Audio controls, window switches and climate adjustments descend from the dashboard’s center toward a floor-mounted fire extinguisher. Front-seat supports sprout from a middle hump, making the seats appear to hover without any traditional floor supports. Both seats motor forward and rotate for easier access to the rear. The backseat folds down for increased cargo capacity, and all chairs have red and white leather upholstery.

Under the hood, the Traveller uses a supercharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine from the Mini Cooper S. In the Cooper S, it makes 168 horsepower.

Portions of the Traveller concept will make their way into an extended-wheelbase Mini in the next few years. Also look for styling elements on the next-generation Cooper, due sometime this year.

The Traveller looks unmistakably Mini, with a large, mid-mounted grille and bug-eyed headlamps. A longer wheelbase allows for extra room in back, and Mini says the extended frame will be used for a production model no later than 2009. On the Geneva concept, two rear doors swing open from the center, exposing a recessed floor compartment and a larger box on top. Rear-quarter windows power down, leaving openings to accommodate an external storage compartment — not unlike a saddle bag — on each side. Dual lids allow access from inside or out, though there’s probably a considerable blind spot with both boxes mounted.

Interior elements retain basic Cooper cues — such as a center-mounted speedometer, a fat-rimmed steering wheel and toggle switches for the windows — but similarities beyond that are a stretch. Instruments are abundant: Six gauge pods include an analog stopwatch and a navigation system display on the backside of the rotating speedometer. All told, 17 readouts and innumerable navigation displays are available, ranking the Traveller’s instrument complexity near that of small aircraft — or BMW’s iDrive.

MINI Cooper is introducing an SUV: the Mini Countryman. This is the first four-door Mini, and it’s meant to appeal to closet SUV fans who don’t want to be painted with the Escalade/Hummer brush. The MINI Countryman will be available in in the US in January 2011.

The MINI Cooper SUV will be available with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, as well as an optional sport suspension. The cargo area will have 12.2 cubic feet of storage capacity, 41 cubic feet if the back seats are folded down. It will come with either six-speed manual transmission or tiptronic automatic transmission: I don’t think I’ve ever seen astick-shift SUV before.

The Mini Cooper SUV will be released in a years time and will feature a choice of engines, one of which is a 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine which produces 120 horsepower. The other engine is the same but turbocharged and will produce 184 horsepower.

Finding the right dealer to buy your used MINI from can be difficult. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of top approved used MINI dealerships for you to choose from.

Used MINI dealerships can offer so much more than your average car dealer – servicing, Genuine MINI Parts and Accessories are all available and with expert knowledge and advice they are one of the few places which exist to satisfy all your MINI needs.

Have you seen the Mini Crossover Concept? If you are the mini fan? BMW has released a series of sketches of their new Mini Crossover Concept. The MINI Crossover Concept is a new model variant for the first time measuring more than four metres in length, with four drive wheels, four doors and four single seats. It is for maximum comfort inside the MINI. It also has a new display and control concept - the MINI Center Globe. The central display and control unit is designed in this Concept Study as a globe. This 3D globe will integrate control of entertainment, communication, navigation, and vehicle functions… Check out see more pics.

We have seen that some production-ready prototypes of the Mini Cabrio released last year in July and some faintly camouflaged models showed early in 2006, however BMW has postponed the launch of the supreme second generation Mini series because of the continued sky-scraping sales of the older models.

Dutch magazine Autotelegraaf said that the production of the current first generation cars will end this year in July and BMW will leave a nice space to build up anticipations as well as pre-orders for new generation MINI Cabrio. Production should start March 2009 if the rumors are true.

The new Mini Cabrio will feature the same soft-top with multi-functional features which will open the upper part in order to give that feeling of sun roof plus the usual fully-folded solution, that we’ve been used with on Mini One, Cooper and Cooper S.

The Speedster is said to have its own unique identity and becomes more of classic convertible rather than the typical MINI open-top. It is also a two-seater car, reminding us of the now defunct BMW Z3. The new concept will not lose some of the MINI distinctive elements, like the twin-central exhaust pipes or split front-grille.

Take this rumor with a grain of salt, but AutoExpress UK mentions the Speedster as being offered with a hardtop and soft-top design.

The Speedster opens the doors of a new market for MINI where the key player is the Mazda MX-5 and it’s scheduled to arrive in 2011.

In 2010 Mini decided it still was not large enough and it came out with the Countryman.  The New Countryman dwarfs the original version and has a closer resemblance to an American SUV. It is four inches taller and more than 430 lbs heavier. With the new larger size it was fitted with two extra doors to better fit the larger Americans. When will the Mini stop becoming larger? What will be big enough?  It is just another reason to support that theory that everyone and everything gains weight in America.

It is a known fact that every immigrant who comes to America gains a couple pounds. I mean how wouldn’t you when there are such great places to eat like McDonalds and Burger King (slight sarcasm). Americans seem to know how to get through the day with the least amount of exercise possible. In most other foreign countries people walk places. They walk to work, the store, friends houses. Here in America we like to drive because its easier and that may be the reason our cars are also big.
Morris Mini
The mini has always been thought of a small car. The original Morris mini was produced from 1959-2000 but was only marketed in Europe. When BMW took the company over in 2000 they created a new look for the mini while maintaining its well-known shape. The other thing BMW did was market them in America.

Mini Cooper Equipe is a sharp two-tone color scheme with hand stitched leather seats, dashboard, and steering wheel. Arden also added equipment and tuning to the engine to increase the performance numbers.

For performance gains the electronics were tuned to accommodate a new intercooler, and a stainless steel exhaust system that also has racing catalytic converters. With these minor additions the performance numbers were increased by 40 PS and 50 Nm. Some extra parts installed are a high performance braking system with six piston calipers up front. Pricing information has not been released yet, however it should be noted that production of the Arden Mini Cooper Equipe has been limited to 40 units.

The story of the Mini goes back to 1956. In the wake of the Suez crisis, petrol rationing had been introduced, and this gave a short-lived fillip to the so-called “bubble” cars. BMC’s chairman, Sir Leonard Lord wanted a new small car to go into production as soon as possible to meet this new demand. It had to be a proper car with four seats and it had to use an existing BMC engine. And it should be smaller than the then current small cars made by BMC. Otherwise, Lord gave his designer, the legendary Sir Alec Issigonis, a free hand.

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