Roving reporter drags himself away from the MINI BARge to report back on MINI at the British International Motorshow.

With the release of the next generation MINI creeping ever nearer, and the hype and excitement about this new model gaining momentum, the new car was the only thing conspicuous by it’s absence at this years British International Motorshow. The only glimpse of the future visitors to this year’s show we’re granted is the (almost) new MINI Traveller Concept London, based on the Monte Carlo rally inspired MINI Concept Geneva.

That’s not the say the MINI wasn’t well represented at this years show. In all MINI had 12 variations on display in the Plaza outside the ExCeL centre in London, representing every model produced to date right up to the limited edition MINI GP, in addition to the MINI Concept. In addition, several “Fake MINIs”, which tie in with MINI UKs recent marketing campaign, made their way onto the stands too. Fairly easy to spot which is which for seasoned MINI2 visitors I’m sure.

And what of the rather unusual, “BMW Plaza” display area? The idea to show their family of cars (including the MINI of course), outside the main arena was certainly a novel one, especially in the UK in the middle of summer. This surely was tempting fate in the extreme! As it happened, lady luck (and the sun) smiled down on us at the show, if anything it was slightly too warm to linger for too long outside, hovering over the fleet of MINIs on display. At the time of writing though there’s a long way to go, so we hope the hot weather holds out for everyone who’s planning a visit. If it doesn’t, not all would be lost, there is always the rather novel MINI BARge area in which to entertain yourself if it does turn a little damp outside, or if you’re a sun worshiper, you could always climb to the third level and soak in some sun on one of the open deck areas.

The motorshow gave MINI2 the chance to get up close and personal with the MINI Concept for the first time, and although when you’ve grown accustomed to the MINI shape since it first appeared as a concept way back in 1997 the Concept does look a little “odd”, once you get over the differences and start looking into the detail it’s actually a really funky little wagon. And it IS still little, at least in terms of what else is on our roads today. The Concept is another clever example of MINIs looking bigger than they actually are, the raised profile of the bonnet and chunky rear end just add to the solid appearance we’ve all grown so used to seeing. However, inside it did feel a little cramped up front, you could certainly tell this concept is for showing, not driving!

The Concept has many neat tricks and features, which have already been seen in previous incarnations. It makes you wonder how much of this could and will make it to the production version. The more the better is my opinion, I really was impressed meeting the MINI Concept in the flesh for the first time, and the clever little touches all over the vehicle reminded me very much of the first time I crawled all over the MINI, feeling impressed by so many of the quirky and unique design elements we now take for granted. It’s just a shame in this case we couldn’t press the buttons and flick the switches to see what happens.

The Concept London was basically the same car as the Concept Geneva, apparently the design and development team were a little too occupied with “other matters” to produce another truly unique example. The only difference from Geneva we could see was the rear panel is now “multimedia centre” on one side. However, because of the intense sunlight, it was very hard to see the three screens, showing clips from the Monte Carlo Rally, as well as the production process of the concept.

Coming back from the future and into the present we met up with the first MINI GP customer in the UK, who was at the show for a special presentation, handed the keys by Mike Cooper, and to be hounded by members of the media for interviews. Paul Baker seemed pleased as punch with his acquisition, which we fully appreciated! Paul, who lives in Chipping Norton near Oxford, originally got into MINIs some time ago with the classic Minis, and although he had drifted away from the little car, was tempted back in 2002 by the release of the new MINI Cooper S. In 2004 he moved from his Red and White S onto a Hyper Blue and White MINI Cooper S with factory installed John Cooper Works Kit, but hearing the news on MINI2 in January 2005 of a “possible” light weight limited edition, Paul was talking to Nathan at North Oxford MINI the next day, securing his position at the head of the queue!

So, will Paul be one of the few customers MINI expects to track their car and give it some real abuse on a regular basis? Apparently not, and despite his (and his family’s, this will be MINI number 5) previous record, he said he plans very much to hold on to his latest prized position. This wont be on eBay anytime soon, and good to hear it too! Apparently among the first places the GP would be visiting is his favourite pub, the Falkland Arms, where you can enjoy a refreshment while gazing at your MINI parked outside. As for future plans, customisations? Maybe a JCW strut brace.

We also grabbed some time with Trevor Smithers, National Sales Manager for MINI in the UK and Emma Lowndes, Marketing Manager for MINI in the UK. We had decided in advance to devote most of our energy attempting to squeeze as much information about the next generation MINI as we could out of any MINI representative we encountered. Unfortunately, Trevor and Emma were well versed in the art of answering questions without actually answering them, cat and mouse is always a fun game to play with MINI representatives at these sort of occasions, but almost always ends in frustration and a wry smile or two! So, we pretty soon gave up that chase and decided to focus on MINIs achievements over the five years since it’s launch in the UK.

As of the current MINI, Trevor and Emma seemed delighted with how well the MINI has been performing in terms of sales, which to this day are outperforming their own forecasts and predictions. Demand was expected to have slowed by this stage in the life cycle, but they’re showing no real signs of dropping off any time soon. I asked if this created any problems with development of the next car, gearing up for production. No was the answer, a challenge, but not a problem!

When asked what was the most memorable moment, the one they were most proud of since launch, both gave the same answer. October 2000, the MINI being presented at the British Motorshow. Trevor in particular recalled how a lady at the show was struggling to make her way through the crowds to see the new car, so lead her to another vehicle, hidden away from the public clambering. He described how he could see her physically transform on seeing the MINI, it was “like watching someone fall in love”.

Another resounding memory, less public this time, was when MINI UK presented the new car to their dealer network early in 2001. This was the first time many had seen the car, and certainly the first true “MINI experience” the new dealers had ever had. The event took place in Manchester, between the trendy Bar 38 and an empty 19th Century warehouse, converted into a multiple use building. The buzz was said to be incredible and the dealers really seemed to “get it”, and of course seeing that reaction from people who were to be front line, the face of MINI, was really positive. Trevor quoted that seeing the MINI between an old amphitheatre and the modern scenery of the bar that night felt somehow right, with the bringing together of the classic and the modern.

Our lasting impression of the MINI at the British International Motorshow was that of a brilliant display, vibrant, quirky, amusing. Many of the things so many find appealing about the car itself. If you get bored of MINIs alone (how could you?) there’s table football, air hockey and a DJ in the BARge to entertain you, and outside a life-size game of Fake Invaders to play. The fact that the next generation MINI didn’t show it’s tweaked and updated new face to the World was a disappointment, but one we all expected, but if you can put your hunger for more information about the future to one side for a while and just enjoy the now, any MINI fan should find something to amuse and entertain at this years Motorshow. So if you’re at a loose end between now and the 30th July, get yourself down to the ExCeL in London and enjoy what is probably the last of the “first generation” only MINI displays you’re going to have the chance to visit.