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EnglishThe Mini
The Mini on the left was the very first Mini built at the production plant
in Longbridge in 1959.
The right car was built at the same production line in Longbridge in 1994.
A BMW developed by Rover!
The new, Rover-developed, Mini was showed at the Geneva Car Shos in february 2001. Sales in UK will start in July 2001. Two models will be available, Mini One and Mini Cooper. Basically the cars are identical but the Cooper engine will give 116 bhp compared to 90 bhp for the Mini One engine.
You can cleraly see that this is a Mini of tradition. There are many external resemblances with the original from 1959, but under shell, this is a completely modern car, with a crash performance that's exceptional in the segment.
Specifications, the Mini One engine:
4 cylinders, capacity: 1598 c.c, bhp: 90 at 5.500 revs/min, torque: 140 Nm at 3.000 revs/min.
Specifications, the Mini Cooper engine:
4 cylinders, capacity: 1598 c.c, bhp: 116 at 6.000 revs/min, torque: 149 Nm at 4.500 revs/min.
These engines are built at a new engineplant in Brazil. This plant is jointly owned by BMW and Chrysler. BMW will use the engines in the Mini and Chrysler will use the engines in it's Neon.
It's hard to tell though, how long this factory will survive. Since Chrysler merged with Daimler their interest has fainted notably.
Pictures of the new Mini from 1997
This is the new Mini for the new Century. Designed by Rover, built in Britain and powered by an engine developed by the BMW Group and the Chrysler corporation.
Pictures of the new Mini was showed at the Motor Show in Frankfurt in 1997. The car will go in production in year 2000. The car has a true Mini style and high safety standards.
Nick Stephenson, Rover Group Design and Engineering Director, said:
"Designing the new Mini for a new century is an awesome responsibility. My team at Rover Group is thoroughly dedicated to producing a car that is a worthy replacement for an icon of the world's motor industry. Everyone can look forward to the year 2000 and a car that will set the adrenaline flowing in the veins of car enthusiasts across the world."