aside from the "ultimate in stying BS" i don't you can beat that a. it's built by Bayerische Motoren Werke, b. that is as cheap as it is. i don't think there's any other product out there that is so technically advanced for the price.


blatantly stolen quote from edmunds.com:

Pros:
The thrill of owning a piece of history laden with modern-day comforts, low base price, rally-ready suspension and steering, availability of BMW's latest safety technology, hatchback utility, lots of standard features, scheduled maintenance on-the-house for 3 years/36,000 miles.

cons:
Questionable interior ergonomics, limited first-year supply.

 

UDP..Yea, I think that is them, up on the NW side of Columbus. From my understanding, I was about #85 on a list of over 300. Unfortunately, (but logical) 85% of the listers want S's.. I first called them Jan 2001 when I saw it at the NAIAS, then they called me Jan 2002 to make sure I was serious and get details. April or so they called to invite me to the local unveiling and then later to drive it (and take a deposit) I think if you were on the official list, you would have heard from them by now..

 

pulled from the mini.com site:


Centre Console

"In many of our early sketches, we had a furistic control pod in place of a traditional centre console. The trouble was, it was just too space-age to look right in the new MINIs. Instead, we came up with a cntre console flanked by down tubes that bring to mind the roll cages on the old racing Minis."


Door Casings

"The doors on the 1959 Classic Mini were designed to make best use of the available space, with large apertures and leather pull straps. In the new MINI, we wanted to follow the same principle, but bring it up to date. The oval apertures also offer excellent storage space, while the cross bars echo the roll cage look of the centre console."


Also re: the front wheel drive, i read in the sales brochure that the type of suspension (multi-link) it has minimises any major front wheel pull.. any comments on this?

 

[quote] "The doors on the 1959 Classic Mini were designed to make best use of the available space, with large apertures and leather pull straps. <hr></blockquote>

The original mini had door catches just like the ones you would find on an internal domestic door (and were prone to springing open in a crash propelling the unrestrained occupants onto the road) and the fuel filler neck stuck out far enough to be sheared off in a roll over accident (no doubt dousing the aforementioned feckless individuals in petrol).

When questioned about this, Alec Issigonis, the designer, said something to the effect of "I designed this car to be driven by the capable, if the inept fare badly, that is their problem"

Ahh, the days when lawyers didn't grow on trees.

The mini HAS to be front wheel drive, John Cooper tried to build a two engined four wheel drive version of the original but he ended up getting put in hospital when the rear engine and tranny locked up at speed.

Apparently the new one tends to plough, whereas the old had a healthy dose of lift off oversteer. Contemporary racers just floored it, smoked the fronts and pulled through.

Having seen both versions side by side I can say that the new model is hardly 'mini'. It is about 30% larger than the original, though less comfortable in the back. (if the abject terror experienced by rear seat passengers in the older car could be called 'comfortable')

 

thanks for the input, nib..

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by UDPride:
<strong>I would say no on the Golf if I were a betting man. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">You LOST! DOH!!

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by 944Fest (aka Dan P):
<strong> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by UDPride:
<strong>I would say no on the Golf if I were a betting man. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">You LOST! DOH!!

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">You were waiting on that weren't you Dan..

So did you end up getting a Cooper S? My wife and I are going to test drive one tommorow. A possible replacement for my wifes '90 Miata. I checked one out today at the dealer and it was quite nice. I really liked the way it felt when I sat in it. I was surprised by the 6spd transmission. Overall it seems like a very solid car. The 944 may end up losing its spot in the Garage..

 

Heck yea, Mike.. I scored my S last fall, and have no regrets. She's a great pocket rocket and daily driver. I'm saving up for the Cooper Works kit, 200HP will make her a little nitro-rocket. Every person I've let drive her was impressed. I plan on letting a few guys at 944Fest03 take it for a spin. If you followed the "SW Ohio GTG" thread, you'd see I ran with the pack and gave some 944 n/a's a good mirrorful. Someday, I hope to take it on-track, but for now that is the Turbo's job. Maybe an autocross... hmmmm.

Love it, love it, LOVE it!!

 

Hrrm old thread ??.
anyway, one of the guys brought one to the track last time I was out and the only real problem he had was that the brakes are not up to the track stuff.

 

How much is the 200hp kit? Is it a dealer install? If it's reasonable, it might be the deciding factor in convincing my dad to purchase one

 

I've heard murmurs between $2500 and $4000. I'm yet to see an official published price. At 4k, that's over $100 per HP, which is kind of STEEP!

 

$2500-4000 isn't too too bad I suppose.. I just researched it and found somewhere else that said $7500. At $7500 there's just no way.