[smartbomb]

I remember the 1st one and was lucky enough to get my question asked !
My question this time would be -
How would you spec your own MINI ? and which elements do you consider carry the MINI DNA and are essential features ?

[inomis]

1.There has been some talk about cost cutting by critics of the R56. Do you feel the design was constrained by costs? Please comment on how the design was most signifcantly affected by technical and accounting functions within MINI.

2. What were the influences for the direction of the R56 MINI design? Were certain products or design movements and trends influencial? Where should we look to see where future MINI designs will go?

3. What 3 cars do you feel are the MINIs biggest rivals and was your design effort affected by existing or expected competitors?

[adscma]

What design constraints did you come across that were directly related to european pedestrian saftey laws and how did you overcome them

[esxollie]

My question would be:

What had you hoped the new design would bring to the already successful MINI brand; Do you believe all those goals have been meet and how?

[MINIMAN2]

When redesigning the rear seats why did you not include a grip place to pul the seats up as you have to pull the seat up from the top which is hard for me and i am just under 6 foot any people who are shorter must have to get in the car. The clip that release's the rear folding seat could be redesigned longer with a scoop like the one on the hatch.

[MINIMANIAUK]

Why does not the car have a stainless steel exhaust system from new?

[:: Jon ::]

Question::

Why place switches in the roof near the mirror when surley its a more SAFE position to have these within reach of driver say for example in the center console.

as you have to physically take your eyes off the road to use these where as in the center console they are at your finger tips

[Paul]

I've said this a few times, and I am getting a little frustrated by some responses here.

PLEASE KEEP QUESTIONS RELATED TO INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR DESIGN OF THE SECOND GENERATION MINI ONLY.

Thank you.

[Rakey]

why was the plastic innner wheel arch liners changed to the new felt/carpet liniers which will just hold water and weight on a car that you have tried to design to be lighter?

Why has the MCS petrol cap moved from a high quality metal cap to a chromed plastic cap?

Why design the wheel arches to look visibly better with larger wheels, when the car performs best on 16's?

Why not give the option to R56 MCS owners as if they wanted the cheap plastic looking grill or a more traditional slate type grill?

Explain why some paint colours are restricted to certain models, we understand that some are perceived as been more sporty so why there are colours that you hold to encourage people to buy a MCS, but why not let the potential owner of a MCS decide if they want the colours on the cheaper model such as nightfire red?

The wheel arches used to sit flush on the body panels of the R50, yet on the R56 these is a recess now that this sit into on the car, what is the main reason for this change? Is it for changes sake? Or to try and hide the bonnet gap and keep this spacing continuous around the car? Or to make colour coding more difficult for R56 owners?

The interior leather colours are not very exciting, are there any plans to reflect the cars character more on leather options? We know that lounge leather is retro looking, but where is the sport option, and why not restrict the lounge leather to the Cooper model only if the MCS is perceived as a car too sporty to be painted in nightfire red which is deemed a classic colour? Where is the real red leather option that we could have if we brought an Audi or Porsche, or where is a true sports mini colour such as red/cream?

The scoop on the MCS is now been swapped from a non-functioning design feature to a cooling aid, but detail more why it was retained, and how it will be a functional feature on the MCS.

[goodingm]

What made them use the incredibly cheap side repeaters whilst the rest of the car looks real quality. Completely spoils the exterior look of the car.

[ned78]

I want to echo previous posters thoughts on colours, we miss our bright cheery colours!

The Interior Lighting Package is a little lack lustre having seen the hype and build up. The colours might as well not be there. There should be an option to dim the instrument lights, and leave the ambient lights at full capacity, also, as Paul has so correctly pointed out, there are issues when chaning colours - the door handle, and door bin lights are a step behind the cascade lights and B pillar lights. This should be rethought for a facelift model, and perhaps look to extend the colour changes to the Speedometer/Instruments too.

There is no mode change button on the Speedo Entertainment Controls, you must go through a Menu to change from CD/Radio/Aux-in - an oversight.

The centre console housing the Aircon and CD seems a little out of place compared to the wonderous interior options available, so please consider revising this (Or extending the colour line to it) in a facelift.

Lastly, well done on the EPAS as standard! Long long overdue!

[Root Ginger]

Quote: Originally Posted by inomis (original)

1.There has been some talk about cost cutting by critics of the R56. Do you feel the design was constrained by costs? Please comment on how the design was most signifcantly affected by technical and accounting functions within MINI.

2. What were the influences for the direction of the R56 MINI design? Were certain products or design movements and trends influencial? Where should we look to see where future MINI designs will go?

3. What 3 cars do you feel are the MINIs biggest rivals and was your design effort affected by existing or expected competitors?

+1 on these questions. Very good inomis.

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

What aspect of the redesign do you most wish that you had done differently?

Tigger.

[ALD0]

Question:

Please can you tell us why Nightfire red is not available on the S?

Si

[DeadCanDanceR]

Did you consider going a totally different way (away from the retro-look) when you started the R56 exterior design project?

Were you consciously trying to get away from the retro-look when you redesigned the R56's interior?

Were you inspired by old Ferrari wheels (from the 70s and early 80s) when you designed the new wheels for the R56s?

Why did you include a non-functional air intake on the S? Wasn't there another (less Japanese-gimmicky) way to distinguish it from the Cooper?

Would it be possible to know the nationality of the designers that got involved in this project?

Thanks!

[jimmyt]

There are design elements of the 2004 facelift such as the rear lights and the lower front bumper design on the Cooper that seem to be carried over on to the new model. Was the design of the R56 known at that point, and the facelift used to familiarise people to the changes?

[Restyle]

Which aspects, if any, of your original R56 design concepts were over-ruled by factors of Cost, Materials, or Manufacturing Process ?

[Trophy160]

Why did the fuel filler arrow disapear from the fuel guage icon on the dash ?

Why do the mood lights not change the colours of all of the interior lights, why were multi coloured leds not used for all interior lights ?

Why is the panel gap on the new bonnet so large ?

Paul;

[Fredrik]

The exterior rear view mirrors has been made a bit bigger, probalbly for safety and visability reasons, but the shape of the R53´s mirrors is so much better, a bit nimbler and more racing over the design on that model
Was there no possibility to shape the mirrors a bit more like the ones on the R53?

[Rakey]

why is there a mystery button designed into the car just in front of the gear shift