo unit and offers more lowdown punch and usable torque than before. You get 128kW of power at a joyous 5500rpm and 240Nm of torque from 1600rpm to 5000rpm, which blips up to 260Nm via an overboost function when you really boot it. The result is a lot more fun than 128 kilowatts should be, and a 0 to 100km/h time of 7.1 seconds. The turbo doesn’t sound as good as the engine it replaces, but the performance more than makes up for that. Not many people can engineer fun into a car as cleverly as BMW/Mini and, much like its parent company’s cars, the best thing about the new Cooper is the steering. It really is go-kart like in that it needs so little lock wound on and it responds so pointedly. The great thing about the Mini is that it can make even the boredom of the urban commute fun, the bends on and off the Anzac Bridge every day were a particular joy. The ride isn’t too bad, for a car with such a short wheelbase, until you hit an expansion joint and it feels like you’ve run over a sequoia trunk. Not only do your teeth rattle, your ribs do. In short, and sweet, form, there’s a lot to love about the new Mini Cooper S, even with its stupid interior lighting system. It is, of course, entirely impractical if you’re ever going to carry more than one friend. And it is, undeniably, very expensive for a small car, prices start at $39,900 in standard trim and rise to very nearly $50k. But it’s not meant to be a practical car, it’s meant to be a fun one and on that basis it’s worth every cent.  

You need more than just pictures, and a side-by-side staring match would be best of all, but the 2007 Mini is different from the car that brought the British star back from the dead.This time, BMW - which owns the rights to the Mini name and shape - has made the car bigger, faster and more efficient.And it also has a BMW engine in place of the wheezy DaimlerChrysler four that was fitted to the outgoing car.There will also be a turbocharged motor in the new Cooper S, replacing the previous supercharged engine and continuing the push towards turbos that BMW began with the latest leader in its 3-Series coupe family."Mini hasn't been re-invented, just refined," spokesman for Mini in Australia Alexander Corne says."It proves that Mini has grown up a little bit, but it has not lost any of its cheeky fun. The biggest difference is going to be the new engine and the new interior."We'll be doing two models again. The Cooper and the Cooper S."The car is expected in Australia in the first quarter of 2007, almost exactly five years since the rebirth of the baby boomer.The base motor lifts power from 85kW to 88kW and 150Nm to 160Nm, though the 0-100km/h sprint time is unchanged despite a 10kg weight reduction.But the Cooper S will be one-tenth quicker to 100km/h, at 7.1 seconds, with the BMW turbo-motor good for 128kW and 240Nm against the 125kW and 220Nm on the old car.There is also an overboost feature that lifts it to 260Nm in brief bursts. The Mini will come with six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, still with front-wheel-drive, with steering wheel buttons for auto change.The package for Australia will still have six airbags, anti-skid brakes and stability control, although the exact specification will not be set until closer to the on-sale date."It will be here next year, around the time of the Melbourne Motor Show. So on sale in March," Corne says."Orders are still very strong for the current car," he says.The plan is already set for the changeover, with Mini pushing hard on the visible changes inside the car and the mechanical overhaul."It's got state-of-the-art engineering in the engines. The Cooper has valvetronic and the S has a turbocharger with direct petrol injection, so it's the same technology as the six-cylinder engine in the BMW 335 Coupe," Corne says."The growth is at the front for improved pedestrian impact safety, and slightly at the rear to balance the proportions. It's pretty minimal, 60mm overall."The interior is new. There is a new dash, new seats, and the effect is more masculine and quite sporty. It retains a central speedo design and toggle switches, which are Mini icons, but everything has been upgraded."Mini has confirmed the base car, but there is no news on a change to the convertible or the introduction of the third model in the lineup, almost certain to be a multi-purpose wagon."There is going to be another model, but it won't be coming for a while. And the Cabrio continues unchanged, with the same body and engines, for the foreseeable future," Corne says.