A new MINI

Hot on the heals of MINI releasing the first official footage of their upcoming R60 Countryman SUV model, albeit heavily camouflaged, leaked photos of the final production model are now out.

I have to say that I do like it alot. Very impressed that MINI have finally got themselves what looks like a proper non-metallic white paint option - rather than the White Silver (dull grey) and Pepper White (cream) that have been offered to date. Really looking forward to seeing more photos and seeing it in full World Rally Championship warpaint soon (MINI are strongly rumoured to be entering the 2011 WRC with cars built by the venerable Prodrive outfit).

UPDATE: Official photos + info have been released by MINI, all the details about the new R60 Countryman can be found over on Motoringfile.

Continue reading →

MINI production line

Great video showing the current R56 MINI rolling down the production line.

Continue reading →

MINI Chicken Burgers

But not quite in that order.

After craving them all week, we made up some burgers on Saturday. For something different I got some extra lean mince and made the patties from scratch, then with some (tiny) sour-dough rolls, maiche, tomatos, onion and pickle, made up a handful of mini-hamburgers for late lunch.

Today I went for a short drive to a short festive-season meet-up with some of the MINI crew – really do need to get back out on the track again soon or even start organising more regular catchups to talk all things MINI, good fun.

On the way back, I even managed to stop and catch up with some more old friends, can’t believe these things are still there – I can remember them being in the same spot when we used to pass through when I was quite young.

Continue reading →

Try before you buy

Went along to the MINI Challenge Roadshow event at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway last Thursday. The event was designed to showcase the MINI Challenge series and racecars to drivers and potential sponsors that may have been thinking about joining the burgeoning series. A really well organised day that had me seriously thinking dreaming about ways to raise a budget to get into one of these great little machines for the ‘10 season.

The highlight of the day were the track sessions where potentials could get behind the wheels of a MINI Challenge car for a handful of laps around the GP circuit, I can’t think of a single other category that provides a similar opportunity to borrow a car for minimal outlay. Really impressed, my mission now is to get my CAMS licence sorted so I don’t miss another opportunity like this one.

Had a terrible time trying to take photos of the event around the track, everywhere I put myself I was being attacked by dive-bombing magpies. They were fine when I had my head up and kept facing them, but the second I put my head down and looked through the camera viewfinder…

Continue reading →

Happy Birthday Mini!

Happy 50th Birthday!

Continue reading →

A lap of the creek

Here’s a video of me driving a lap of Eastern Creek Raceway in the MINI. This was one of my faster laps of the day and just happened to be my final one for the session - look out for the chequered flag just after I cross the finish line.

Being so late in the day I was short shifting in a few places and was definitely running out of brakes, so there’s still plenty of room for improvement - both in my driving and car setup. The steptronic (auto) gearbox works a treat around the circuit, punching out lightning fast changes and never once resisting my requested downshifts when called upon to do so.

To shoot this video I was using my new camera rig between the rear seat headrests, the camera itself was a Panasonic DMC-FT1 / DMC-TS1 that records in AVCHD Lite format at 720p resolution. I converted the raw video to DV using VisualHub (RIP), with a basic edit in Final Cut Express.

Continue reading →

MINI AUnited 2009

To celebrate the 50th birthday of the MINI and coinciding with the official MINI United bash on at Silverstone, UK the same weekend, MINI Australia are holding their celebratory bash christened - MINI AUnited - on May 24th in Sydney.

The event starts at Harold Park Paceway in Glebe at 2pm and ends after a screening of “The Italian Job” at the Blacktown drive-in in the evening, with a drive through the City in between. Entry fee is $50 per MINI and for that there seems to be a bunch of goodies thrown into the bargain.

Initial indications seem to point towards a pretty good turn-out, if my MINI mates are anything to go by - should be a hoot.

+ MINI AUnited information pack (pdf)

Continue reading →

Bits & Pieces

Picked up the ultimate screwdriver set this weekend, this thing has everything: hex, torx, sockets, a bendy bit, 90° angle, plus the usual slotted/phillips bits - everything! Also picked up a shiny new cordless drill (not pictured). It’s gotta be a good weekend when a visit to Bunnings is on the agenda.

One the the MINI’s new-ish tyres is looking a little secondhand after that run around EC back in March. Those cracks in the tread blocks shouldn’t be there. Might have to get onto rotating this puppy soon before it degrades any more.

Continue reading →