UK: Celebrations at MINI Plant Oxford As Last Of The Current Generation Hatch Leaves Production

From 5-18 January 2014, MINI will be lined up with eleven MINI ALL4 Racing, run by the X-raid team, at the Rally Dakar.  In 2012 and 2013 the MINI ALL4 Racing was the car to beat at the toughest marathon rally in the world. Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel won the most recent two Dakar editions at the wheel of the MINI ALL4 Racing of the Monster Energy X-raid Team.  “Motorsport is in the DNA of MINI. Since its birth in the late 1950s, the MINI brand has been intrinsically associated with motorsport”, says Jochen Goller, Senior Vice President MINI.

  The new edition of the original MINI will be the central focus of the MINI presentation at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2014 in Detroit.  It features a distinctive and carefully refined design, further increased driving fun and a range of innovations that are unique in the small car segment.  Six other members of the MINI family will be present in Detroit. The evolutionary refinement of its design, entirely new engines and innovative driver assistance systems make the new MINI more athletic, efficient, expressive and progressive than ever before. The car's characteristic go-kart feeling is now enhanced with optimized ride comfort, adjustable dampers being offered as an optional extra for the first time. More interior space, optimized functionality and detailed refinements in terms of material and finish likewise reflect the maturity of the latest generation.  It will be the first automobile in its class to be fitted with LED headlamps and a Head-Up Display.

The MINI John Cooper Works Concept offers a look ahead to the next generation of the elite sports model.  The study car will be presented for the first time at the North American International Auto Show 2014.  It flies the flag for innovative sportiness in time-honored John Cooper Works style, with features including exclusive body paint work in Bright Highways Grey, familiar MINI red colour accents, bespoke aerodynamic features and 18-inch John Cooper Works light allow wheels in a new design.  The John Cooper Works Concept is based on the latest-generation MINI. Its origins are clearly recognizable in the longer wheelbase and wider track over the outgoing model, which has a direct effect on the car’s driving characteristics. The model variants of the new MINI available from launch have already shown themselves to be more powerful, punchy and agile than their predecessors.