The Mini team has been working on a smaller version of the MINI for some time now. Rumor has it, that the concept should be ready for the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March. Not much information has been revealed yet, but it will probably be a two-seater based on a modified version of an existing front-engine/front-wheel-drive platform with a shorter wheelbase and small-capacity gasoline engine. It would make it a direct competition to Smart ForTwo. Another possibility is that the car will have three seats. It is also expected that it will be a development of an existing concept that first appeared in Geneva in 1997 – a 4-seater known as the MINI Spiritual.
...Read The Full Post (whole text)»...
And I don’t just mean the name. The new MINI Minor (affectionately dubbed the MINI Mini) is set to be revealed as a concept car at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show, and to the untrained eye, photos of the Spiritual, an early prototype, look an awful lot like the Smart ForTwo and Toyota iQ cars recently seen buzzing in and out of freeway traffic and taking up half a parking spot. They share the same squished-nose, bubble-car look and sport two doors, a hatchback, and slightly bulging windows (and this is cute…they only require one windshield wiper). So what is so special about the latest offering from Mini and how is it going to edge in on Smart’s toehold on the mini-car market?
For starters, the MINI Minor is made by BMW (prototypes are being assembled at a factory in Munich, Germany as we speak). You may recall the Morris Mini Minor Austin of the 1950s, which looked something like the MINI Coopers of today. And while the Minor of tomorrow shares a few features, the look is altogether more sleek and modern (more round than boxy). Yes, this is a different beast from your Grandpa’s Mini and it may just give Smart cars a run for their money. While the appearance is certainly similar, the MINI may have several features that Smart and Toyota just can’t compete with.
...Read The Full Post (whole text)»...
