MINI2

MINI Today confirmed for the first time in an official press statement that a 210 hp Works MINI Cooper S will be available to the public in “Summer 2008″.

We’ve been saying for a long time that the new Stage 1 Works kit was only phase one of the “Hot MINIs from MINI” strategy and recently we gave 212 hp as the predicted output of the Stage 2 factory fitted Works, we were pretty close.

In a press release focusing on the MINI Challenge 2008 car, MINI mention, as an aside, that the same engine conversion will be available to private customers from Summer 2008. The tuning kit powers up the Cooper S with a quoted output of 210 hp (ps) and 260 Nm of torque (280 Nm with overboost). Now that sounds like fun.

*update*

Now we’ve received a full English language release, this news may not be so exciting for the road-going hot MINI fan.

Although the car is designed for race participation, private owners may find owning a MINI CHALLENGE car a compelling prospect. However, the car will not be licensed for public roads and as such is expected to maintain its appeal among racing enthusiasts.

Race teams will receive the first MINI CHALLENGE cars from March 2008. Private customers not competing in the MINI Challenge series can expect deliveries of cars from June 2008. An order form for the car can be downloaded from 11 September 2007 at www.MINI.com/challenge-car and the expected price is €49,900 inc. VAT.

More than a week after the Austrian Configure went online and people on MINI2 started specifying their prospective MINI Clubman, the UK configure is now online.

It’s almost exactly the same as the Austrian version, only in English, and with prices to reflect. You can get speccin’ at the MINI.co.uk site now!

It’s true. While MINI UK have issued details of a special shoe designed to co-ordinate with, and celebrate the launch of the new MINI Clubman, MINI in Germany have released details of a range of MINI Clubman themed bags from Finduck, who own the Mandarina Duck brand.

The bags are offered in brown, sorry, Hot Chocolate to match the new colour exclusive to the MINI Clubman.

The MINI Clubman Collection of bags will be available via MINI.com/shop and will go on sale in November priced from 60 Euros for a Toiletry bag to 160 euros for a Weekender bag.

We kid you not.

Japanese trainer brand Onitsuka Tiger and MINI have come together to create a dedicated range of both men’s and women’s footwear. The limited edition plimsolls will be available in the UK from 1st December ‘07.

The launch of the shoe mares the arrival of the new MINI Clubman, the next model from MINI’s plant Oxford to hit the streets. First deliveries of which begin in the UK and major European markets on November 10th.

The trainers will be on sale at Onitsuka Tiger stores, selected fashion outlets and numerous MINI dealers across the country. The show will be offered in three colour combinations, Black/Silver, Cream/British Green and Chocolate/Cream (shown below).

This isn’t the first “MINI Shoe” and it’s sure not the be the last, and despite the tenuous marketing link between the MINI Clubman and these items of footwear, they actually look pretty cool to us, so should help both brands spread their name in the otherwise unrelated markets of footwear fashion and motoring.

We just think it’s a shame MINI and Onitsuka Tiger didn’t take the cross-branding one step further, launching a Clubfoot to match the Clubdoor on the Clubman. But maybe that’s why we don’t work in marketing?!

According to insiders at MINI, the long awaited factory produced John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S model, featuring tweaked suspension, styling, and a more powerful version of the MINI Cooper S turbocharged 1.6 litre engine, will begin production as early as June or July next year, and should be with customers from September.

While dealers wont be able to place orders for the new John Cooper Works S at this stage, it may be wise for enthusiasts to get their names on an interest list before the rush for what promises to be the fastest factory Cooper S to date hits full swing.

The BMW Group remained on course in the second quarter despite the adverse impact of on-going currency effects on the one hand and market launch and production start-up costs for new models on the other. The total number of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand cars delivered to customers rose by 8.6% to a new record figure of 397,009 units (second quarter 2006: 365,547 units). Group revenues climbed by 11.3% to euro 14,683 million (second quarter 2006: euro 13,193 million).

Group earnings for the period from April to June were held down more than expected as a result of the on-going weakness of the US dollar and Japanese yen and higher raw material costs. In addition, launch costs for new models and substantial expenditure for the development of even more efficient and fuel-saving engines were incurred. “Thanks to the increased use of Efficient Dynamics technology, approximately 40% of BMW and MINI brand cars sold in Europe, will, from autumn onwards, emit a maximum of 140g CO2/km”, stated Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of BMW AG’s Board of Management in Munich on Wednesday. The profit before tax fell by 13.6% to euro 1,065 million (second quarter 2006: euro 1,232 million). The net profit was euro 753 million (second quarter 2006: euro 787 million/-4.3%) and earnings per share of common stock amounted to euro 1.15 (second quarter 2006: euro 1.20).

Revenues for the six-month period rose by 7.3% to euro 26,634 million (first half-year 2006: euro 24,811 million). The profit before tax amounted to euro 1,917 million (first half-year 2006: euro 2,528/-24.2%). It should be noted that the previous year’s figure includes a one-off book gain of euro 375 million from the partial settlement of the exchangeable bond on shares in the British aero engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce plc. Excluding this exceptional item, the profit before tax would have decreased by only 13.4%.

Impact of adverse currency effects in 2007 higher than expected

Although conditions remain difficult in some aspects, the BMW Group nevertheless expects to make good progress over the coming months. In particular, adverse currency effects are having a greater impact on earnings than previously forecast. However, based on the BMW Group’s current assessment, the negative impact will not exceed the previous year’s level.

Reithofer reaffirmed the company’s outlook for the current financial year: “We are still aiming to achieve a pre-tax profit that, adjusted for the one-off gain on the Rolls-Royce exchangeable bond, is above the record level posted for the previous year. The company is heading towards a sales volume growth rate in the high single-digit percentage range and a sales volume of over 1.4 million vehicles”, he added. All three brands are forecast to achieve new sales volume records.

Slight increase in workforce

The BMW Group had a worldwide workforce of 107,079 employees at the end of the second quarter 2007, 0.9% more than one year earlier (106,150 employees).

Further additions to model range

The BMW Group introduced two new models onto the markets in the period from April to June in the form of the BMW M5 Touring and the three-door version of the BMW 1 Series. The previously announced 1 Series Coupé will strengthen this model from autumn onwards. The fourth generation of the BMW M3 will commence sales in September. As for the MINI brand, the MINI One and the MINI Cooper D have been available on the market since April 2007. The MINI Clubman will be launched in autumn.

Position as the world’s leading premium manufacturer maintained

The BMW Group sold more cars on a quarterly and half-year basis than ever before, thus asserting its position as the world’s leading premium manufacturer. For the six-month period, the number of cars delivered increased by 4.6% to 730,285 units (first half-year 2006: 698,470 units); for the first time, therefore, more than 700,000 cars were sold during a six-month period.

The number of BMW brand cars sold in the six-month period went up by 4.2% to 622,415 units (first half-year 2006: 597,120 units). The sales volume for the period from April to June rose by 7.1% to 336,230 units (second quarter 2006: 313,823 units). The main impetus for this growth was driven again by the BMW 3 Series, the sales volume of which rose by 13.3% to 288,256 units (first half-year 2006: 254,338 units).

The MINI achieved a positive level of sales, with the second-quarter sales volume rising by 17.6% to 60,598 units (second quarter 2006: 51,544 units). This performance represents a new high level for a single quarter. The sales volume for the six-month period rose by 6.4% to 107,576 units (first half-year 2006: 101,063 units). The new MINI has been available on all major markets since March and the MINI brand continues to generate a very high-value product mix. Some 12.5% of buyers decided to purchase the MINI One, compared to 56.8% going for the MINI Cooper and 30.7% for the MINI Cooper S.

The sales volume of the Rolls-Royce brand was similar to the previous year, with 294 Phantoms handed over to customers during the six-month period (first half-year 2006: 287 units /+2.4%).

Automobile segment affected by adverse exchange rate factors

The number of cars sold by the Automobile segment accelerated in the second quarter. Segment earnings were again adversely affected by the exchange rate effects and higher raw material prices referred to above. Further factors were production start-up and market launch costs for new models as well as the higher level of depreciation and research and development costs. Segment revenues for the period from April to June increased by 10.2% to euro 14,257 million (second quarter 2006: euro 12,943 million). The profit before tax fell by 15.4% to euro 801 million (second quarter 2006: euro 947 million).

Motorcycle segment earnings unchanged

The sales volume of the Motorcycle segment for the period from April to June fell by 2.3% to 36,201 units (second quarter 2006: 37,052 units), mainly due to pre-seasonal buying at the beginning of the year caused in particular by the mild winter. On a six-month basis, the number of motorcycles sold rose by 5.6% to a new record of 59,230 units (first half-year 2006: 56,103 units). Second-quarter revenues fell by 5.5% to euro 396 million (second quarter 2006: euro 419 million), whilst the segment profit before tax, at euro 56 million, was unchanged compared to the second quarter last year.

Financial services business remains on growth course

The Financial Services segment continued to perform well in the second quarter 2007. The profit before tax rose by 5.0% to euro 189 million (second quarter 2006: euro 180 million). The business volume of the segment in balance sheet terms went up by 17.8% to reach euro 48,811 million at 30 June 2007. The number of lease and financing contracts in place with dealers and retail customers at the end of the six-month period increased by 14.0% to 2,485,450 contracts. The proportion of new cars of the BMW Group leased or financed by the Financial Services segment during the first half of the year was 44.0%; this was 1.9 percentage points above the proportion recorded for the corresponding period in 2006.

These two presentations conclude our collection of MINI Clubman videos Today.

The first is the MINI Clubman Cooper S driving in town, the second is a shorter clip of the Clubman Cooper S out in the wilds again.

Although nowhere near the resolution of the photographs we have previously presented, somehow video does bring things to life, so we hope Today’s clips have been entertaining as well as informative for you all!

Three more MINI Clubman videos for your viewing pleasure.  This time we have some more technical presentations showing the more practical aspects of the new MINI Clubman.

First up we have the engine bay.  Which is pretty much like any other MINI engine bay.

Next, we have a video tour of the interior, which focuses (not surprisingly) on the rear load area.

And last of this triplet of MINI Clubman videos is a short film of the exterior lighting arrangement at night (well, it wouldn’t work so well in the daytime would it).

This is our penultimate video presentation of the MINI Clubman in this short series.  Later we will show footage of the MINI Clubman driving in town and a further short clip of it sprinting around the countryside.

This, our second feature video of the new MINI Clubman, shows the MINI Clubman Cooper S driving in the countryside.

The usual range of on board and drive by shots are included in this short feature which weighs in just under three minutes in total.

As an added bonus, this third (shorter) video of our batch reveals the interior of the MINI Clubman Cooper S while on it’s jaunt among the twisties.

We have some video footage of the new MINI Clubman to share with visitors to MINI2.

In total we have  eight short films for your viewing pleasure featuring The Other MINI.

This first video is a virtual tour of the MINI Clubman Cooper S, including opening of the club door and the gas struts in action when opening the rear doors (very cool effect).

Anyway, see for yourself: