You are right - symmetry and simplicity is the beauty in engineering, and I don't even like the current position of the fuel filler. I do wonder whether to make the shell strong enough with twin doors it became too heavy, or whether there is something we don't know about, altho an engineer told me it was the fuel filler - maybe the emergency release, or the lack of space / access into the rear panel meant it couldnt be anywhere else. It's one of those questions that'll haunt this MINI always - but it won't stop the fashion victims buying it, even when they realise how little space there actually is.
I would buy one over a normal MINI, if only because it's different. But £15k could be better spent.
i can't believe they put it into production!!!! it's manufacturing suicide!!
You might want to retract that statement now lol, 5 Clubman Cooper S's in my town, 3 CooperD's and 2 Coopers so far I've seen in the local area. My mates Mum has a Clubman Cooper in 'Hot Chocolate', it looks great on it's 17inch 'Crown' Alloys, but I'm not sure about the metallic brown paint, it's different, but personally I'd rather a white one.
Originally Posted by mniguy
I'm afraid I have to agree. Being an original Mini owner myself. They've taken a classic and removed all class & character
What class was there to remove? I thought the original was meant to be totally class-less.
Last edited by Waugh-terfall; 05-14-2008 at 07:57 AM.
HIGH PERFORMANCE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS MODELS DEBUT IN NY
MINI John Cooper Work Hardtop and MINI John Cooper Works Clubman Make North American Debut - First New Models from Recently Integrated John Cooper Works Brand
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – March 20, 2008… MINI USA announced today the debut of two all new performance models at the 2008 New York International Auto Show. Following their successful World Premier in Geneva, the MINI John Cooper Works hardtop and the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman are showcased at MINI's display and represent the first new models from the recently integrated John Cooper Works Brand.
In addition, pricing for both new models were announced today. The MINI John Cooper Works hardtop will be offered at $29,200. USD. The MINI John Cooper Works Clubman will be offered at $31,450, USD. Both prices include a $650 destination and handling charge, MINI USA's Free Full Maintenance Coverage for 3 years/ 36,000 Miles and a 4 year-50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.
For more than four decades, the name John Cooper has been synonymous with the high-performance members of the MINI family. In January 2008, MINI and John Cooper Works announced they would transition from being two separate entities to merging the John Cooper Works into the MINI family as a MINI sub brand. These are the first high-performance MINI models that will be launched under this new MINI John Cooper Works brand and are expected to arrive in the US this summer.
Both John Cooper Works models will feature a newly developed high-performance version of the highly-acclaimed 1.6 liter 16-valve 4-cylinder engine with twin scroll turbocharger and direct injection. Delivering 208 horsepower and maximum torque of 192 ft-lb between 1,850 and 5,600 rpm, overboost torque momentarily increases to 207 ft-lb under heavy acceleration. The revised powerplant propels the MINI John Cooper Works from 0-60 mph in just 6.2 seconds, with the MINI John Cooper Works Clubman shadowing this figure at 6.5 seconds. Top speed comes in at 147 MPH.
Complementing the significantly upgraded engine, both John Cooper Works models will also be equipped with an array of race-bred equipment including high-performance brakes, sports suspension, a low-back-pressure exhaust system, a specially-modified 6-speed manual transmission and exclusive 17-inch light alloy rims with high-performance tires.
In addition to electrically powered-assisted steering (EPAS) with a “sports” setting calibrated to the high-performance disposition of the John Cooper Works models, the sophisticated standard-equipment Dynamic Stability Control System (DSC) now incorporates Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) for the first time in a MINI. DTC allows controllable slip on the drive wheels for optimized performance as well as enhanced capabilities in adverse traction conditions. Another new feature of DSC unique to the John Cooper Works models – Electronic Differential Lock Control is activated in the DCS-Off mode, enhancing stability and cornering ability during “sporting” driving maneuvers.
I am easily satisfied with the very best.
"It is a very good looking car, If you have cataract" - JC about the Alpine A610
Munich/Vienna, 03.06.2008 - Videos whirred and cameras clicked on Saturday, 17 May, when Joseph Corre drove the Life Ball MINI 2008 over the red carpet outside Vienna's City Hall in front of 40,000 spectators. Escorted by four models in "British policemen's uniforms", and with Sophie Ellis Bextor in the passenger seat, the arrival of the Life Ball MINI 2008 marked the start of the fantastic opening show.
The Life Ball MINI is traditionally created by the fashion designer responsible for the fashion show in the opening event - and in 2008, this was the British lingerie label Agent Provocateur. This year, the new MINI Cooper Clubman was selected as the basis for this exclusive, unique design. "The new shape is so reminiscent of the old English Mini police van that we were immediately inspired to create an Agent Provocateur styled interior that you really would want to get banged up in! A classic yet suped up exterior in Agent Provocateur signature pink and black colours complete with pink flashing light and inside.....the most seductive prison cell with hand to wall cuffs and blacked out windows and iron bars", says Agent Provocateur founder Joseph Corre.
The unique - and escape-proof - Life Ball MINI will once again be auctioned on eBay, as happens each year. It all starts on Thursday, 5 June - and then MINI and Agent Provocateur fans throughout the world have the opportunity for ten days to buy this unique car and do something for charity too. The total proceeds from the auction will be donated, as always, to Life Ball and to projects aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. So far, the auction of the "Life Ball MINIs" - transformed by such famous fashion icons as Diesel, Missoni, Ferré and Versace - has raised a total of € 260,000.-.
Worldwide measures to combat HIV/AIDS are one of the main elements of the corporate and social policy pursued by the BMW Group. The company's involvement in South Africa is particularly wide-ranging, covering a comprehensive workplace programme for employees and their families, plus a number of different projects in the local communities and further afield.
But the automobile manufacturer is also committed to fighting this pandemic in other affected countries, such as Thailand or China, for example. The company's membership of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) underlines its long-term commitment at its individual locations.
"By supporting Vienna's Life Ball, the MINI brand is going its own way and making its own very individual contribution to the fight against this auto-immune disease", says Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Head of Brand Communication MINI, commenting on the brand's involvement here. "The Life Ball brings the pandemic back into the public's awareness each year in a very emotional way, and the auction of each uniquely designed MINI produces a major financial contribution to projects aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS."
Half of the proceeds will be donated to national projects in Austria. The other half will be used to benefit international projects, with allocation of funds regulated by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
I am easily satisfied with the very best.
"It is a very good looking car, If you have cataract" - JC about the Alpine A610
Stop looking at me! Look at me! Stop looking at me!
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So the clubman dressed up in a slutty cop uniform, is there a slutty maid uniform clubman too? Does it come with fuzzy handcuffs attached to the dashboard? Is the glove compartment labeled 'whip storage'?
I could see a slutty corvette, but a slutty clubman is like a ugly woman in lingerie; it goes from just being ugly to being ugly and disturbing.
I dont if I'll make home tonight
But I know I can swim
under the Tahitian moon
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Originally Posted by Ferrer
