German Car Zone

Izzattafact? I'm very surprised by that because it doesn't entirely make sense. What type of LSD was fitted? Viscous-coupling type? Mechanical "torque-multiplying type"? Very interesting.

Then Dr. D, what you're looking for is for MINI to do another one of these:



If you ask nicely, they might just but for what reason? This is exactly the type of car BMW is steering away from at the moment. Too specific, limited appeal... SCOTT does say that more hardcore performance derivatives are on the cards - but not for the imminent future.

And that's why we're now looking at a MINI SUV-crossover.

Yeah, the GP is a good concept! As we all know BMW is not interested in this part of the market, but that does not matter as the modifications are rather straight forward.

I don't really know what type of LSD the mechanical one is. By the way, I think many may have misinterpreted the more predictable feel of the wheel as being less torque steer.

i appreciate the idea to make cars for enthusiasts, its good to see that bmw recognized that there is indeed a market for performance orientated cars.

whats probably going to stay unanswered for some time, is the price position of these new performance variants. of course mini's are not intended to be cheap cars and also focus on a different target group, but at some point the question must be asked how much overlapping(with bmw cars) is possible.

also very important in my eyes is following
in the past years a lot of effort went into designing emotional cars, but at the same time a lot of cars lost some of its character. so what happened ? making cars appeal to a broader mass killed the beloved details. some seem to have forgotten that a emotions derive from sharp characters traits. just compare it to the human nature - guys that want to appeal to everyone can be really boring, because they don't show a distinctive personality.
i see a chance to regain character in creating more derivates(thats why i also don't complain about SAV/PAS/SACs), but there is a fine line between producing one sausage in a different packages and giving each sausage a different flavor. We want more flavors!

I'm not sure if you remember but...

1. BMW owns Mini.
2. There has been more than enough talk about platform sharing.

So, please answer with a little more than your enthusiasm. LOL

that is new! because the product management is telling now for 1.5 years "sorry, there is no business case for a GPesque R56". instead a equivalent to the BMW Individual will be developped for the MINI.

but back to the SAV. BMW announced a few months ago that there will be a JCW and as far as i know they are testing the SAV with up to 218hp (compare to the announced engine for the peugeot 308rcz). but to my opinion a hot MINI SAV has to have up to 250hp. how will BMW manage that. the N47 diesel engine goes up to 204hp. that's not enough.

1. Mini is not BMW, no matter who owns them
2. No platform sharing for cars with a BMW logo on them. BMWs don't share with others, unlike all other car makers.




Yeah, the character is what I miss. You notice it instantly when you push the clutch....The R56 almost feels like a normal small car, and not a Mini. Handling reminds me it a Mini though, because the R56 like high speed cornering a lot, too. But it most certainly is missing something. It has less soul than the R53. I really hope the new one fixes all that!

klier, I think it has been reported across many sites, including this forum, that the MINI crossover does share significant mechanical bits with BMW X1. Exactly how much remains to be confirmed.

@foxfire
read this: MotoringFile Archive The Secret History of the MINI R60 Crossover

So, it mostly doesn't share components but there is still some sharing going on. Thanks for the article.