MINI Cooper JCW wins UK's best hot hatch

Auto Express has announced that the new MINI Cooper John Cooper Works although only being available for a month has been voted as the UK's best hot hatch.

The fastest-ever series production MINI has beaten off competition from the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Clio Renaultsport to take top spot in the annual Auto Express New Car Honours.

An amazing 211 hp, or 132 hp per litre, is delivered from a heavily revised 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol power plant and forms the basis of the appeal of the new MINI John Cooper Works.

Despite the newcomer’s engine being an identical unit to that featuring in the high-performance MINI CHALLENGE race car, the CO₂ emission and fuel consumption figure for the MINI John Cooper Works beats the competition hands down.

The MINI John Cooper Works offers supreme performance, finely-honed chassis dynamics and an industry-leading ownership prospect which proved irresistible to the team of judges at Auto Express.

David Johns, Editor of Auto Express magazine said: “The latest JCW model to be produced at MINI’s Plant Oxford is a firecracker. Not only is it one of the quickest cars in its class, it’s also one of the most environmentally-friendly. It outscores all its rivals for entertainment, bringing the no-frills thrills of the original to life in a thoroughly modern and brilliant package.”

New online guide helps motorists stay safe on the roads

TyreSafe helps motorists understand the value of tyre safety with a set of new online tyre safety lessons

Motorists now have access to a set of ten easy-to-follow, digitally animated tyre safety lessons, via the TyreSafe website. With independent research conducted by a leading tyre manufacturer and TyreSafe member revealing that almost 80 percent of cars on British roads are running with incorrect tyre pressures, TyreSafe has added the visual guide to its website in order to help motorists avoid the problems associated with poorly maintained or neglected tyres, such as premature wear, increased stopping distances or additional fuel costs.

“The new online guide will help motorists overcome a number of issues which may be increasing their risk on the road or creating additional motoring costs,” comments TyreSafe chairman Rob Beddis. “The digitally animated guide is designed to provide motorists with invaluable advice regarding tyre safety, helping us to achieve our goal of making the UK’s roads safer for all.” In June 2007 [confirm], TyreSafe became the first tyre safety organisation in the UK to sign up to the European Road Safety Charter, a road safety initiative from the European Commission which aims to save 25,000 lives lost on EU roads by 2010.

The lessons are designed to educate motorists about tyre wear and tyre pressure, and cover all aspects of tyre maintenance, providing the viewer with a clear explanation of how to measure tyre pressure and tread depth, together with advice about tools and cost implications.

The ‘Tyre Wear’ section encompasses wear and damage to tyres, tread depth, accidents and general tyre safety, while the ‘Tyre Pressure’ section covers why tyre pressure is vital to road safety, how to check pressure levels and where and when to adjust tyre pressure.

The new online guide can be found at www.tyresafe.org.

MINI USA and ABF build world's fastest Cooper S

MINI USA and ABF have collaberated to create the World's fastest MINI Cooper S. The has an amazing racing pedigre and this has taken it one step further by going down the quarter mile drag strip in a superb time of 10.48 and a terminal speed of some 135mph. Quicker than any MINI we have seen at the British Mini Showdown. The MINI in question is a 2002 model and has it's supercharger thrown away in favour of a rather large Garrett Turbocharger. a new computer means it is pushing out some 650 horses

For the full spec, more info and a video of the run please visit autoblog.com

MINI Rickshaw at the olympics..whatever next

The marketing guy's at MINI never cease to amaze us. What other car maker would have come up with an idea for a MINI Rickshaw at the Beijing Olympics to ferry visitors around the city. As daft an idea that it sounds we would certainly like a ride in this unique vehicle

The MINI press release goes like this : A very special MINI vehicle is providing passengers with a fantastic, unforgettable driving experience of a most unusual type. Locals and visitors to the games alike can move smoothly through the busy traffic in the Asian capital in a MINI Rickshaw made specially for Beijing - a typical MINI experience.

Pure muscle power drives this exciting, emission-free vehicle through the streets of the Olympic city. The MINI Rickshaw perfectly captures Beijing's dynamic combination of tradition and progress, coupled with a touch of fantasy and individuality - as only MINI can do.

From 11 August, anyone looking for excitement who would like to explore Beijing in a slightly different way has been able to experience the mixture of bicycle and MINI Clubman in trendy club and scene districts such as the old Beijing quarter of Hu Tong. Simply get in and enjoy the typical MINI feeling in this pulsating city of a million. In addition, it is also possible to try out this unique form of transport at the local MINI dealership.

The real Chinese lucky charms and talismen on the bicycle and in the inside of the vehicle are intended not only to bring the passenger luck, but also, of course, to release positive energy for the entire Olympic Games.

Worlds most expensive classic Mini

This very blinged up Mini Limo is apparantly the most expensive Mini Limo in the world. Created for Regina daughter of a Kazak oil billionaire from a 1986 Mini Chelsea.

Stretched to an amazing 5 meters 60cm it makes it the Worlds longest stretch Mini Limo.The Mini has special build gold and multicolour alloy wheels with 13" on the front and 15's on the back with a specially made Swarovsky Crystal in the centre of each wheel.

It is certainly very bling with 3 metre long windows and a 48" LCD screen and 70 tft monitors plus 30 parking sensors.

To see the full story of this crazy Mini, how it was built and painted, plus why they did it go to : www.millioneuromini.com To see images of the finished Limo go to : www.trendhunter.com let us know what you think by adding your comments to this post

Production resumes at Longbridge

Although not Mini realated news Longbridge played a very big part in the history of the production of the Mini. Indeed the very last classic Mini rolled of the line in 2001. It is good news in the region that full-scale car production has restarted at the former MG Rover plant in Longbridge, Birmingham. Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) said it had sold 70% of the orders for its new model, the MG TF LE500.

The company has 55 dealers across the UK and believes the first cars will be with customers by next month.

MG Rover collapsed in 2005 with the loss of about 6,000 jobs. It was bought by Nanjing Automobile Corporation for £53m but they were taken over by SAIC. There are currently about 165 workers at Longbridge but the figure is likely to rise, according to the company.

SAIC said it hoped to produce 700 of its sports cars by the end of the year. The model will cost nearly £16,500.

Eleanor De La Haye, of MG UK, said: “We are delighted to have reached this important point and are looking forward to seeing the cars in showrooms shortly.” (BBCnews.co.uk: August 1).