This one-off MINI Clubman was created by the naughty lingerie specialist “Agent Provocateur” and it made its debut today (May 17) at Europe’s largest AIDS charity event “Life Ball” which took place at Vienna’s City Hall in Austria. Inspired from the classic English MINI police van, the lingerie maker dressed the Clubman in its signature pink and black colours complete with a pink flashing light.

This whole gas price thing is taking its toll on everyone – even Oscar Mayer who decided its time to put its famous Wienermobile into the dryer and base it on a MINI Cooper. These pictures were shot by our friend Michelle (you may remember her from the Nissan 280Z based Ferrari 250GTO replica) who captured the MINI Wienermobile on her way home in Gurnee Illinois.

This year’s Paris Show in October will host many concept cars that will be previewing production versions that are set to follow shortly after. One of the most anticipated concepts will be the MINI Crossman SUV/Crossoverthat will be introduced in pre-production form according to a report from Dutch webzine, Autotelegraaf.

Likely to be based on a modified version of the Clubman’s platform, the Crossman will feature raised suspension and tough body cladding along with a four-wheel-drive system. The production version of MINI’s new crossover that’s expected to be introduced sometime in 2010, will be built by Magna Steyr in Austria.

BMW Group and Fiat Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the possibility of co-operation in the areas of architectures and components for their MINI and Alfa Romeo vehicles. As part of the deal, BMW will support Fiat in launching the Alfa Romeo brand in the North American market, or to put it simple, MINI U.S. dealers would have the chance to also sell Alfa Romeos. If all goes well, the final deal is expected to be signed off by the end of the year.

Over the next year and a half, BMW will test a series of electric-powered MINI models in real life conditions, the company announced today. The MINIs will be built in the company’s Oxford plant in the U.K. without engines and transmissions and then shipped to BMW’s headquarters in Munich, Germany where they will be fitted with an electric powertrain. The Bavarian automaker said that it will build and test several hundred of electric MINIs in order to evaluate the viability of a mass production version.

MINI has produced the last example of the current generation Cabriolet as it gets ready for the new open-top four-seater that will be based on the second generation model. The final specimen, a MINI Cooper S Convertible Sidewalk painted in metallic White Silver, has been sold to a MINI fan in the USA. Since spring 2004, MINI has sold a total of 164,000 Convertibles. Around 77% of the total sales in the production period are attributable to the five major automobile markets -Great Britain, the USA, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Believe it or not, this is the next-generation MINI Cooper Convertible that will most likely make its debut at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January with sales scheduled to start in Spring of the same year. An anonymous tipster sent a set of seven official images to MotoringFile, a dedicated MINI blog, giving us an early view of the new Convertible that is based on the underpinnings of the latest generation MINI hatch that was introduced at the 2006 Paris Show.

Parent company BMW has issued a recall for 560 MY2009 MINI and MINI Clubman John Cooper Works models equipped with 16 inch diameter front brake discs - rather than 17 inch discs. According to the NHTSA, under conditions of intense brake usage, braking performance on these models would be reduced. The company’s dealers will inspect the front brake discs and pads and, if necessary, replace them free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during October 2008. If you have any questions, we’d advise you to contact BMW/MINI directly at 1-866-275-6464.

Using the new MINI Cooper as a canvas, artist, illustrator and graphic designer Alan Aldridge has created an updated interpretation of his iconic psychedelic MINI that was featured on the front cover of the Sunday Times Magazine back in 1965. The MINI Aldridge Special is decorated with an array of images, shapes and patterns, each reflecting either a male or female theme, just as Aldridge’s original 1965 car did. The vehicle is now on show at the Design Museum in London as an exhibit in a retrospective display of Aldridge’s work, entitled ‘The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes’.

These are the first official photos of the MINI E, an all-electric version of the MINI Cooper that will make its first public appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show in mid-November. What’s so important about this MINI -aside from its technical specs- is that over the next year or so, BMW will produce around 500 units which will be leased to selected private and corporate customers in the U.S. states of California, New York and New Jersey, giving the Bavarian automaker the chance to evaluate the viability of a full-scale production EV. MINI said that it also considering the possibility of leasing the vehicle in Europe.

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