Three MINIS and a big motor show that’s how history will record the public debut of the new breed of MINI in Australia. Twelve days in March - from Thursday the1st through to Monday the12th there they were for everyone to view at the 2001 Melbourne International Motor Show. Ironic perhaps that in the same month, 40 years earlier, the original Issigonis front wheel drive masterpiece known as the Morris 850 in Australia, went on sale. Another reason why the Melbourne show set the precedence and had the new car first will be the impact of having the show run during the Grand Prix circus coming to town and the international cast of thousands that arrive to be part of, or be seen at, it.
I wasn’t there when the Morris 850 went on sale 40 years ago, but I can tell you this time round reaction for the new car has been extremely favourable for the local BMW team charged with putting the car onto Australian roads. I witnessed a flurry of people checking out the new MINI with some enthusiastic comments being made. Perhaps one from my boss, Bob Daly who had visited the show a couple of days before I got there pretty much sums things up. His statement to me being "That new MINI’s a spunky looking thing, they’ve done a lot better with the MINI than Volkswagen did with their retro Beetle." What more can I say!
Having some trepidation with all this new MINI hype it took me til the 9th day before I fired myself up to go into Melbourne’s fabulous Exhibition Centre down in the Yarra River’s docklands precinct to view the show and the new MINI in particular. The Age newspaper had published the official guide for the show on the Monday before the show began - complete with the new MINI on its cover. So having studied the floorplan for the show from within the guide I then made my way to
the entrance closest to where the MINI stand would be and made a beeline for the new car. Walking through BMW’s stand to get there - the MINI stand was a separate entity entirely but just an arms length away from the mother company. First impressions of the stand was this wasn’t a half baked public release, BMW Group Australia had spent some serous pocket money in setting up the MINI stand. Overhead from floor to ceiling the stand filled its area well and truly - the majority being flash forms of scaffold draped with black curtains featuring a relatively small MINI winged logo high up on each of the 4 sides of the stand and between the BMW and MINI stands there was a large banner overhead with a front view of the new car. From floor level there was an array of colourful bright orange, mint, yellow and black decor with signs placed around stating LIVE ME, DRIVE ME, PROTECT ME & DRESS ME.
All no doubt as a gesture of seducing us into wanting a new MINI Cooper. Well, at least that’s what I think they were trying to do!! To help set the mood there was a serious amount of overhead lighting akin to a nightclub, this even saw PROTECT ME and the like illuminated onto the floor below and an overhead sound system kept the music pumping to the right beat. And if that wasn’t convincing enough there was a DJ at certain times during the show to add to the nightclub effect. All very trendy, or funky should I be saying! And there they were - ‘A glimpse at the future of MINI’ as one of the hoardings stated. 3 new MINI - Mini by name, but no longer by nature. They are big, certainly comparative to the Issigonis version. Certainly of Holden Barina dimension I would think, maybe even bigger. The brochure for MINI stating dimensions of 3626mm overall length, 2467mm wheelbase, 1413mm height and 1925mm width (from mirror tip to mirror tip).
Immediately out came the camera to capture what I could of the metallic blue with contrasting white roof example I had first laid my eyes on. This one was left hand drive while its other 2 counterparts were of right hand configuration. It was also one of 2 propped up at the back, so one had the opportunity to go looking for Issigonis’ rear subframe. Surprise, surprise, it no longer exists. The trailing arm does though, but as part of a coil over damper, multi-link rear system taking over from rubber cones and attached to each hub of all cars on display MINI Cooper... not quite the impact with smaller wheels. was a disc brake.
Moving over to the silver with contrasting black roof example on display, I was actually able to have a sit in this one and ponder what Alec Issigonis would be thinking. I’m sure he would be wandering where all the space has gone.
Quite obviously the new car is somewhat more luxurious than the spartan 1959 example of the Mini and being dimensionally bigger one would hope for more interior space. Generally speaking it probably is, but I couldn’t help feel that the rear seat leg room has actually diminished.
Mind you it is substantially more comfortable seating-wise. And taller drivers who cramp themselves into an original will find the new car a less of a strain on their frame. Boot space, in hatch back format that the new MINI is, isn’t huge, more user friendly though and with a split-fold rear seat will allow greater luggage capacity. The dash layout is certainly quirky, with layout a mix of old central speedo placement and a tacho smack bang in front of the steering wheel. Something the original Cooper S should have had from the factory, as the crescendo of screaming 1275 A-Series wondered when its driver would lighten the load and change up a gear. Whether Australian versions remain with the central speedo is to be seen though as fun and games are currently being had with this feature to pass Australian Design Rule requirements. The prolific use of silver and black on the dash and door furniture is another quirkiness that will either be loved or perhaps loathed - personally I don’t mind it.
The silver car also had the bonnet open to reveal how it opens akin to the Mk1 Austin Healey Sprite (Bugeye) more so than Mini, it also revealed no A-series power unit. The new 1.6 litre, 16 valve, 4 cylinder comprehensively filling its place (the 1.4 litre base model will most likely not be in the Australian line-up). Claimed engine performance in the brochure for the new car is a power output of 85 kilowatts @ 6000rpm and 149 Newton meters of torque @ 4500rpm. Allowing a 200kph top speed and 0-100kph in 9.2 seconds. It was while the bonnet was open that I also spotted something I had been looking for - the mention of BMW on the new car. There it was in very small form on the identification plate attached near the bottom of the right hand side ‘A’ pillar (under the bonnet though) - BMW’s logo followed by the word MINI.
The third car on display was for me, by far the most seductive - it for some reason reminded me of the temptress at the nightclub who wears those knee high boots (they have a nickname but I'm not allowed to use it here - we're a family magazine) with the short Mini (or is that MINI) skirt and revealing top. Why I use this analogy is that the third car was a little black number, with a white top and a big set of boots. It was a very highly optioned MINI Cooper with its leather trim and sunroof, plus huge for a MINI, 17 inch Minilite style wheels wrapped in Dunlop Sport DSST 205/45/17 rubber. It was the package that said …….. Eat Me!
As is the usual story, the temptress was flirting her stuff, but we weren’t allowed to take her home. Well not for another 12 months anyway. And even then will we be able to afford to - with an estimated price between \$35 - $40K there will be a lot of disappointed Mini enthusiasts who’d like to embrace ownership of the new car, but budget restraints will say otherwise. Perhaps all I can wish is that the lovely Mini enthusiast, come Channel 9 personality, come demolition master of BMW Z3’s at the Australian Grand Prix, Catriona Rowntree will be invited back next year to the 2002 Qantas Australian Grand Prix to debut the new MINI in the celebrity race. We know the MINI will be there but will the lovely Catriona! The ball is in BMW’s court (or maybe a CAMS Stewards). I may then be able to buy a slightly used only driven on Sunday, new MINI at an reduced to clear price.
In Australia it looks like all new MINI will proudly wear the Cooper name and go on sale the day after the running of next year’s Australian Grand Prix at selected MINI dealers chosen from within the existing BMW network. For more information check the official website @ www.minicooper.com.au
Stop Press - Saturday July 7th 2001 will see the new MINI go on sale in England. While the Cooper S version will not have its public debut until October at the Tokyo Motor Show.
March 2001
