Good pics, Per!
They really help to show the size comparison. In rough numbers, the
New Mini is about 12 inches longer, 8 inches wider, and 2 inches
taller than the MINI.
Some other comparisons: The original MINI came with 10 inch wheels.
Later models had 12 inch. The New Mini comes shod with 15 inchers.
It also has ABS.
The original MINI started out with an 850 cc A Series motor. Over the
years, that has increased in size to 1275 (1.3 liter) and the A+
designation. All variants of the New Mini will come with a 1.6 liter
twin-overhead-cam 16V engine built at the Tritec plant in Brazil -
which is jointly owned by BMW and Daimler-Chrysler. The base level,
which won't see US shores, comes rated at 90hp. The mid-level Cooper,
which will be the first to arrive here, is rated at 110 hp. And the
top-of-the-line Cooper S, which comes our way later, makes 160 hp with
a supercharger. I've HEARD that the guys at John Cooper Garages
already have a variant making 200+ hp, though we'll never see it on
these shores.
BTW, the original MINI was produced continuously for 41 years - from
August 1959 until it finally ceased production in July 2000. At that
point, the Longbridge plant was shut down and production of the New
Mini was moved to the completely-retooled Oxford plant.
If you'd like to learn more about the New Mini, I'd suggest you check
out Mini Mania's website. They've collected a whole bunch of articles
from around the world about the New Mini. You'll find them at:
http://www.minimania.com
You can also find a link to several articles about the New Mini on our
MINI Owners of Texas website at:
http://www.geocities.com/johnlee37
There's also a link there to Mini Mania's site if you're lazy.
Oh, BTW - while we're talking about new cars, I came across a really
tricked-out Pilot Transport 18-wheeler on Interstate-49 while on my
way home from the New Orleans TLAC (Trans-Louisiana Autocross
Challenge) a couple of weeks ago. I asked the driver, on the CB, what
he was hauling. He told me he had seven Mitsubishi Lancers on board.
There had been 21 of them at some sort of media day event in New
Orleans. One of his was going to a prep shop in Dallas, to get it
ready for some sort of show there, and the other six were going to
California. He didn't know where the other 14 were going.
Happy MINIng
John (Old Fartz & TLS #37) Lieberman
1965 DP Austin MINI
GRMPer@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hey Team.net...
>
> There was a new MINI at Import Carlisle this year. We got to drive it and
> photograph it...I've posted some pics of the car on our website, including
> some next to the original for a size comparison. We've got driving
> impressions in the August issue. Go to http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com
> for the pics.
>
> How is this autocross related? My bet is that you're going to see quite a
> few of these dodging cones in the next few years......
>
> Per Schroeder
> http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com
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