Video: Mini Gives The Best Test Drive Ever. Period?

Recently, Mini asked its fans "what six words would sum up the best test drive ever?" for the Mini The winner of the contest would get to live that fantasy drive. What six words did they pick? Stewardess,...
http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/12/video-mini-gives-the-best-test-drive-ever-period.html

2012 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works

Filed under: Performance, Crossover, Mini, First Drives

Need A Bit More Pounce In Your CUV? Mini Has A JCW For That



As part of the ongoing master plan at Mini to attract distinction-seeking buyers who still have some disposable income left, we present the Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works: the Mini CUV with the mighty long name.

This latest Mini JCW will get its world premiere at this March's Geneva Motor Show, but we've just enjoyed a pre-holiday drive in the remote mountain lair of Kühtai, 6,600 feet up in the Austrian Alps. As you'd expect, there was snow and rocks and animal skin sweat lodges and hot wine, but the Countryman All4 JCW got us out of there and back to our families in the flatlands. Our drive consisted of a two-lane road loop with plenty of overtaking chances and a decently long off-road parcours etched into a local abandoned ski hill.

Thus far, Mini's strongest JCW model has been gifted with a 208-horsepower version of the BMW/PSA turbocharged 1.6-liter direct injection in-line four-cylinder, dubbed "N18" as it's assembled at Mini's Hams Hall UK factory. Head of chassis development for BMW Group, Heinz Kruche, tells Autoblog that the Countryman will get "around 15 more horses and the same for torque" to help deal with the Countryman's additional weight. Thus, this 3,200-something pound "Mini" should pack somewhere around 223 horses at 6,000 rpm and 207 pound-feet of torque between 1,850 and 5,600 rpm when it arrives Stateside this June. Good. But is it good enough?

Continue reading 2012 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works

2012 Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 John Cooper Works originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interview: MINI Ready To Win Dakar

[Via: MINI Motorsports] Nine victories at the Rally Dakar are on Stphane Peterhansel’s impressive score card for the most challenging rally in the world. As ambitious as the 45 year old Frenchman is while in action, privately he is a laid-back, sometimes even shy person in his hometown Montana, Switzerland. But as the Dakar 2012 [...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Motoringfile/~3/aHngcNK_7wc/

Mercedes-Benz.tv: The new SL - Highlight film

	Mercedes-Benz.tv: The new SL - Highlight film The new SL sticks to its tradition as a technological trendsetter. See the first impressions here. As a world premiere the new front bass system transforms the car into a concert hall -- top down as well as closed. Also the new wipe-wash-system MAGIC VISION CONTROL applies the cleaning liquid right from the wiper in front of the wiper slat. Fuel consumption combined: 9,2-6,8 l/100 km; CO2-Emissions combined: 214-159 g/km.	From:MercedesBenzTV Views:301 36ratings
	Time:01:34	More inAutos & Vehicles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYr7nC2V1Bo&feature=youtube_gdata

2012 BMW 650i Coupe Tested: Two-Plus Tons, 060 in 4.5 Seconds

BMWs latest big coupe has the goods for both the drag and Las Vegas strips. What Is It? Its big, luxurious, and fast. BMWs latest 6-series coupe, the 2012 650i, banishes the awkward look of its predecessor with a sharp new design. Stretched, lowered, and widened, the new 6er also boasts a lavish interior with [...]
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/8kWEuCZvS2w/bmw-650i-coupe-instrumented-test