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After last year's electric scooters, the Mini brand continues to explore two-wheel territory, this time with a folding bicycle. The Mini Folding Bike stays true to the company's tradition, in the sense that it fits into the boot of almost any vehicle when it's folded. Not surprisingly, all Mini models can accommodate the small bicycle into their trunks. Read more »

The 2011 Mini Cooper is the perfect package for some car shoppers: it’s cute, fun to drive and has great fuel economy. Aside from its high price the Cooper has other drawbacks like a small trunk and tight back seatNo doubt about it, the Mini Cooper is expensive for its class. However, there are many affordable options that don’t compromise fuel economy, cargo space or comfort.

Like the Mini Cooper, it’s well known as a top performer with powerful engines, sleek looks and a nice interior. There are few other affordable small cars that can match the Golf or Cooper’s performance capabilities, but if you’re looking to save even more money, look at the Mazda2 and the Mazda3. It’s a four-door hatchback and starts at $14,180, about $6,000 less than the Mini Cooper.

Shoppers who’ve decided to buy the 2011 Mini Cooper have plenty of options. The base model is the Mini Cooper. Next up is the performance-oriented Mini Cooper S. A top-of-the-line John Cooper Works model is also available as a convertible or hardtop

The 2011 Mini Cooper is proof that you can be entertained by a lively car without drawing criticism from environmentalists. Under the hood, the fun starts with the lively yet economical base 1.6-liter and moves up to the sporty turbocharged Cooper S and raucous John Cooper Works versions. This boosts fuel economy and helps the Cooper feel lively around town. The Cooper's rear seat has an almost comical lack of legroom, although the Cooper Clubman (reviewed separately) is a remedy.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2011 Mini Cooper is available in two-door hatchback and convertible body styles. Each is available in three trim levels: Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works (JCW).
The base Cooper comes standard with 15-inch alloy wheels, full power accessories, keyless entry, air-conditioning, cruise control, a height-adjustable driver seat, leatherette (vinyl) upholstery, a tilt-and-telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel, multicolor ambient lighting and a six-speaker stereo with a CD player, HD radio, satellite radio and an auxiliary audio jack.
The Cooper convertible models add 16-inch alloy wheels and a full power convertible top that includes a sunroof feature. The Cooper's Sport package adds 16-inch wheels on the hatchback and 17-inch wheels on the convertible, foglamps, traction control, a rear spoiler, sport seats and hood stripes.

The Cooper S adds 16-inch wheels, a turbocharged engine, firmer suspension tuning, foglamps, sport seats and alloy pedals. The Cooper S Sport package adds 17-inch wheels, xenon headlights, traction control and hood stripes. The John Cooper Works includes a more powerful turbo engine, upgraded Brembo brakes and cloth upholstery. The 2011 Mini Cooper comes with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine good for 121 hp and 114 pound-feet of torque. EPA-estimated fuel economy is 29 mpg city/37 mpg highway and 32 mpg combined with the manual (27/35/31 convertible) and 28/36/31 with the automatic.

Mini estimates 0-60 mph acceleration in 6.6 seconds for the manual and 6.8 seconds for the automatic. A six-speed manual is the only available transmission. Mini estimates a 0-60 time of 6.2 seconds for the hatchback and 6.6 for the convertible.

Safety
All 2011 Mini Coopers come standard with antilock disc brakes, stability control and front-seat side airbags. In Edmunds braking, various Mini Cooper S models with 17-inch wheels stopped from 60 mph between 112 and 115 feet -- excellent results.

Interior Design and Special Features
Of all the ways to describe the Mini Cooper's interior, we doubt anyone would call it boring. Despite the Mini Cooper's small size, the front seats are surprisingly spacious. Unlike most convertibles, the Mini's rear seats can be folded flat to accommodate larger items, but the rollover hoops and soft-top mechanism prevent the loading of bulkier objects. Opting for the Cooper S or John Cooper Works models further stiffens the ride, leading us to recommend that mainstream buyers forego the sport suspension and larger wheels.
2011 Mini Cooper drives almost exactly like the 2010 Mini Cooper – no real surprise considering the limit of the changes. Electronic power steering has allowed the crafty German engineers to add anti torque- and anti bump-steer to the Cooper's repertoire, and the modifications were obvious when compared to last year's model.

A couple of years back, we shared some scoop photos of a prototype MINI with styling elements from Rolls Royce models. A company spokesman had then confirmed that the car was real, but to the dismay of many fans, he said that it was a one-off for a special dealer event. If you happened to like the idea of a Rolls-Royce-flavored MINI we have some good news for you as the British company will premiere a special edition model at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show next week.

The limited production model is called “Mini Inspired by Goodwood”, with the name paying tribute to Rolls Royce’s headquarters. Only 1,000 examples of the special Mini will be built at the British firm’s Oxford plant, with first deliveries to take place in the spring of 2012.

MINI's preparations for the brand's imminent return to the World Rally Championship have culminated with the official launch of the team less than a month ahead of its first WRC event, the Rally d'Italia Sardegna (May 5 - 8). At the company's plant in Oxford, England, the MINI WRC Team unveiled its two MINI John Cooper Works WRC cars, the driver/co-driver lineup and its plans for 2011.

The BMW Group is on track to reach new records in 2011 with the company posting its strongest monthly sales ever in March. The Bavarian automaker delivered a total of 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the past month, not only significantly beating the figure for March 2010 (141,717 units / +17%) but also the previous sales high of 152,721 vehicles recorded in December 2007. March sales rose in Europe by 7.8% to 93,540 vehicles, in Asia by a whopping 52% to 35,048 units, as well as in the Americas by 18.6% to 32,020 vehicles.

Did you ever think about adding on some harmonicas to your car's bodywork? Of course not; you don't want people in your neighborhood to vandalize your car. The folks from Mini New Zealand, however, decided to stick 300 harmonicas on a Mini Clubman, just for the sake of a marketing campaign.

Once the job was finished, they created an interactive app on the local Mini website that allows visitors to combine the different sounds from the Mini Carmonica's adventures and create their own compositions. Creative marketing or the result of boredom? Who knows, but one thing's for sure; many of you will definitely turn off the sound after the first seconds of the video below…

Given that BMW Group officials recently confirmed that MINI’s new coupe model will arrive in the market before the end of the year, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that the company is gradually stripping away the camouflage from its test cars. Spotted here by our scoop photographers in Germany, is the most potent version of the MINI Coupe lineup, the John Cooper Works model that’s easily distinguished by the aggressive body kit with the flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.

MINI first showed the Coupe and Roadster models through a pair of concept cars at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. As predicted, the production version of the Coupe has stayed remarkably faithful to that show car’s design. In fact, with the exception of some very minor details such as the grille and the tail lamp crystals, nothing else has changed, including the shape of the top that’s supposed to resemble a baseball hat worn backwards.

For all you MINI fans and car gadget geeks, BMW’s British subsidiary has released a new collection of USB flash drives. The data storage devices come in three unique shapes: an 8GB stick in the form of a MINI ignition key with an illuminated ring; a 4GB unit in the shape of a bulldog, which is said to reflect the firm’s British heritage, and a dual-purpose liquid mouse with a white MINI miniature swimming around in a two-tone, transparent orange fluid. More photos after the jump.

For the past few months, we’ve been hearing various rumors about BMW’s future plans, but today, the German automaker came out with official details at a press conference in Munich starting with the debut of a plug-in hybrid version of the China market 5-Series at next month’s Shanghai Auto Show.

“A highlight at the Shanghai Motor Show in mid-April will be the presentation of our New Energy Vehicle, said BMW Chief Executive Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “This model will be our e-car from China for China – a long version of the BMW 5 Series as a plug-in hybrid. This car will benefit from the strength and the excellent reputation of the BMW brand.”

Reithofer confirmed the presentation of the production version of the MINI Coupe, first seen as a concept model at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the second generation of the BMW 1 Series, both of which will be launched this year alongside the new M5 sports saloon and the 6-Series models.

The BMW Group, which includes the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, sold 111,720 vehicles in February 2011, recording a 21.7 percent increase over February 2010 (91,763 units) and setting a new record high for the month. For the year to the end of February, the German group’s sales volumes were 24.7% higher than in the first two months of the previous year, at 216,911 units compared to 173,913 in January-February 2010. Read more »

Only a few days before its motor show debut at next week's Geneva Salon, the MINI Rocketman concept made its first public appearance at a special event on the sidelines of the Milan Fashion Week. The presentation was held at the Istituto Europeo di Design, which is a design school with a focus on automotive and product design.

Rolls-Royce and MINI may have the same owner, but the two iconic British brands have never been intended to cross paths. That was until a Texas-based firm called BMP Design decided to squeeze a Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C20B jet engine sourced from a helicopter in the back of a MINI Cooper S. Yes, that's right, just behind the front seats.

The consequences of this action are easy to imagine: the 420-horsepower, 400 lb-ft of torque RR engine drives the rear wheels, turning the MINI into a 4WD monster. Managing to drive the car is a major achievement, since the driver needs to balance the conventional controls with the separate levers that command the jet engine.

As you are about to see, the speed and the acceleration of this little rocket are mind-blowing. As is the noise coming from the turbine engine. Watch the videos after the break.

When it was launched, many industry commentators complained that BMW’s New Mini was neither as compact nor as affordable as its illustrious predecessor had been. In a possible effort to address this (and no doubt to compete with the likes of the competitions smaller offerings), MINI will be showing the Rocketman Concept at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show this March.

MINI describes the Rocketman Concept as a “3 + 1 seater” with exterior dimensions that closely emulate the original Mini of 1959. The one-off concept is 3,419 mm (11 ft. 3 in.) long, 1,907 mm (6 ft. 3 in.) wide and 1,398 mm(4 ft. 7 in.) tall. It sits on a carbon spaceframe underbody that is left visible in some parts of the exterior and cabin.

Carscoop has learned that Mini will lift the covers off a brand new concept model at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March. The three-door design study is said to hark back to the classic Mini in terms of its exterior dimensions while keeping up with the times in terms of safety requirements and occupant space.

The concept will measure a little over 3.4 meters in length, essentially splitting the difference between the current three-door hatchback (3,723 mm) and the original 1959 Mini (3,050 mm).

We also learned that Mini's study will sport a 3+1 seat configuration similar to that of the Toyota iQ and that its design and tech features, including a variety of weight saving tricks and components, will be applied to the next generation of Mini models.

We're no luxury handbag experts, but the first thought that comes to mind upon seeing CoverEFX's MINI John Cooper Works [JCW] tuning proposal is a....Louis Vuitton bag on wheels. For obvious reasons, the monogram canvas is different than the one found on the products of the famous French design house, but its styling as well as the colors and the leathery texture of the special foil wrap all point to an inspiration that come from Louis Vuitton.

The newly developed 2.0-liter turbo diesel we told you about in our previous post isn't the only fresh addition to MINI's lineup for 2011. The new year also brings a John Cooper Works [JCW] Pack option for the hatch and convertible models, a performance kit for the Cooper S and the Clubman Hampton special edition.

The JCW pack option for the Cooper and Cooper S Hardtop and Convertible vehicles is due to be available from the second quarter of 2011 as a factory option. It includes an aero kit with front and rear aprons, plus side skirts, as well as 17-inch weight-optimized aluminum alloy wheels.

The interior is upgraded with a new leather steering wheel with red stitching, gearshift knob with red shift pattern lettering, plus a leather handbrake boot featuring -what else- red stitching.

MINI has introduced the most power diesel variant yet in its line-up in the form of the new Cooper SD which is powered by a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder oil-burner that makes 143-horses at 4,000 rpm and an impressive 305 Nm (225 lb-ft) of peak torque, available between 1,750 and 2,700 rpm. The Cooper SD trim is offered in the three-door hatch, the Clubman, the Convertible and the Countryman crossover.

German tuner AC Schnitzer has launched its first tuning package for the MINI Countryman . The focus is clearly on the wheels, as clients can choose between four different designs in two different sizes (18- or 19-inch) to go with the two-tone white and black exterior paint job. In fact, AC Schnitzer has just broken a personal record: in a company first, it has fitted a MINI with 19-inch rims. As for the interior, the tuning house offers an aluminum pedal set and gear knob or various knobs clad in leather with incorporated, digital gear display unit.

At this year’s North American International Auto Show, MINI is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the brand’s revival and re-launch in the U.S. market. To mark the occasion, the automaker unveiled today the Paceman Concept, and also confirmed that it will spawn a production model in the very near future.

“I’m thrilled to tell you now, for the very first time, that there will be a seventh member of the MINI family – and we will base it on this concept”, said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, during MINI’s press conference at the Detroit motorshow.

Schmidt Revolution, a German-based company that primarily specializes in alloy wheels but occasionally presents fully tuned projects, has unveiled its latest creation, a conceptual version of the MINI Clubman Cooper S called the "Streetworker".