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The latest news is that BMW Mini has decided that is will stop development of the properly small Mini Rocketman. This car was previewed as a concept car at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and I was genuinely excited that there was going to be a proper Mini instead of those ultra large Minis that we have right now. How unfortunate that this will now not be a reality. It seems that the Mini Rocketman concept will not be further developed as the car's really short wheelbase and overall length (304mm shorter than a regular BMW Mini) has created handling, stability and crash protection issues. If Mini were to modify the basic design it would have to spend more money. This isn't the case with BMW who are actually owned by spoilsports. The reason I say this is that this BMW who owns the Mini brand these days is a profit driven enterprise and the proof of this is the statement made by Albert Biermann, BMW M

While I totally fancy the current BMW Mini I find that the newly launched Countryman is a mini too far. Or in other words, there is nothing 'Mini' about it and it distorts the image of what a Mini is to such an extent that it looks pretty monstrous. And imagine when my discomfort when I found out that the Monster Energy X-raid team has unveiled the new MINI ALL4 'Countryman' racing which will compete in the 2011 Dakar rally series. A Monster team driving a monster Mini. How appropriate. So the largest of all Minis, gets a pretty tall suspension lift, lots of rally development and also receives a massive heart; a 3.0liter twin turbo diesel engine that pumps out 315PS and 700Nm of torque. This engine may be happier in a truck than in something that is supposed to be a Mini. Amazingly, the development and work done coverting the all-wheel drive Countryman into rally spec too a mere three months. Team Monster Energy X-raid seems pretty confident that the All 4 will be successful. The Mini All 4 is currently undergoing testing in France by team Monster Energy X-raid driver Guerlain Chicherit and navigator Michel Perin after which is will be off to its first rally event. The All 4 will make its maiden rally debut at the 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile that runs from the 1st to the 16th of January 2011. What I can add is that the All 4 does look like a neat looking Off-Road vehicle but then when you suddenly realize that it is actually a variant of the BMW Mini, the opinion changes quite a bit, and then you ask

The future of motor racing's so quiet I gotta use loud speakers. Yes. Loud speakers pumping out a fake V8 soundtrack while purely electric racers run around race tracks just whizzing around with hardly any sound coming from them. You wouldn't know if an electric race car is coming or going. And its very possible as the BMW Mini is now the first automotive manufacturer that has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife's 20.8km long distance in a modified racing version of the Mini E. The purely electric Mini E Racer managed to lap the 'Ring in a time of 9minutes 51.45seconds and was timed at the straight at a maximum speed of 187km/h. Not really that fast as it you compare the Renault Megane R26R did it in 8minutes 17seconds, but I suppose it is history in the making. The Electric Mini E is an all electric powered version of the BMW Mini. It was launched as a field test in June 2009 and was available through leasing to individuals in Los Angeles and the New York/New Jersey areas in the United States. Another batch of 40 Mini E were made available to private users in the United Kingdom for 2 trial periods. The standard Mini E is a front wheel drive car with an electric motor that is mounted in the usual engine bay and makes 204PS and 220Nm of torque. The car utilizes a lithium-ion battery pack with an overall capacity of about 35kilowatt-hours. The batteries weigh 259kg and replaces the back seat. How unpractical for a four seat city car that can only carry two. Top speed is electronically limited to a sedate 153km/h and the car

So we now have heard that Audi is about to enter the premium small car market with the Audi A1. The current market leaders of this market segment are the BMW Mini, the Fiat 500 and to some extent the Alfa Mito. These cars allow car manufacturers to charge a whole lot more for the same small package and of course, Audi being the premium marque in the VW-Audi stable is their contender. But after scrutinizing the pictures it is my opinion that Audi is trying too hard with those flowing A to C pillar 'different colour from the body' scheme. It isn't a design cue or anything like that. It's just colour over sheet metal. Imagine the SMART car with its interchangeable panels. Innovative, but the main highlight about that car, or even the Mini, or even any Fiat 500 is the timeless classic design of these cars, which Audi doesn't have. One look at any of the cars mentioned and you can recognize it. The Audi A1 on the other hand looks like any small hatch with an Audi nose stuck to it and those different coloured pillars. The only plus point are those funky looking LED lights, which are really funky. To prove a point, we now have here is the Mitsubishi A1 (a Colt badly photoshopped by yours truly). Stick an Audi grill, paint the pillars, put on aftermarket LED strips (the one like the A4 but not as chic as the A1) and you have something that looks somewhat like the A1. If you consume a couple of Flaming Lamborghini's and then squint a little that is. Okay, it may look exactly like the A1 pictured above, but what I think I've stumbled upon here is a new trend. The supposedly trendy (Ah Beng) like people who like to trick up their cars will now follow the A1's flowing different coloured pillars. And that's about it. The point is, flowing different coloured pillars is just a fad, that will be followed by people till they're bored of it. And then its back to the usual normal coloured A to C pillars for all. But I dig those funky LEDs anyway. This is the actual selling point of the A1 regardless what Audi tells us. - Fiat 500 - Mini One - Alfa Mito