| The new MINI
Consistent Evolution
Everything's new - and once again typical of MINI all the way: After more than 800,000 units sold, the MINI will soon be entering the market in thoroughly enhanced design and with fundamentally new features.
The second model generation of today's modern MINI is making its debut with brand-new power units, a carefully but thoroughly upgraded interior, and evolutionary body design with appropriate modifications wherever required. Indeed, all these innovations underline the individual character and premium standard of the MINI. And while each and every detail has been changed or modified, the new model naturally retains all the proven and unmistakable features of the MINI clearly recognisable at very first sight. This applies both to the silhouette of this compact two-door immediately recognisable from every angle and to the car's equally unique and agile driving characteristics.
The power units and transmissions, suspension and steering, brakes and safety systems are all brand-new developments from the ground up.
And all these features serve to give the new MINI that legendary go-kart feeling right from the start - but now with an even higher standard of agility than before. This, quite literally, is MINI at its best - both in design and handling.
The new MINI is entering the market in the guise of the MINI Cooper (88 kW/120 hp) and MINI Cooper S (128 kW/175 hp), with the MINI One "basic" version following somewhat later. And once again, the new MINI will also be available with a turbodiesel offering a particularly high standard of all-round economy in the drivetrain.
Two new petrol engines with innovative highlights in technology
The new MINI Cooper and the new MINI Cooper S come with two four-cylinder petrol engines each displacing 1.6 litres. Both of these power units are the first representatives of a new range of engines boasting innovative features from the ground up. They each come with two overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder driven by a chain. The engine block and cylinder head, in turn, are cast out of a special aluminium alloy.
In terms of both power, performance and efficiency, these innovative drive units set new standards in the MINI segment, boasting many design features and technical details so far only to be found in higher segments of the market. A volume flow-controlled oil pump, for example, as well as a water pump switching off automatically when not required, serve to reduce fuel consumption to an even lower level than usual. And at the same time it almost goes without saying that the new power units comply in full with the strict Euro 4 emission standard.
The MINI Cooper features a normal-aspiration power unit developing maximum output of 88 kW/120 hp at 6,000 rpm and peak torque of 160 Nm/118 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm. The intake valves are controlled in a fully variable process by the BMW Group's absolutely unique VALVETRONIC technology, allowing the engine to breathe freely, without the usual restrictions imposed by a throttle butterfly.
Valve lift and opening times are masterminded by infinite electronic control adjusting to the driver's needs for power and performance. This highly efficient valve management combines superior fuel economy, a high standard of motoring culture, spontaneous response and optimised emission management, thus offering a new combination of qualities never seen before.
The even more powerful engine featured in the new MINI Cooper S is a turbocharged power unit with direct gasoline injection.
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