In the 1960s the Mini Cooper drive by Paddy Hopkirk won the world rally a number of times proving that skill and great handling were all you need. Well all you need for a rally victory at the time and it astounded the racing world. How could a car with no supercharger or turbocharger be able to take world rally victory? The Mini was amazing in the fact that it could keep its speed up through the corners due to its light weight and amazing driver. The original mini was just that….mini it was small but yet had good space inside and could park almost anywhere.
In the year 2000 the last version of the original Mini rolled off the line and hence signaled the end of the mini lineage but the end was not to be. The New Mini as it is known rolled off the line and became an instant hit, the car sold in millions. The New Mini hit the million unit mark in just 6 years of production and sales have not slowed down since. While the Mini is now built by BMW it has maintained the spirit of the original while acquiring a ton of modern safety equipment. In the past 2 years Mini has begun to expand the brand and released some new models into the automotive world.
The Mini Cooper convertible was the first release which looked great and for some reason has a gauge to tell you how much you have driven with the top down. Strange as that is, even more so is the fact the Mini had customer sign a contract that they would drive with the top down a certain number of miles in the first year. This of course was all about marketing and letting people see the car in the “Wild” and then go buy one of their own. Next was the Mini Clubman that is pretty new 2011 model year new in fact. The clubman is a 5 door version of the Mini…it’s a bit longer but maintains the look and feel of the Mini. The latest offering from Mini is called the Countryman and while it looks like a Mini in spirit it is a bit too large for my taste. The whole idea of a mini is that it is well….mini and the country man is not a small car by any means. So if people like the Countryman then it may just keep the mini spirit alive for the larger car enthusiast just like the New Mini did for the super mini lover.
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