Tag: MINI

Mini That Won Goodwood Race To Honor 60 Years Of Cooper Had Livery Designed By 9-Year-Old

The trend of racecar drivers allowing their helmet or car liveries to be designed by children is one of the purest forms of sweetness in motorsports. Fun, kind, and a way of reaching out to youth, the practice has now extended to the Goodwood Revival grid.

In the John Whitmore Trophy race that celebrated 60 years of the Mini Cooper and featured 30 Minis battling out with some of motorsport’s most illustrious names at the wheels, one car, the 1963 Morris Mini Cooper S raced by Nick Swift and Andrew Jordan, featured a very bright livery.

Stanley Wilkinson, a 9-year-old who took inspiration from Richard Petty’s legendary Plymouth Superbird, designed the livery that won the “Design a Mini” competition at Goodwood SpeedWeek last year to become a reality and line up in the one-off race held especially to commemorate the legacy of the car.

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“I had the best day at the Revival,” said Wilkinson. “I was really excited to see the Mini and I could not believe it when I saw it in real life, it was exactly like my design.”

The drivers, Swift and Jordan, had quite the competition on their hands for the September 18th race. They lined up alongside former F1 drivers Jochen Mass, Brendon Hartley, Martin Brundle, and Karun Chandhok, as well Tiff Needell, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Le Mans legends Emanuele Pirro and Andre Lotterer. AC/DC lead singer, and known petrolhead, Brian Johnson was among the contestants, too.

As the 45-minute race elapsed, though, Swift and Jordan proved their mettle, beating their rivals and winning the race.

“It was an honor to be a part of this project although I can’t say I’ve ever had a Mini with a rear wing before!,” said Swift. “It was brilliant to be back out on the track at Goodwood and thanks to my co-driver Andrew, we were able to bring home the win and celebrate with Stanley.”

Wilkinson was, of course, also thrilled with the outcome of the race: “I was cheering on the Mini during the race and it was amazing when Nick and Andrew won, and I got to celebrate with them afterwards. It was a day I will never forget.”

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The MINI Convertible Will Survive Into The Electric Era, All-New Model Coming In 2025

Coupes and convertibles are becoming increasingly rare, but MINI is sticking to their guns as they have announced a successor to their popular drop top.

Little is known about the model at this point, but the next-generation Convertible will be fully electric and is scheduled to be introduced in 2025.

MINI boss Bernd Körber said: “The MINI Convertible has a large and particularly loyal fan base. We are therefore firmly convinced of the success of this vehicle concept for the future.”

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Körber went on to note nearly one in five customers in Germany opted for a Convertible last year and he said this “demonstrates the great enthusiasm of the MINI community for a vehicle concept like this in the future.” Germany is the biggest market for the Convertible and it’s followed by the United States and Great Britain.

The Convertible is a relatively new addition to the lineup as a prototype was introduced at the 1992 British Motor Show and caused such an enthusiastic reaction that it was put into production. Following the brand’s relaunch in 2001, MINI was quick to bring back the Convertible three years later.

Of course, not all open-top MINI models have been successful. The Roadster was arguably one of the brand’s better looking vehicles, but it failed to resonate with consumers as U.S. sales topped out at 2,806 units in 2013. Sales quickly dropped off and MINI pulled the plug two years later.

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