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UK Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes two millionth (new) MINI milestone

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[Source: BMW UK, 8/31/2011, Oxford]

Today, 10 years after the BMW group’s takeover of Rover and resumed production at the former Mini Oxford plant, the two millionth modern-style MINI was driven off the production line at Plant Oxford by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Of the two million, more than 1.5 million MINIs have been exported to customers in more than 90 countries around the world from Australia to Venezuela.

Frank-Peter Arndt, BMW AG board member responsible for production, was present to celebrate this latest major milestone for Plant Oxford and the continuing success of the MINI brand.

He said: “Production of the two millionth MINI comes on the back of strong demand worldwide. Our recent announcement of an additional £500 million investment in our UK MINI production facilities demonstrates the important role that Oxford plays in our global production network. The most essential factors in the success of MINI are the skills, passion and dedication of our associates.”

During the visit, Mr Arndt updated the Prime Minister on preparations at the plant to produce the next generation MINI including new production facilities currently under construction. This latest investment decision helps to ensure the long term future of the Oxford plant and jobs at its pressings plant in Swindon and its engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham. It also takes the company’s total investment across all its UK operations to more than £1.5 billion since 2000.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “It’s a real privilege to drive this true British icon off the production line today. The 2 millionth MINI to be made here in Oxford is a fantastic symbol of the UK’s strength in the global automotive industry and a great British manufacturing success story.

In the period between 1959 and 2000, when the classic Mini was produced here (then called the Cowley plant), more than 5.3 million Minis were sold worldwide.

“BMW’s continued investment in its UK operations, together with its export success – selling to over 90 countries worldwide – is contributing to a real renaissance for the UK car industry and a brilliant example of the sustainable, balanced growth we are determined to achieve. MINI is not just a symbol of our industrial past, but also the great industrial future we want to build.”

The two millionth MINI is a MINI Convertible specially painted in White Silver metallic with a blue denim roof. The specification boasts a selection of bespoke interior and exterior options including special alloy wheels, a distinctive leather steering wheel and lounge leather upholstery. This historic car is the prize on offer in a global Facebook campaign called ‘Two Million MINIs – Two Million Faces’ which involves photographs of the faces of two million MINI fans being collected and built to create a dedicated Facebook ‘wall’. The winner will be chosen at random after the campaign closes on 30 September.

Dr Juergen Hedrich, managing director for MINI Plant Oxford, said: “It’s a really great milestone for Plant Oxford and everyone who works here. Oxford has been the heart of MINI production for the last 10 years and all our associates are proud and excited to be contributing to the continuing success of this iconic brand.”

Producing 216,302 vehicles in 2010, MINI was the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in the UK, accounting for 17 per cent of national automotive production. The plant currently produces four MINI models – Hatchback, Convertible, Clubman and the new MINI Coupé. A fifth model, the Roadster, will join the line-up at the end of this year.

Since MINI went (back) into production in 2001, developments at Plant Oxford have reflected MINI’s growing success. In 2001 some 2,400 associates worked in single shift operations to build up to 300 cars a day. Today around 3,700 associates work five days a week on two shifts to produce as many as 900 MINIs per day. During the same period maximum production capacity at the plant has risen from 100,000 to over 200,000 units per year. In the medium term the plant has an annual capacity of 260,000 units.

Marvellous MINI facts

- The top five export markets for MINI in 2010 were the US, Germany, France, China and Italy.

- 2 million MINIs placed bumper to bumper would reach 4,626.7 miles or 7446 kilometres which is enough to stretch from Oxford to the Grand Canyon, and go round the entire circumference of (the once-planet) Pluto.

- Stacked on top of each other, 2 million MINIs would be 318 times the height of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, and 3,398 times higher than one of the world’s tallest buildings, Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

- Of the two million MINIs which have been built at Oxford you’ll struggle to find two the same. With 14 body colours, 4 hard top roof colours, 3 convertible roof options, bonnet stripes and several wheel and interior trims, MINI twins are statistically rare.

- A MINI is born every 68 seconds.

- Each and every MINI consists of around 2,100 components. A total of 500 different robots and 3,700 associates join forces to create each MINI, with 4,000 spot welds required to build each bodyshell. Every robot works to a tolerance of 0.05 millimetre – that’s half the width of a human hair.

- The most popular MINI colour is Pepper White, followed by Midnight Black then Chili Red.

Imagine that, driving a MINI the same shade as household appliances just doesn’t seem to work for owners. Well, I guess if it did, they would be driving Toyota Camry’s, Ford Taurus or some other boring sedan worthy of such coloring.

Speaking of coloring, here’s some pictures of that 2 mil MINI to drool over:

MINI WRC TEAM Summary: Interviews, CVs, and Tech Specs

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This is an absolutely HUGE article, containing several transcripts with our interviews with some of the key people behind MINI WRC including technical details about the JCW MINI WRC car, background on the management and drivers, a synopsis of Mini’s earlier rally heritage from the 1960′s, and so much more!  (special thanks to BMW PressClub Sport for all the great photos, presskits, and video footage!)

We’re using the “more” tag in this article so that it won’t take up pages and pages to scroll from on our main site.

Continue reading →

MINI finishes 3rd place in FIA World Rally Championship, Germany Day 3!

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[Source: BMW AG, Trier, 21st August, 2011.]

A podium position on the ADAC Rally Germany was the reward for the MINI WRC Team after Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) finished third in their number 37 MINI John Cooper Works WRC after a flawless drive. It also looked as if their team-mates, Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR), were set to make it to the finish in Trier, but then on the penultimate stage an electrical gremlin struck and the car stopped while they were still fighting for fourth.

Sordo had a rally long battle with the Ford of Mikko Hirvonen (FI) and after 19 stages and 359.59 kilometres of competition finished 48.1secs ahead of him. For Kris he started the final day in fourth ahead of Petter Solberg (NO) in his Citroen. Despite a rear puncture on the first stage of the day, Meeke only lost 1.1secs to Solberg. However, on the second one what Meeke described as an ‘optimistic’ pace note saw him have an excursion into the vineyards and drop to fifth. Despite this he started a fight back, but then when the car stopped on stage 18 the battle with Solberg was over.

It was only 11 months ago on the 15th September that the MINI rally car first turned a wheel in testing in Portugal. In that time the team has competed on only three World Rally Championship events and made it to the podium on its first tarmac event. While this may be the team’s first podium, for the second time this season it has been awarded the Abu Dhabi Spirit of the Rally Award for Sordo’s great drive.

David Richards, Team Principal:

“I don’t know where to start to thank all the people who have made this possible. If I look at the long list of everyone who has had faith in this project from the very first day we started it’s a long one, and I would like to thank everyone of them as without them none of this would be possible. Dani has driven an impeccable event, and never put a foot wrong. I never doubted his abilities. Poor Kris – if there was any bad luck it was always with him. To have such cruel luck on the second to last stage I really feel for him, but his day will come. He has proved how competitive he can be here and I am sure he is looking forward to France.”

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“We knew what we had to do today. Kris was up for getting in front of Petter Solberg. Dani just had to keep his nose clean and keep the gap to Mikko Hirvonen. The morning stages were dry and we took a bit of a gamble. All the competitors took soft tyres, but we did a split and took the safe option for Dani and Kris went for hard. It was absolutely the right choice, as we could see after ten kilometres into the first stage the hard tyres had warmed up and I was confident we were on for our first fastest stage. Unfortunately he picked up a puncture just before the end. Then at the lunchtime service the heavens opened for the afternoon stages and soft was the obvious choice for everyone. In the afternoon Dani was matching Hirvonen, and picked up the pace when he had to and drove a stunning finish. For Kris we had a loss of electrical power three kilometres into the penultimate stage. The battery managed to keep it running for a further seven minutes, but then we had total electrical failure so had to retire the car after many fraught minutes on the phone and radio to try and sort out the problem. The problem was a broken terminal, a really simple problem as you can do thousands of miles testing and never have this problem. It was the sort of problem buried in the wires that you could not have seen it if you had been looking for it.”

Dani Sordo:

“I am really, really happy for me and the team. For the first rally of the car on tarmac this is very good. This is a surprise and the times were so close to Ford and Citroen that we have a lot of confidence for the next rally. The car is really good on tarmac. We have a good set-up and the suspension is perfect. Obviously we can improve and get the car better and better but this weekend it was okay. We shall now work a lot to try and beat Citroen as well. I tried to push hard on the power stage and it was great to be third, but I didn’t want to take any risks. The mechanics have worked really hard and not made any mistakes so I hope to spend some time with them tonight.”

Kris Meeke:

“The day started out as going to be a bit of a battle with Petter Solberg. We held him in the first one and then on the second we had a little error on the pace note side as the note I had made on the recce was a little bit optimistic and I missed my braking point and lost ten seconds there. After lunch it was very wet and there was only a second between myself and Petter on the first stage, and then on the next about halfway through the car started to cut out on me, eventually stopped completely and there was nothing we could do. It was quite clear it was an electrical issue as there was no power to the control box inside the car. It was traced to just a little wire that had come off and it was one of those things. ”

ADAC Rally Germany. 18th – 21st August. 9th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Day 2.

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[Source: BMW AG, Trier, 20th August, 2011.]

The MINI WRC Team has every reason to feel satisfied after day two of Rally Germany, as Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) are now third overall in their MINI John Cooper Works WRC number 37. While Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) in number 52 are still in fifth, they have had a far from easy day with a puncture on stage 13 and a broken rim on stage 14 causing them to lose over a minute on the leading cars.

Number 13 proved unlucky for not only Meeke, but also the man chasing him for fourth, Petter Solberg (NO). While Meeke came off the 15.23 kilometre stage 23.3 seconds behind the leader, Sébastien Loeb (FR), the Norwegian was even further behind with a loss of 31 seconds, also due to a puncture. The 34.18 kilometre final stage of the day on the Baumholder tank training ground also caused high drama for Loeb, as he became one of numerous drivers to suffer a puncture during the day and dropped to second behind his Citroen team-mate, Sébastien Ogier (FR).

Day two was held in extremely hot and sunny conditions, but there is a question mark over the weather for the final day as heavy thunder showers are forecast for late morning. The remaining crews have another five stages and 76.31 kilometres of competition before the Power Stage at Circus Maximus back in Trier early in the afternoon.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“That has been a pretty good day as we started fourth and fifth and finished third and fifth. Dani has had a clean run through and set really quick times with Mikko Hirvonen. Then on the last stage he put in a blistering pace and finished within a couple of seconds of Sébastien Ogier and was second quickest. We were clearly faster than the Fords on that stage, and that was the one I really wanted to see where we really were with the others working perfectly. This is only our third rally and we know we can improve and from where we are now that is a really good benchmark. Kris had a fantastic day starting in fifth. Petter Solberg jumped him on the first stage this morning, but then had his problems, as did Kris including a little scare on the last stage of the day where he had a slow run through after sustaining a little bit of damage to a wheel. He is still just in front of Solberg. Tomorrow Kris has to keep his nose clean, and Dani has to consolidate third if he can as Hirvonen will come out charging. The target is to stay on the podium, as we like it there and don’t want to get off it.”

Dani Sordo:

“Honestly we didn’t expect to be here in third on our first tarmac rally for the car. I am really happy with the car. We did some changes to the set-up and today the MINI was quite good and helped me do the good times. We will continue to do the same tomorrow and try to finish on the podium. We don’t have enough of a margin to feel safe, as you can have a puncture, you can spin or the the weather may be bad. I am not going to start thinking about the podium, but just to try to drive well as we still have another day. The most important thing is we are still close to the opposition, and if we do modifications to the car for the future we are planning we can then be really close.”

Kris Meeke:

“We have had a few wee problems, and we picked up another puncture on stage 13. Everyone seems to be hitting trouble. Dani and Sébastien Ogier are the only two in the top eight or nine who have not picked up a puncture, so it is proving to be a challenge. We were just a little bit unlucky in that sense. Then on the second run through Panzerplatte the car was a little bit nervous underbraking, it cut away from me and stopped very gently against a small stone, it broke the rim and we had a massive vibration for the rest of the stage. When we have had a clean run we have really been on the money, and have been able to be right up there with the times. We have not been consistent enough, but that will come as this is only my second ever start on a WRC event on tarmac. ”

ADAC Rally Germany. 18th – 21st August. 9th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Day 1.

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[Source: BMW AG,  Trier, 19th August, 2011]

Day one of the ADAC Rally Germany ended with the MINI WRC Team in a very encouraging fourth and fifth overall. From the very first of today’s six stages Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) in the MINI John Cooper Works WRC number 37 and Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) in the number 52 sister car were putting in competitive stage times. As the cars arrived in Trier for the overnight halt the Spanish duo were in front by just 17.3 secs, although the honour of a top three stage time went to Meeke.

While the weather had been hot and dry up to the start of the event, as the cars got onto stage two the rains came. The Citroen duo of Sébastien Loeb (FR) and Sébastien Ogier (FR) had opted for a different Michelin tyre strategy, as in Germany they could choose either hard or soft compounds. They took soft, while the other top teams took hard and this proved quite crucial in the wet conditions that only affected part of the one stage but gave them an advantage.

With six stages over 133 kilometres covered today, the crews are now ready for another eight stages and 150 kilometres tomorrow. Ahead of them they have the very tough Panzerplatte stage on the Baumholder tank training ground, which is 34.18 kilometres long. This stage, which is run twice, has often been a major decider in the outcome of this rally.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“It was a good day for us. The weather played a big part in our positions and performance in the morning loop, with the rain on stage two. Everyone was on hard tyres and Citroen, with their weather information, took soft. They took 30 seconds off the rest of the field! Our battle is now with Ford and into the second loop we were chasing Mikko Hirvonen. Very quickly both Fords struck problems, so we find ourselves in a reasonable position at the moment in fourth and fifth. We are very pleased with where the MINI is in tarmac form, and very optimistic for the rest of the rally. I am sure tomorrow’s stages will suite Dani, and Kris is also really optimistic. Kris had a small fuel surge problem, but we have replaced all the parts and are confident that is sorted for tomorrow.”

Dani Sordo:

“I am very happy as the performance from the MINI in this rally is quite good. Fourth is not so bad, and honestly I didn’t expect to be in this position after day one. This morning the times were really close, but now they are not so close, as I think everyone has started to wake up on these tarmac roads. We have a little bit of work to do on the understeer in the corners, but as we are only on our third rally with this car we are not so bad. The times from Citroen are very fast, but Kris and myself will keep pushing hard and I think the work the team has done today is very good.”

Kris Meeke:

“It has been a really enjoyable rally and driving here has given me a smile. I have always liked this rally and gone well in the junior categories. This is my first time here in a world rally car and everything is coming at you a little faster. This morning there were places where I was hesitating, and we had the damp stage on the hard tyres which was quite difficult. I got comfortable and was really happy, but had a little problem on the second stage of this afternoon’s loop. The engine started cutting out towards the end of the stage, and then on heavy breaking it stalled completely and I spun and lost six or seven seconds. Overall I have to be very encouraged by the pace and to be setting times in the top three has to be encouraging. We have a 45 minute service so we have to get to work now to try and resolve that little issue, even though I did not have it on that last stage. ”

MINI WRC Launch and Eye Candy Reel

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HD Video from our Miniology.com podcast showcasing the initial launch of the MINI WRC team event at the Oxford plant, and driving footage from the ProDrive test track in the UK and test runs in Barcelona. Several key and historic figures talk about the new car, FIA WRC, Mini’s rally history, and related goodness: Ian Robinson, Kris Meeke, Dani Sordo, Paddy Hopkirk and more!

Edited in iMovie on the Mac. All content (c)2011 Miniology except for footage (c)2011 BMW AG and some background tracks courtesy of Apple Computer, used by permission under specific license agreements.

Miniology TV: MINI E Report – Electric car in the UK

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Heya, Miniologists!

Here is our video report regarding the close of MINI’s electric car trial in the United Kingdom (similar trials were run in the US and other countries).

It was great to be a part of this and the MINI community on social media sites (facebook, twitter, minispace) were very supportive of the project.

This video doesn’t go into all the technical details of the project, but does have some nice interviews from the people who were actually driving the electric cars during the trial run.

With all the automotive brands doing hybrids that don’t get more than a few MPG more than their gas counterparts, it was very cool to see MINI doing a full-on electric car which looked and performed much like the petrol edition.

Check the earlier post for the full official BMW press release.

Copyright notice: UK b-roll footage and background music used in this video supplied to us from BMW AG and used by permission, under the condition this can not be used for commercial purposes. All other content (like our logo, etc.) is Copyright © 2011 by Miniology.com/The Electric Crayon.