Mini News

The upcoming Mini Coupe and Roadster are getting a thorough workout at the Nurburgring in readiness for showrooms, including the go-faster John Cooper Works model.Carparazzi caught the car with plenty of evidence of a typically-JCW performance upgrade, including a retractable rear spoiler, a centre-mounted twin-pipe exhaust and bigger wheels than other Roadster prototypes.

Carsguide has driven the current heroes and hopefuls.

Almost 50 years later, Mini has pedalled out its own small bicycle along the same lines as those of Dr Alex Moulton's bike. Mini says the bicycle - which unlike Moulton's highly successful small-wheeled model, folds up to fit in the boot - is expected in dealerships by August and will cost about $800. It gives keen Mini owners the flexibility to park the car and continue by bicycle. When folded, the 11kg bike can be taken free of charge on public transport. Mini claims it's all quality - it's made from high-quality components including eight gears and 20-inch wheels, a teflon-coated chain so there's no oil stains, has a lightweight aluminium frame and has a clever folding mechanism. It can be folded and unfolded in a few seconds with hinges along the crossbar and handlebars. The seat can be retracted and the pedals be folded up. Dr Moulton (91), who still owns an original Mini, designed his bike with front and rear suspension and small wheels. Dunlop came up with high-pressure tyres to reduce rolling resistance. The original Moulton bikes are now collectors items.

More than 80 per cent of dog owners take their canine companions along in their vehicles.

The Mini Ray comes as GM Holden unleashes a special Thunder Commodore ute, Nissan boosts value on its 370Z, and Honda works to cash-in on a value boost to the Civic Hatch in March. Renault has also stretched its appeal with the first five-year warranty deal on a European car, while Toyota is preparing a retail sales attack for May across its range and BMW has slashed up to 11 per cent from the showroom stickers on its 3 Series bedrock models. The bottom line on the Ray has dropped all the way to $25,500, but Mini is protecting its mainstream models from erosion by limiting supply to just 300 cars and fitting hubcabs. The Ray also drops to a 1.6-litre engine with a meagre 72 kiloWatts, against 90 in a Mini Cooper, although the compensation is fuel economy of 5.4 litres/100km. The Ray move is copied from Italy, where it worked well for the brand. Mini says the car still has six airbags, a six-speed manual gearbox and denies any dilution of the brand. At the opposite end, Renault is looking to boost its brand with a new flagship called Latitude. It takes the place of the unloved Laguna with a starting price of $36,990 and targeted rivals including the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. "We are ready to demonstrate our commitment to Australian customers," says Renault boss, Justin Hocevar, confirming the five-year warranty that applies to the Latitude and all passenger cars in the brand sold since April 1. For Holden, the Thunder ute revives a package last seen on the VZ Commodore and claimed to celebrate the 60th birthday of the first Holden ute. It's a $3000 value boost on the SS and SV6 that only adds alloy wheels, leather seat bolsters, sat-nav and - predictably - special stickers. Nissan has done more with the 370Z, although it has also lifted prices by $650 for the coupe and $800 for the roadster - despite the strength of the Australian dollar - and says the offset is a new sound and satnav system, a reversing camera, a cargo blind for the coupe, climate-controlled seats for the roadster, and wide-angle mirrors. The 3 Series action at BMW is focussed above the starter car, but amounts to a $9100 reduction on some 325i models and even more than $3000 across the M3 collection. BMW Australia paints the move as a celebration of the five generations of 3 Series, but has done nothing on the basic 320 and 323 models.

This time the baby brand that's being pushed and pulled in all directions has come up with a second droptop.  The difference between the upcoming Mini Roadster and the existing Cabrio is obvious from the rounded lines and a shorter roofline that covers a smaller two-seater cabin.The car is caught by Carparazzi without any major disguise - apart from the silly swirls on the tail - and is clearly developed from the Mini Roadster Concept from the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.The Roadster has a swept-back windscreen and a Porsche-style retractable rear spoiler, but we'll have to wait until later this year- perhaps the next Frankfurt Show - for full details and the on-sale date.

The retired Olympic swimmer proves it pretty regularly and does it again as he trumps a 12-star field - and a couple of motoring journalists - during a fun run around the Melbourne Showgrounds.The occasion is the Top Gear Live celebration, which includes a series of display drives around a short-and-narrow course mapped through the access roads in the Showgrounds. It's far too dinky for the driver of the classic Elfin to unleash his Formula 5000 racer, but good enough for the celeb contenders in a timed shootout that runs as a backdrop to the Melbourne leg of James May and Jeremy Clarkson's world tour.The best thing about the celebrity challenge, and the reason for a Carsguide cameo, is the cars. Renault has brought a couple of its perky little Clio hatches along for the event, and they are the hotrod 147 kiloWatt RS 200 Gordini Edition. For people who don't know, Gordini has a long history in the France with race and fast road cars.It's a bit like Holden Special Vehicles, with a focus on the baby cars that have been Renault bedrock for generations. The Gordini looks a bit special with a pair of racing stripes over the top, but it's when I turn they key that it really comes alive. It's surprisingly quick, incredibly responsive, and just plain fun.And that's before I head onto the course at the Showgrounds. Australia is now picking up a growing selection of hot hatches from Europe and the Gordini becomes an instant favourite alongside the latest Polo GTi from Volkswagen and the rorty - but expensive - John Cooper Works version of the Mini Cooper S.Just over $40,000 is not cheap, but - apart from a steering column that doesn't adjust for rake - there is no much else to complain about. The Gordini really jumps around the Showground and is quick enough to have celebrity trainer Nathan Pretty - a handy V8 Supercar co-driver at Bathurst and now a V8 ute racer - jumping for cover as I cut one corner tighter than he expects.There is little chance to run through the slick six-speed gearbox but the brakes are great and the suspension keeps the wheels planted on the slippery surface. Later, running back to Melbourne airport, the Gordini is good fun and easy to nip through gaps and ease around some favourite corners. It's a smiley car - and that ticks the box for Carsguide.Pretty really earns his money as the celebrities run through the program, with a wide range of ability and a 13-second spread between Welsh and Vince Colosimo on a run that takes barely 90 seconds. Welsh is eventually a full four seconds quicker than Paul Chapman - Carsguide would have been second - and shows the benefit of years of training and practice.He applies similar dedication to his driving as he used for success in swimming, even arriving at the Showgrounds in a pair of custom driving shoes, in a lesson to anyone who wants to be a better drive. "Matt was always pretty keen. I've seen him at a lot of events," says  Pretty."He used to turn up all the time when I was doing stuff with Holden. He's pretty good. "I wish everyone was like that. This job can get a bit scary at times."

After bringing the British baby back from the dead and running through two generations of the new-age Mini, BMW Group is now downsizing in the search for something new. The result is the Rocketman, a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show that could easily point to a new direction for Mini.The brand is expanding in all directions - from the basic Mini and Cabrio to the Countryman, the Paceman coupe and possibly a born-again Moke - and a smaller car is one of the objectives."We've got lots of ideas, some of which won't come to production, but I think there is a lot more potential within a small-size car," the global sales chief of Mini, Ian Robertson, told Carsguide earlier this year.The Rocketman is only 3.3 metres long, as well as being wider and lower than today's showroom Mini, and has a three-seater cabin to maximise the space inside. It's front doors and roof are motor show trickery - with double hinges for the doors and a full glass roof - but the basic design and approach could easily be morphed into a production car to compete with a range of worldwide babies including the Smart ForTwo and Toyota iQ. There is even talk from the USA of a BMW Group tie-up with Citroen-  Peugeot to create a compact car structure that could carry the Rocketman onto the road.At Geneva, the Rocketman concept is fitted with a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine but it could easily take one of BMW Group's upcoming three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engines or even a plug-in battery power pack. There are more questions than answers about the Rocketman, especially at Mini in Australia."Things are still up in the air," says Mini spokesman, Piers Scott. "We've confirmed diversification of the Mini brand, going up in size and down in size. That would indicate there could be room for a future model like this.""This is a car that has there have been murmours about for some time. So it could be closer to production, but . . . "Apart from the basic size and shape, the Rocketman is loaded with new ideas from LED tail lamps that look like handles to a central instrument display - still in the 1950s Mini style - using 3D projection technology for a range of readouts and control of the sound and satnav systems.More on the Geneva Motor Show here 

The first major European motor show of 2011, at Geneva in Switzerland, is packed with mouth watering newcomers in every size and price class. The top ended action is dominated by a supercar stoush between Ferrari and Lamborghini, but there is also everything from a new $15,500 Kia Rio - and a baby Picanto from the same company - to a second take on Toyota's make-or-break FT86 sports coupe and the Subaru version of the same machine. Geneva is only a small show - at least compared to the giants at Frankfurt and Tokyo - but the 2011 even has a huge impact and reflects the renewed confidence among the world's carmakers. They are spending big, on everything from dream machines through to new technology, as they gear up again for a showroom splurge after the doom and gloom of the Global Financial Crisis. There are close to 20 global firsts at Geneva, from the Audi A3 sedan to the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, all jostling for attention and mostly expected in Australia inside the next year. The Chevrolet Cruze hatchback becomes a Holden later this year, Saab has just confirmed its plans for the 9-5 Estate, Mercedes-Benz will push hard with the droptop SLK and new C-Class coupe, and Citroen will push more style with the DS4 hatchback as the next of its DS design- driven family. But Geneva has always been a future show and this year's event is no different. There are more than a dozen concept cars, from the minimalist Mini Rocketman through to Volkswagen's battery-powered Kombi concept. Even Rolls-Royce is playing the future game at Geneva, unveiling a plug-in electric version of its $1 million-and-more Phantom flagship. The Honda Jazz also gets the sparky treatment in Switzerland, just like a new Opel electric concept and BMW's 1 Series plug-in.  Geneva is a spring fling for carmakers but the impact will be felt quickly in showrooms around the world, including Australia, with much more to come as the electrification of the car business picks up pace.  

Small cars are much bigger than they were 40 years ago, with nothing demonstrating that better than the MINI Cooper in 2001. Further bulking up the brand, the four-door MINI Countryman takes on the Compact SUV market, for those who want the coolness of a Cooper, without the size compromise.Enter the Rocketman Concept. Shaving 20 centimetres off the modern MINI Cooper, the Rocketman edges the brand little closer in size to the classic Mini, without sacrificing the technology we’ve come to expect.Described as a 3+1, the 3-door concept car can be setup in two, three or four seater configurations, and uses double-hinged front doors to reduce the space needed to open them fully. The rear hatch is split, with a large panel opening upwards, and a drawer style arrangement that slides out at the bottom.Clearly designed with the youth market in mind, a lot of glass above the door line promotes an airy feel, and technology abounds with 3D graphics adorning the various displays.