[OnlyS4me]

I\'ve just read the article in this weeks AUTOVISIE magazine about the Cooper S. It stated that the \'S\' will come with both dials behind the wheel as standard, and in the middle, where normally the speedo is, would be a clock, which would be completed with SatNav if opted.
Not sure if this can be true :?
Has anyone read the same thing elsewere and can anyone confirm this???

Also an article that BMW is not satisfied with the Pentagon engine, and that they will develop a new one which can be fitted in both the 1-series and the MINI. At the same time they will develop a new diesel themselves, as which is now a loaner from Toyota.

[S2000&CooperS]

I don\'t think this is true. The Cooper S page on the MINIUSA website mentions the tachometer as \"standing alone above the steering column\" or something to that effect.

The EB Cooper S in the photos has the Nav option, that\'s all. I think the speedo will remain in the center just as in the Cooper and One.

[Jazzy Jase]

I don\'t believe that is true, and if it is I will be VERY dissapointed. It would look so tacky having a huge clock in the middle, and there is no way I am paying for sat nav.

If it is true then my deposit will be changing to a Works Cooper.

[BruceK]

I sure hope it isn\'t true - that would be one large, useless clock!

I want the speed in the center - no place else.

As for the disatisfaction with the engine that seems hard to believe as it is a <i><b> joint </b></i> BMW/DaimlerChrysler design, so it isn\'t like they haven\'t had input into the design from the start.

[Andrewfuzzy]

i doubt this is true , i think at the moment journos are just clambering over the same info that we are there isnt much else other than the photos weve seen with the twin dials over the steering wheel....in a options sheet ive got it states that the supercharger boost guage is an option not standard, and i think BMW oh sorry MINI have a history of charging for extra options.....as for the engine i suppose BMW werent 100% happy even though it stated in a magasine i read on holiday that the engine is technologically electronic engine management wise ahead of any other BMW that is currently built....which is nice 8D

[digidelia]

I don\'t think it is either. All MINI\'s come standard with a digital clock between the two sunvisors on the roof. It would be very useless to have a giant clock the size of a person\'s head sitting on the dash.

Scott

[Mario A. Funk]

If it is true it probably means that Netherlands-spec cars will come this way. Someone from Australia posted a message a few weeks back stating that Aussie-spec cars will come with the tachometer in the dash with the speedometer behind the steering wheel. So if Australia has silly laws about gauge placement, could the Netherlands have similar laws? :?

[BruceK]

Quote:

On 10-26-2001 0:59 Mario A. Funk wrote:
If it is true it probably means that Netherlands-spec cars will come this way. Someone from Australia posted a message a few weeks back stating that Aussie-spec cars will come with the tachometer in the dash with the speedometer behind the steering wheel. So if Australia has silly laws about gauge placement, could the Netherlands have similar laws? :?

Hey, just because Australia has extremely restrictive vehicle laws (even worse than the US 8D) don\'t think that the Netherlands is just as bad.

Remember that Australia doesn\'t even allow LHD cars to be registered in the country - everything registered must be RHD. Only their government bureaucrats know why. :? The rest of the world, whether they drive on the right or left side of the road, doesn\'t care about LHD or RHD cars. I\'d sure like to hear why the Oz government says a new MINI speedo can\'t be in the center - that’s where the speedo is on most of the classic Minis in that country. :?

[mr.bill]

Based upon some spy photos I collected, the speedo is in the center of the dash. There are two gauges on the steering column, one is the tach (\"rev counter\") and the other is the boost gauge for the supercharger. I don\'t know what they do if you order the SatNav, perhaps do away with the boost gauge or change it to some \"idiot lights\" on the tach or something to make room for the speedo on the column.

[MINIAC]

Quote:

On 25-10-2001 18:42 OnlyS4me wrote:
I\'ve just read the article in this weeks AUTOVISIE magazine about the Cooper S. It stated that the \'S\' will come with both dials behind the wheel as standard, and in the middle, where normally the speedo is, would be a clock, which would be completed with SatNav if opted.

That does it ... think we\'ll have to change <b>OnlyS4me</b>\'s username to <b>Rumor_Monger</b> ;)

[OnlyS4me]

Sorry guys, I didn\'t want to start a rumor, I\'ve just read it in an article. I thought is was crap too. No way there won\'t be no central speedo!
They mentioned a rediculous price for it too (base price € 27.227,-), not knowing what it would cost though. Seems they are far behind scedule with info!

[James_CooperS]

BMW is indeed going to be developing a smaller engine for the new 1 series. This engine will also be used in the MINI from 2003. I am also quite sure that BMW did not jointly \"design\" the current Crysler engine :? they are infact not happy with the current engine in direct comparison to the smoothness of their existing BMW 4 pot units. The only reason for sourcing outwith BMW was because current BMW 4 pots will not fit and Chrysler have a good reputation for very strong reliable units. 8D

Aparantly the current engines are slightly too harsh in the upper rev ranges, above 5200rpm. Although to be honest I do not agree with this, although having also driven a new 3 series 1.8, there is a noticable difference in smoothness.

I know that BMW say that we do not need to \"Run in\" modern engines, I\'m sure a 1000 mile run in period could only help in the long term IMHO.

Engines built from September 2001 have a few componants upgraded, I think the driveshafts were included, to reduce engine vibration at high revs.

I\'ve sourced this information from \"Car\" magazine in the UK.

Cheers ;)

[OnlyS4me]

Thanks James Cooper S for backing me up on this one ;)!

BTW, in the Netherlands there\'s NO different law concerning central speedos.
The Cooper is not modified over here, same for Yaris, BMW Z8....

[Bad Manners]

Quote:

On 26-10-2001 12:12 James_CooperS wrote:
I know that BMW say that we do not need to \"Run in\" modern engines, I\'m sure a 1000 mile run in period could only help in the long term IMHO.

For current MINI, it\'s quite the opposite. There is a 1300 mile run in period where you should keep the revs below 4500. My dealer was keen to point this out to me in the manual when I picked up the car 2 days ago.

[BruceK]

Quote:

On 26-10-2001 12:12 James_CooperS wrote:
....I am also quite sure that BMW did not jointly \"design\" the current Crysler engine :? they are infact not happy with the current engine in direct comparison to the smoothness of their existing BMW 4 pot units. The only reason for sourcing outwith BMW was because current BMW 4 pots will not fit and Chrysler have a good reputation for very strong reliable units. 8D ….

The MINI does not use a \"Chrysler\" engine. It is a Tritec engine, developed and manufactured by Tritec Motors Ltda., in Brazil. Tritec is <i> jointly </i> owned by BMW and DaimlerChrysler. An agreement between the two companies was signed in 1998 resulting in a huge factory capable of producing 400,000 engines per year being built. Of course, besides being used in the MINI, versions of the Tritec engines also find their way into export versions of Chrysler products such as the Neon. Perhaps that\'s where the confusion lies.

Quote:

....BMW is indeed going to be developing a smaller engine for the new 1 series. This engine will also be used in the MINI from 2003…..

Perhaps that\'s true, but having this happen in 2003 seems highly unlikely. It is hard to believe that BMW would decide to put a different engine in the MINI after only one and half years of production with the current powerunit. The costs would be staggeringly high to work on packaging the new engine into MINI now. New ancillaries, new testing, new certification, changes to the production line, etc. Based upon labor costs alone, an engine made in the UK would likely cost more than one made in Brazil. And what would the long list of benefits of this massive, expensive change be? A reportedly \"smoother\" engine? |o

[mr.bill]

Just think! A UK-made engine could leak oil just like the originals! Then all the Mini-Nazis would have a harder time not accepting the new one. 8)7

[MGB Boy]

On the central speedo issue, take a close look at the fourth picture in Paul_Mullett\'s personal gallery. It\'s a rear view of a British Racing Green LHD Cooper S, photographed somewhere in the U.S. If you look close, you can see the dashboard, and there\'s a single pod on the steering column (tach) and a large central speedo. It\'s also pretty clear from looking through the windshield on the front shot that there is only one instrument on the steering column. It\'s also pretty clear that BRG w/White looks mighty fine on a Cooper S...

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/index.php?gallery=Paul_Mullett

-Ricardo

[RedMini]

The answer is in the news item posted on 27 October - Cooper S part 2.

There is a clear photo showing tacho and speedo together on the steering column. This photo has also appeared in the UK motoring press.

[S2000&CooperS]

The Cooper S dash layout will be the same as the Cooper - speedometer in the middle and tach above the steering wheel. Only if equipped with the Nav system will it have 2 gauges on the steering column

[Tim]

Coming back to the earlier Australian point, left hookers can be registered in Australia - you just need to slap a big \"left hand drive\" sticker on the back. The LHD/RHD dilemma is actually all Napoleon\'s fault, but that\'s another story.