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We all know what a popular and trendy little car the MINI is and how clever the marketing people are with all the super trendy 'must have'options packages that people fork out extra cash for and how good the MINI/BMW dealers are at sorting out any problems.Overall a major success story.But....can you imagine the disaster if BMW had not been involved and the Rover boys with their special band of dealers had been left to their own devices."oh yes sir,the A-series engine is very retro and trendy,and the Harvest Gold with brown plastic interior is just the thing".Build problems? we might get those sorted in about 15 years time,then again we probably won't.
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The MINI although built at the ex Rover Cowley works is perhaps the cleverest con-trick pulled on the motoring public certainly in my memory.
It was a BMW stitch up job from day one.
Not only were there two design teams working on the project (one in Munich, the other at Canley) but none of their work was actually taken. The Rover designs (they had three) all kept to Issigonsis 80:20 concept (80% passenger space and 20% for the mechanicals). Their favoured design was revealed at the 1997 Geneva Motor Show as the 'Spiritual' it was mid engined, had a rear wheel drive and a 660cc (Japanse K-car class) engine and more interior room than a Golf. There was also a five-door longer wheelbase with a larger engine. This project known as R59 also had the keen input of John Cooper, Jack Daniels and Alex Moulton. It was built on the concept of subframes, Hydrogas suspension and a cut down K-series engine. The drivable prototypes impressed Pieschreider so much, he pushed very hard for the Spiritual.
Meanwhile, Chris Bangle in California was cooking up a design for the new Mini. No pictures are available for that one.
However, BMW dittering, hummed and fudged for an separate design by another American, Frank Stapleton cobbled together using an MGF as the underpinning for the MINI you see today. Known as ACV30 and later as R50. Designed as a somewhat 'shadow' project to the other two design teams. It was no secret Rietzle wanted this car to win the internal competition. It was assisted by the design team in Munich.
However, the infighting between Munich and Canley got so bad that Rietzle agreed a compromise deal and ruled that the R50 was the design and that Rover Canley would work on it. It was to use a Z-axle at the rear, and conventional strut suspension at the front, all the hallmarks of a conventional car in a really small space.
One slight problem, this upset the Munich team so much that they didn't help Canley much. Canley had no idea how the car worked as it was wildly different to the Spiritual design. When Rover took the BMW project, a lot of it was still unclear, the BMW design team had talked up their car but the engine and gearbox was still indecided. Horror of horrors, the new 1100cc K-series engine planned for the car didn't fit under the bonnet. Also, because of cost constraints placed on the car as it was soon realised that it might be too expensive to produce. They replaced the planned disc brakes at the rear with drums.
This is the reason why the MINI has the same wheelbase as a Disco, a Mexican engine from General Motors and practically no rear legroom.
The only 'British' designed part about the MINI is the dashboard and it's built here but it has none of the heritage, it was designed by committee, fudge and internal politics, all of BMW's own mismanaged making.
Rover wanted to create an innovative car in the same vein as the original Mini defined the 'small' car. BMW wanted something to cash in on the 'retro' image. In terms of innovation, the new Mini offers nothing, that innovation belongs now to Smart MCC. I think the new Mini will go the same way as the new Beetle.
Rover's input if taken would have given us an exciting innovative car instead we have something in name only that looks like its eaten all the pies.
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I quite agree 3500S. For the consumer spending circa 14K, trendy is very, very bad. Once this house equity-fuelled consumer boom is over (and it won't be long), the new MINI will go the same way as the new Beetle. Five year servicing deal _is_ innovative, though.
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I'm not sure how bad the NB is. It's going for well over 60% of new price, even at 3 years and 60k miles - compare £7k for a 99V Focus Ghia and £9.5k for a New Beetle, cars with fairly similar list prices.
Okay, the Focus is slightly cheaper, more practical, better to drive and faster, and the Beetle is a girly pastiche, but to be getting those kinds of values, someone (people not like me) must like them. Therefore, you can hardly say that the Beetle is a very, very bad buy.
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slighty off tack but I drove past my local BMW/MINI garage today and they had a new Mini Cooper S advertised for..
..wait for it..
£18,995!!
Is it possible to load the car with enough options to get the price this high or is this just a case of profiteering?
Back on tack I agree with the other posts about it being a triumph of style over substance
CavV6 and cavWeb fan.
www.cavweb.co.uk
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try it on www.mini.co.uk
I am sure you will find it entirely possible!
Also a premium for by-passing the waiting list?
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The MINI engine was planned to be built elsewhere in about 1998 - I was involved in that project.
I always find it amazing that Rover and the UK govt were surprised about BMW's actions since it had been reasonably well known for quite some time.
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Am I the only one who thinks the dashboard looks like a Fisher-Price Activity Centre?
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You are all boring!
Its great to drive, and although the novelty will wear off ,it is a 'fun' car.
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Your're right Dave, it is great to drive and I think it looks good from the outside too. But for me the interior is juvenile.
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Probably why I like it then. :)
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Nice to find someone who doesn't take every comment as a personal insult, Dave. Have you driven the supercharged Cooper?
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Unfortunately not. I drove a One when I could still drive ,when waiting at BMW York to give my Stepdad the keys to his 325. Having been used to an E reg dying Polo ,it was a lot of fun and the salesman chose not to speak on the 'test drive'..
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I was in the market for a Mini, just the bog standard One, as the chance to stretch the Cooper engine in Kens London is minimal. Looking at it coldly and logically, its a good and fair sized engine in what would appear to be a BMW small car shell. Any similarity to the original is purely cosmetic. The inside not only looks toylike however, it has the feel of the handle of plastic kids swords.
Anyhoo, the classifieds in the Standard are full of Minis at a significant premium. One last month had the new Cooper for £20000, and I've seen the One advertised at £16k, a full £6k premium. I've even seen one with 14000 miles advertised at 30% over new.
Unfortunately its a buyers market, and there lots of people with more money than me! Back to the drawing board. Now, a new CLio for £6200......
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