BMW Mini
31st August 2018
This black bomber parked in my work car park is a welcome addition to ‘Spotted’.I remember only too well back in around 2001 when the BMW Mini was announced – BMW had bought the rights to produce it a few years earlier.
As a Brit, I had convinced myself that the Germans could never reproduce such an iconic British car. Like, never!
But I was wrong. Very wrong.
And if you’re honest… you were wrong too.
Yes, the BMW Mini is bigger, fatter and heavier than the original that we (the British) first began producing way back in 1959. And I think I remember some gearbox problems on the very first German versions.
We Brits also moaned about the lack of decent boot space when the new Mini came out didn’t we? Forgetting that our beloved original Mini also never had any boot space to speak of.
But very quickly it became apparent that the reinvented German Mini is a tremendous machine – even if some Brits (still) refuse to admit it
Although BMW has given the Mini several facelifts since 2001 I still prefer this one over all of them – for me it gets the closest to the original Mini.
Surely there is nothing wrong with an iconic old car being reinvented, providing care is taken to preserve its heritage?
People reinvent themselves all the time. Why not cars?
And let’s not forget about the reinvented Fiat 500… a tremendous success for the Italians.
For me, BMW’s Mini reigns King among all cars that have been completely remodelled yet still retaining their important heritage.BMW’s Mini unashamedly pays homage to the original classic.
It’s also a lot safer and a lot more reliable!
It oozes sex appeal.
It is the Mini for the modem age.
Whenever I spot an interesting machine I get out my mobile and take some photos of it (if possible).
Then I feature it here in ‘Spotted’
And I am always keen to hear about your interesting vehicle.
Would you care to share and help me grow my site?
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Lovely car!!! And those alloys are very sexy, too… I think they are Japanese ADVAN wheels… Interesting you mentioned the early gearbox issues on Gen 1 MINIs. The car on the picture is the facelifted model (2005 MY) – note the reverse lights in the rear lamps and the fog light in the centre of the bumper – so it has the more reliable Getrag 5-speed which replaced the problematic Rover gearbox… Anyway, thanks for posting these photos!
Thank you for the additional info on the Mini. And yes, when I spotted it I thought those wheels don’t look standard to me. Now you have confirmed it.
And thanks for your visit and taking the time to write a comment.