We Know: All About The Mini Cooper


What Is The Mini Cooper?
The Mini Cooper, also called simply the Mini, was a revolutionary car designed for the British Motor Company, first introduced in 1959, and now enjoying a resurgence in its popularity since a redesign in 2000. The Mini Cooper was designed to be agile, inexpensive, and gas-saving. The original version had a top speed of 60 mph.

For a tiny car, it's surprisingly roomy inside; this is largely because of a very economical engine design. Oddly, throughout its first years of production, it never made the BMC money; it was priced below cost in order to sell.

In the 1960s, Mini Coopers were popular with celebrities like the Beatles and even Queen Elizabeth II. They also won Monte-Carlo racing rallies several times, and were stars in the original 1969 The Italian Job.

Today's Mini Cooper, largely unrelated to the original Mini, is produced by BMW.


What are the Specs for the BMW Mini Cooper?
The new Mini Cooper has a Brazilian-built Tritec engine, mounted transversely so the new Mini Cooper has lots of front room, though it's been criticized for not quite having as much as the original Mini Cooper. It comes in four models: the MINI One, MINI One D, MINI Cooper, and MINI Cooper S; in Australia and the US, only the last two are sold. In 2005, a convertible model of the Cooper and Cooper S were introduced.

The BMW Mini Cooper has sport suspension, a five-speed Getrag manual transmission, and 15" 5-stars rocket wheelcovers standard. You choose the color and other exterior details. Packages available include a premium, sport, cold-weather, convenience, and new checkmate. In 2007, plans are in place to replace the supercharged Tritec engine with a turbo engine.


What are the Package Details?

  • Premium: Includes cruise control, panoramic sunroof, leather steering wheel with radio controls, filtered AC, and computerized system displaying trip odometer, average speed, fuel consumption, etc.
  • Sport: Includes dynamic stability control, rear spoiler and sports seats, front fog lamps, and 16-inch alloy 5-star wheels with run-flat performance tires.
  • Cold Weather: Includes heated front seats, heated side-view mirrors, and heated washer jets.
  • Convenience: Includes rain sensor for windshield wipers, autodimming rear-view mirror, automatic headlights that sense darkness, and a garage door opener.
  • Checkmate: Combines several of the most popular details of the other packages, including dynamic stability control, fog lamps, performance tires, leather steering wheel, and adds cloth-leather combo sports seats and a Checkmate Space Blue dash -- very sporty looking.

There are plenty of other options, from SIRIUS satellite radio to dozens of wheel cap, interior, and storage options. You can find complete details and even build your own car at the Mini Cooper web site.



Privacy Policy | Terms of Use © ineed2know.org

Sponsored by