Mini News

Later this month he will face a different challenge - driving to save fuel.The Aussie-born long distance sportscar driver has raced in Formula 1, the Indianapolis 500 and Bathurst, and now the 66-year-old veteran of speed is tackling the Global Green Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide.The 3000km Challenge, which starts on October 24, will test  the real-world fuel consumption of 21 production cars. The winner will be the car which can return the greatest improvement over its official fuel rating. The event, with a mix of urban and highway conditions, has been sanctioned by the FIA and is being run under the control of CAMS. And it's not a go-slow event to save fuel. Cars will have to keep within speed limits but also maintain a minimum average of 75km/h on open roads.Schuppan will be behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper D, trying to better BMW's official figure, achieved in a laboratory, of  just 3.9l/100km. "Driving in the first Global Green Challenge is a very exciting prospect. It's such a unique event which allows the general public to see how far modern production cars have come in terms of fuel consumption," Schuppan said. "I'm sure that the event will grow into something really big in the coming years."Schuppan has never driven the Cooper D in its latest form, but says he finds it "amazing that you can have such impressive fuel economy packaged in something like this and still have the performance people expect." "I think we're in with a shot. The Cooper D has a good chance of winning its class," he said.Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

As the first shoots of spring emerge, new car sales figures for September show a jump in convertible buyers. And money is no object, with many prepared to spend up big to pop the roof down.VFACTS industry figures show a modest sales surge of the Mazda MX5, Mini Cooper cabrio, Volkswagen Eos and Audi A3 convertible - all costing more than $40,000. Further up the price list Audi's A5 cabrio, the BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK and Volkswagen Eos are also popular with prices for some of the German cars topping out at more than $80,000.Dealers and carmakers say the warmer weather is helping. Mazda spokesman, Steve Maciver, said the order books for the company's popular MX5 were growing. "It's a combination of things but once the warmer weather hits, people like the idea of a convertible," he said.September sales figures show a 17 per cent jump in sportscar sales, which includes convertibles. Apart from topless motoring, luxury off-roaders are also proving popular. BMW spokesman, Toni Andreevski, said the company's popular X5 off-roader, which opens around $86,000, surged last month on the back of fresh supply from the United States. "We've got more stock and buyers are prepared to spend," he said.TOP 10  BRANDS    Sept           YTD 2009 (+/- on 2008)Toyota                   16,007             142,898       -22.3%Holden                      9744               85,667       -14.0%Ford                          8427               70,289       -13.7%Mazda                       7205               57,695         -7.2%Hyundai                    5484               47,625        36.4%Mitsubishi                4312               40,092        -16.3%Nissan                       4079               38,446       -15.8%Honda                       3939               31,787       -22.9%Subaru                      2807               27,225         -9.0%Volkswagen             2307               22,717         -5.4%

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. 

While starting from a higher base of CO2 emissions, companies such as Ferrari have made the biggest improvements, according to automotive data and intelligence provider, JATO Dynamics.Ferrari leads the CO2 volume reduction race, with a 40.4g/km improvement in CO2 output so far this year. This is the greatest volume reduction of any brand on sale in Europe and represents a 9.5 per cent improvement. Ferrari's net reduction puts it well on its way to achieving its stated aim to reduce CO2 emissions from 400g/km per vehicle to 280-300g/km, by 2012.While Ferrari can claim the greatest CO2 volume reduction, when expressed as percentage improvement, it is Alpina that is the outright best performer, although on a small sales base.The next best in percentage improvement is Porsche with 10.6 per cent reduction. Meanwhile, 96 per cent of the top 25 brands of European new cars sold so far this year have reduced CO2 output by an average of 6.2g/km.New car sales for Smart, Fiat and MINI are already under the 130g/km CO2 average required under EU legislation by 2015. The outright biggest improvement of all mainstream marques over the past year belongs to Alfa Romeo, whose average new car CO2 output fell by 19.9g/km.The top spot is taken by Chevrolet, whose diesel Cruze model and three-cylinder, 0.8-litre, 119g/km Matiz helped its new car sales to a 15.2g/km average CO2 improvement. Second is Audi, whose 2.0-litre TDi engine helped it to an average of 163g/km. Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai and Mazda also recorded double-digit improvements. Ford was best of the biggest European volume sellers, improving average CO2 by 8g/km as its ECOnetic range.The cleanest of the range is the new 98 g/km Fiesta ECOnetic which is yet to be released here.However, Ford Australia is bringing the car out for next month's 3000km Global Green Challenge trial from Darwin to Adelaide. 

BMW has followed up its the coupe concept by rolling out a two-seater Mini roadster. Like the coupe, the roadster provides a new take on the Mini brand, which is celebrating its 50th birthday this yea

We have seen hybrid cars, supercars, electric cars and even a tiny three-seat city runabout from Gordon Murray in Britain, a man who made his name and fame designing world championship winning grand prix cars for Brabham and McLaren. What's most surprising is that the Frankfurt show does not begin until the back end of next week. Still, that has not stopped the world's carmakers doing major teases and even major previews ahead of the official opening of Europe's biggest car show of 2009. This week we have first pictures and details of the Mercedes-Benz SLS, while BMW Group has already revealed its plug-in diesel-electric hybrid concept car and shown the Mini coupe it will soon put into production. We have also had teasers on an electric Audi R8 and some special green cars from Volkswagen, and even a Peugeot version of Mitsubishi's plug-in iMiEV, which will become Australia's first commercially-available electric car before the end of the year. It's big news and surprising stuff at a time when the world is still crawling back from the global economic meltdown and the organisers of the Tokyo Motor Show in October - which traditionally tries to trump Frankfurt - are talking-down their 2009 event. Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

The Frankfurt Motor Show literally roared to life this morning when a classic BMW 507 roadster ran laps of a custom-built oval track inside the German carmaker's $30 million stand.

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. 

"Even 30 years down the track there is hardly anything that handles as well, except perhaps the new Mini,"he says. Apart from being a Mini historian, Watson is a publisher of a quarterly magazine called The Mini Experience, which he started in 2004. Watson's magazine is the country's primary resource for all Mini enthusiasts and it has an eager following with more than 1200 subscribers. Fittingly his daily driver is a 1976 Mini van, which shares his garage with a 1972 Mini Moke. "They are a barrel of fun to drive," he says. "It's got the grin-factor. Every time I get behind the wheels I break out in a grin. As long as its well maintained there are very few cars on the road today that can compare." Watson's was one of several hundred Mini owners who attended a birthday bash for the car last weekend organised by the Victorian Mini Club. Of the more than 5.3 million Minis sold, 200,000 buyers were in Australia, with production here ending in 1978. The car was the brainchild of engineer and designer, Sir Alec Issigonis, who famously drew the prototype on a tablecloth. The project was initially called the Austin Design Office Project 15 (ADO 15) .When he sketched out his ideas, Issigonis made sure the car had a wheel at each corner to free up interior space, micro 10-inch tyres and east-west engine with a gearbox design that shared engine oil. The original design was also about 300mm narrower than the final production car. It is said that when the final prototype was build, Issigonis was not happy with its proportions and suggested it be cut in half longitudinally and widened. The extra width ultimately helped its proportions and gave the car a better on-road stance and its famous sporty handling characteristics. He also wanted 80 per cent of the 3m car to be for passengers, a task he achieved. Although front-wheel drive cars were already on roads, Issigonis took the concept further. He mounted the engine transversely to drive the front wheels, with the radiator at the side and then placed the transmission underneath. The British Motor Corporation started Mini production on August 26, 1959. It was launched in two versions, the Morris Mini Minor and the Austin Seven and cost less than 500 pounds. Australian versions followed at BMC's Zetland plant in Sydney in 1961. The Mini was initially sold as a bare-basics car with few luxuries. To help trim costs the original had sliding windows, external body welds and minimal creature comforts. Issigonis, who was a smoker, put an ashtray into the car but there was no radio and a heater was not available until the 1961 model arrived. Despite being a smash hit, the first European examples had a few problems that would spell an instant consumer backlash and recall today. Ventilation was initially a problem as the rear hinged windows would not stay open, exhausts were fracturing because they lacked flexibility and if it rained the cabin could be flooded. All this did not matter though. People were crying out for low-cost motoring and as soon as the Mini arrived in showrooms it was a sellout. It started a craze and became the car to own for people from pop stars to British royalty and appeared in cameo roles in various films, including The Italian Job. It also spawn a range of models including a van, wagon, ute and the hotter Cooper series. The Mini's compact rubber-cone independent suspension and a wide track allowed safe, responsive handling that later won races, including a swag of Monte Carlo rally wins. Of the locally built Minis about 26,000 were Mokes, a quirky open-air car that defied description and initially started life to be a British military vehicle. Watson says despite the fact that the Mini has been around in Australia for just as long as the UK versions, little has been written about it. "There's lots of information available about the English cars," he says. "But I'm still finding out stuff about the locally built cars." For example, the Moke was originally designed and built in the UK but it was never popular. Only 10,000 were built in the UK and about 90 per cent were exported to countries including Australia. BMC's Australian operations grabbed the opportunity to assemble the cars here and in 1968 Australia became the sole builder and supplier. The Moke was something of a success locally and was subsequently exported to 80 countries. Watson also says there is some myth about whether the Mini was a profitable car. "It was always said that the Mini was a low profit, or no profit car," he says. "Ford apparently stripped one down and said that if it had built the Mini it would have lost 30 pounds on each car." Watson believes that it's possible the entry bread-and-butter model would have lost money. "But very few people bought the base car," he says. "The Deluxe and premium models like the Coopers were very popular and profitable." Watson says little is known about the first six Minis brought to Australia in 1960, except that they were not pre-production cars. "They were all early production cars, built in February 1960 and arriving in Australia in June or July," he says. "Assembly of Australian Mini's began in January 1961, which is why many people believe these first six cars were pre-production models. Although they were pre-production Australian cars (our Minis differed in numerous ways from the UK Mini, from the outset) I believe that none of those cars still exist." Watson has tracked down one of these cars, which has been restored and is now owned by a private collector in Queensland. It is generally accepted that the original Mini is one of just a handful of cars that have reach such an iconic status. It joins the original VW Beetle, Citroen 2CV and Model T Ford as having introduced low-cost mobility for millions of people. The original ranks number four as the world's biggest selling car and was Britain's best selling car ever. The VW Beetle managed 21 million, the Ford Model T 15 million and the Renault R4 eight million. Today's Mini may be light years away in cost and equipment, but the original is credited with starting a small car revolution. Low mileage originals in the UK are still sought by many and can fetch from $15,000 up to $30,000 for some of the limited edition and original Cooper S models.

Cancer as a boy left him blind in one eye, but it hasn't slowed him down. The 51-year-old Gold Coast businessman has owned a host of performance cars from a Mini Cooper S to his current 400 horsepower Trans-Am Mustang and has raced since he was 40. Except for the years 1998-2001 when CAMS took away his race licence because of his sight.Rigon loves a good stoush, so he took CAMS to court and won and is now the only one-eyed driver licensed to race in national events. His first car was a 1968 Mini Cooper S former NSW police pursuit vehicle."The police had GTHOs, Chargers and Mini Cooper Ss back then," he explains. "It had great handling and was very quick, but I eventually blew the engine up driving it too hard."He then moved to a Mazda RX4 Coupe "rocketship", followed by several company cars, a GTV6 Alfa Romeo in 1989 and a Porsche 911 Carrera. "The Alfa stayed with me for some time and was picked up by a collector in Western Australia, an 81-year-old lady who had it fully restored it," he said. "Being Italian it never stayed together and spent more time in the repair shop than it was on the road, but it was a great car to own."His current everyday cars are a 2007 V8 SS Commodore and an ex-police Ford Typhoon F6: "I like to buy ex-police cars because they are looked after and have a few trick bits."Rigon was a late starter to racing at the age of 40 competing in the WA Formula Ford series against eventual winner Garth Tander. He's made up for it since with a host of race cars, including two Subaru WRX STIs. But the Trans-Am Mustang he bought early last year is his favourite."It's the most pleasurable car to drive because it is not as technical as a modern race cars which are very forgiving," he says. "Modern race cars take a lot of technology to make them run quick but there is a lot more driver skill required in old cars. They tend to go sideways quite a bit.""It's something about our age group. It was the car that always appealed to me. "I was heavily inspired by Steve McQueen in Bullitt and always loved American Trans-Am (1964 to '74 American V8-powered cars) racing series as well as the Australian equivalent with Bob Jane, Allan Moffat driving around in Mustangs and Comaros. That was the style of racing I could really identify with."He's now the treasurer of the fledgling Australian Trans-Am Series which, not surprisingly, doesn't operate under CAMS licensing. "The average age of the racers is 45 to 60 and those drivers wouldn't necessarily get a CAMS licence which can take a year to get a full licence," he says.The series has 24 members with about 12-14 cars lining up on the grid. "We believe that will grow to a full field of 24 in about six months and about 34 in 12 months at any race meeting making it the largest Trans-Am series outside the US."Needless to say, his dream machine is a race car. "One of those limited edition GT3 Porsches," he is quick to answer. "I have always had a love for Ferraris but Porsches can take a pounding. They are a bullet proof car. For my driving style - while I love Italian cars - they just don't stay together."