Table of contents for June/July 2021 in Performance MINI

WELCOME TO THE JUNE - JULY 2021 ISSUE It barely seems like yesterday that the newspapers were full of the fuss surrounding BMW’s decision to sell Rover, and what that would mean for the yet-to-be-released MINI, but can you believe that was 20 years ago? Okay, perhaps you can, and perhaps that’s just me showing my age, but not many of us really think of the ‘new’ MINI as a 20 year-old car do we? That’s classic car territory! But it is. And the fact we don’t think of it as such is surely testament to the fantastic design Frank Stephenson sketched out all those years ago, and the German engineering and reliability that BMW brought to the party too. In this issue we the tell the complete story of…

SHOW DATES WHAT’S ON? SEE WHAT FANTASTIC MINI SHOWS AND EVENTS ARE COMING UP IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WHO Kill All Chrome – MINI Bitz WHAT MINI Bitz & Modded MINI at Caffeine & Machine WHERE Caffeine & Machine, Stratford upon Avon WHEN 29 May, 2021 WHERE TO BOOK https://helmtickets.com/events/6899/caffeinemachine-weekend-tickets As the world starts to slowly come out of lockdown, MINI fans are no doubt eager to get out and enjoy their cars. Building on the success of their last venture to Caffeine & Machine, MINI Bitz have once again teamed up with Modded MINI to host another meet at the petrol-head’s favourite cafe. Due to current restrictions, the meet will be a ticket-only affair, and Caffeine & Machine are running their meets in designated time slots – the…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI THE FIRST MODERN MINI THE FIRST-GENERATION NEW MINI ARRIVED IN A FANFARE OF MARKETING FUSS, WAS MET WITH MASSES OF EXCITEMENT AND DISDAIN, AND ULTIMATELY WENT ON TO FORM THE BASIS FOR THE ENTIRE MODERN MINI BRAND After being touted for many years, and after a well-publicised design and development phase drip-feeding just enough titbits to the press to ensure nobody ever had the chance to forget about the ‘new’ MINI, the first R50 models finally arrived at UK dealers on 7 July 2001. Full production had started a few weeks earlier at the end of April, and BMW had thrown its full marketing might behind the new car -the MINI Adventure ad campaign had buyers queuing at the doors to get their hands on…

FEATURE MINI COOPER S HYPER ACTIVE AARON PIDGEON LIKED THE WAY HIS GIRLFRIEND’S COOPER DROVE – BUT HE WANTED MORE POWER. THE RESULTING COOPER S IS NO FLIGHT OF FANCY Words MARTYN COLLINS Photos ADE BRANNAN Take yourself back to when you first saw the new BMW MINI (a poignant point, given the theme of this issue) – what did you think? Many thought it needed a shot of testosterone, which arrived later in the form of the R53 Cooper S. Aaron Pidgeon, owner of this Cooper S, agreed. Or, he did until he picked a Liquid Yellow Cooper for his girlfriend at auction. Aaron recalls, “Once we got the car home I took it for a quick test drive, and even though it was a base-spec Cooper, I fell in…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI TIMELINE SECOND GENERATION MINIS TIMELINE: SECOND GENERATION MINIS HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2006 TO 2013 MARCH 2006 Second generation R56 model makes its debut at Plant Oxford. 1 JULY 2006 First official images and press release for new R56 model released. AUGUST 2006 R56 officially revealed to the public. 2 SEPTEMBER 2006 R56 production begins at Plant Oxford. NOVEMBER 2006 R56 models go on sale in the UK; both Cooper and Cooper S variants. Full production begins at Oxford. DECEMBER 2006 MINI buys John Cooper Works (effective from January 2007). MARCH 2007 R56 MINI One and Cooper D models unveiled at Geneva Motor Show. APRIL 2007 R56 MINI One and Cooper D models go on sale in the UK. 3 NOVEMBER 2007 R55 Clubman goes on sale…

FEATURE F56 COOPER S MEGAN MARVEL LOOKING LIKE THE TRANSPORT OF A SINISTER AND SHADOWY ANTI-HERO, MEGAN TOMBS’S F56 IS ACTUALLY A FUN-FILLED LITTLE SCAMP Words DAN BEVIS Photos MITCH BROWN Rumbling in the distance suggests that, despite the cloudless sky, there’s meteorological trouble brewing. As the air charges with energy and the hairs on our arms stand to attention, the source of the thunderous bass sneaks into view over the horizon. And it turns out that it’s not a lightning-induced pressure wave that we’re experiencing, but the proximity of a raucous little Cooper S, super-stealthy in its sinister monochrome scheme, forcing its way through the air with the unquenchable insistence of an SR-71 Blackbird. For Megan Tombs, this car represents the culmination of a quest for uniqueness, her automotive…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI HISTORY HOW IT BEGAN PLUGGING IN TO THE FUTURE THE FUTURE OF MOTORING IS UNDOUBTEDLY GOING TO INVOLVE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, BUT DOES THAT MEAN THE END OF HAVING FUN BEHIND THE WHEEL? AND WILL THE MINI CONTINUE TO GROW EVER LARGER, OR RETURN TO ITS SMALL CAR ROOTS? And so, after its seven-year life cycle, a fourth-generation MINI to replace the F56 arrived in 2020, right on target... Err, not quite. That would have been the plan back when the F56 was unveiled in 2013, but the world of motor cars has changed an awful lot since then. We’re in the midst of an electrification revolution; like it or lump it, the future automobile will have an electric motor and not an internal combustion engine.…

MOTORSPORT R53 COOPER S AUTOMATIC WEAPON WHOEVER SAID AUTOS DON’T MAKE GOOD TRACK CARS WAS A LIAR! KRIS KEEN PROVES YOU DON’T NEED THREE PEDALS TO MAKE THE R53 A FORMIDABLE FORCE ON A RACE CIRCUIT Words and photos JON CASS Some of you may recall we were invited to attend the R53 Owners’ Club track day at Blyton Park last summer, which turned out to be a fantastic, well-attended event with a great atmosphere. Our invitation came courtesy of Kris Keen, one of the founder members of the R53OC, and a proper nice bloke to boot. Kris also happens to own one of the coolest R53 Cooper S track cars we’ve come across. Despite his enthusiasm and dedication to all things MINI today, Kris became a relatively late convert to…

NEWS ELECTRIC JCW The future of motoring will undoubtedly be powered by electric motors, and the MINI Cooper SE is already proving that a small electric can be fun and exciting to drive. And while early-adopters of electric cars may get all teary eyed over the MINI Electric, it’s going to take something considerably more potent to convince dyed in the wool petrol heads to make the switch to plug-in power. Something like an electrified full-fat John Cooper Works version, perhaps? Well, that’s exactly what MINI have launched with the new MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW (MINI does love to give its performance models unnecessarily long titles, remember the MINI Cooper S with the John Cooper Works GP Tuning Kit?) The Pacesetter has been introduced as the new Safety…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI AN ICON IS REBORN THE FIRST NEW MINI MAY HAVE GONE ON SALE IN 2001, BUT THE STORY GOES BACK WAY FURTHER THAN THAT… It’s nearly 20 years to the day that the ‘new’ MINI first arrived; the official date the car first went on sale in the UK, and therefore the celebrated birthday for the new MINI, was 7 July 2001. Full production began at Plant Oxford a few weeks earlier on 26 April, but the full story of the new MINI goes back further than that. Way back. As with all motoring icons, replacing the classic Mini was never going to be an easy task, but that didn’t stop everyone trying. Over the years, the Mini had fallen under the ownership of some…

FEATURE R53 COOPER S THE PORSCHE OR THE MINI? THE DECISION IS LESS OF A DILEMMA THAN YOU’D EXPECT IF YOUR MINI IS A TUNED R53 Words BEN BIRCH Photos JASON DODD We’ve started to notice a trend at Performance MINI over the past year or so. Increasingly, petrolheads with decades of experience are coming away from big-power German or Japanese beasts and building quick, well-balanced hot hatches instead. Maybe it takes them back to their youth, maybe it’s a sign of increasingly restrictive roads – or even more restrictive financial situations – but hot Clios, Fiestas and MINIs seem to be highly desirable with a certain demographic right now. Someone who fits that demographic perfectly is Roger Gray, co-founder of B_Road Hunting Club. With a raft of tuned Audis…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI HISTORY SECOND GENERATION MINIS THE SECOND COMING AFTER FIVE YEARS OF PRODUCTION, THE FIRST-GENERATION OF THE NEW MINI NEEDED A REVAMP, SO BMW SIMPLY REPEATED THE WINNING RECIPE TO CREATE THE SLIGHTLY BIGGER, BETTER-EQUIPPED, AND MORE REFINED SECOND-GENERATION... After investing so much time and energy in designing and developing the new MINI, BMW wasn’t going to let it all go to waste when the time came to develop a replacement. Rumour has it that BMW originally intended the first-generation models to have a seven-year lifespan, but with the first new MINI selling so well, Plant Oxford needed updating to meet demand for building up to 240,000 cars per year. BMW figured that after such a major investment in equipment at the factory, it might as…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI HISTORY OF THE MAGAZINE WE WERE THERE WHEN… WE WERE THERE WHEN… THIS YEAR SEES PERFORMANCE MINI, FORMALLY MODERN MINI, CELEBRATE ITS 15TH BIRTHDAY. WE’VE BEEN AROUND ALMOST AS LONG AS OUR BELOVED MINI ITSELF, SO WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF ACTION OVER THE PAST 111 ISSUES. HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE HIGHLIGHTS… OCTOBER 2006 By the time Modern MINI first launched in August 2006, the second-generation R56 was already inbound. In the October 2006 issue we got our first drive behind the wheel. People were sceptical of the new car at the time, but we knew it would be another roaring success. JANUARY 2007 We’ve all heard of 1320 MINI’s staggeringly quick, quarter-mile monster, Old Red. But back in just our sixth ever…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI TIMELINE: THIRD GENERATION MINIS HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2013 TO PRESENT 1 NOVEMBER 2013 First third-generation F56 model makes its debut at Plant Oxford. 2 JANUARY 2014 F56 models go on sale in the UK as Cooper and Cooper S models. MARCH 2014 F54 Clubman, and F56 One and One D models unveiled at Geneva Motor Show. APRIL 2014 Third generation Countryman launched with optional All4 all-wheel drive including Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper D, Cooper SD. JCW models include All4 as standard. JUNE 2014 F55 models launched – the first ever five-door hatch MINI. Also, F56 Cooper SD launched. 3 JUNE 2015 F54 Clubman goes on sale in the UK. JANUARY 2016 F54 Clubman is available with All4 all-wheel-drive. MARCH 2016 F57 third-generation Convertible model goes on…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI HISTORY OF THE MAGAZINE OUR FAVOURITE FEATURE CARS OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS WE’VE FEATURED SOME PRETTY IMPRESSIVE MINIS IN THE MAG. THEY’VE ALL BEEN BRILLIANT IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, BUT TO CELEBRATE OUR 15TH BIRTHDAY, HERE ARE 15 OF OUR FAVOURITES FROM THE LAST 15 YEARS… ROLAND GARDINER’S TURBO’D GP When the first GP arrived in 2006 it was seen by many as the pinnacle of R53 tuning, and you’d be mad to mess with it. But that didn’t stop GT Tuning – they were already developing a turbocharger kit for the R53 (and even tinkered with twin-charging, using both the supercharger and an added turbo), and wasted no time fitting one to the GP, which we featured in the April 2009 issue. DREW…

PRODUCTS NEW GEAR CHECK OUT THE LATEST TUNING PRODUCTS FOR YOUR MINI… MULGARI F56 JCW PERFORMANCE PACK £1,625.00 Want to awaken the true performance potential from your F56 JCW? Of course you do, and Mulgari are here to help with their Performance Pack. Developed as part of the company’s famous ICON02 project, the kit combines Mulgari hardware (uprated engine mount, performance air filter, and larger core intercooler) with Peron Stage 2 software to deliver what Mulgari describes as smooth, linear, and useable power. The peak figures are given a healthy shot in the arm with the Performance Pack adding 65-75bhp, and the kit is available for both pre-LCI and LCI models. For more details, contact Mulgari. https://mulgari.com/ ZEROPOINTONE R53 AND R56 ZPO SHIFTER KITS From £750 New from ZeroPointOne are…

FEATURE MINI ONE ONE TO WATCH DESPITE ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN ENTRY-LEVEL MINI ONE, ELLEN WILLMOTT’S FIRST-GENERATION HATCH HAS EVOLVED INTO A SUPERCHARGED SHOW-STOPPER Words MARTYN COLLINS Photos MITCH BROWN With highlights including cool retro-modern styling, funky interior, quality build levels and keen handling – combined with affordable prices – it’s no wonder first-generation MINIs have become a sought-after choice for first-time drivers. That’s what happened to the owner of this MINI One, Ellen Willmott, who had been a MINI fan since she was 15. It might not look or go like an entry-level One any more, but believe it or not, this is still Ellen’s first car. “I always said I wanted one. But it wasn’t until after passing my test when I was 17 that my dad…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI TIMELINE FIRST GENERATION MINIS TIMELINE: THE FIRST NEW MINIS HIGHLIGHTS FROM 1993 TO 2007 1 1994 BMW buy Rover Group, and the first ideas for a ‘new’ MINI begin. 2 OCTOBER 1995 BMW and Rover design teams present concepts at the ‘Gaydon Showdown’. Frank Stephenson’s design was eventually chosen. MAY 1996 BMW hand over control of the new MINI project to Rover Group. SEPTEMBER 1997 New MINI shown to the public for the first time at Frankfurt Motor Show. JUNE 1999 BMW takes back full control of the MINI project, before Rover Group is sold off in March 2000. MAY 2000 MINI production moved from Longbridge to Plant Oxford (Longbridge sold off with Rover). 3 SEPTEMBER 2000 New MINI unveiled live on MINI.com website, and…

FEATURE R56 JCW VICE AND VIRTUE IT’S A LITTLE BIT NAUGHTY AND REALLY RATHER NICE; ANDY HOLMES’S JCW PROVES AN EVEN BLEND OF YIN AND YANG IS THE PERFECT FORMULA Words DAN BEVIS Photos JASON DODD The sins of the father, as the old saying goes, are to be laid upon the children. But it stands to reason that, in the spirit of karmic unity and universal balance, this concept works both ways: the virtues of the father must also be passed down unto the son, and that’s certainly what appears to have happened in the case of Andy Holmes and his R56 JCW. “My dad used to rally a Mini 1275GT back in the 1970s and ’80s, and he used to pick me up from nursery in it –…

20 YEARS OF THE MINI HISTORY THIRD GENERATION MINIS THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS THE MINI SHAKES OFF THE CLASSIC SHACKLES TO BECOME A THOROUGHLY MODERN MACHINE, INCLUDING PROVIDING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE ELECTRIC REVOLUTION By the time the third-generation models arrived in 2014, MINI was a firmly established brand in its own right. This meant BMW was able to cut itself free from any ties to the to original 1959 classic Mini and build a thoroughly modern car for today’s market. While the updates between the first- and second-generation models require a keen eye to spot the differences, the third-generation F56 three-door Hatch was an altogether different machine. Of course, it was still instantly recognisable as a MINI (retaining many of the core design features that appealed to so many buyers…

LIVING WITH THE MINI GP3 NOT EVEN SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES AND YET ANOTHER LOCKDOWN COULD STOP MARTYN SPENDING MORE TIME DRIVING THE NEW MINI GP3 Words and photos MARTYN COLLINS I have been lucky enough to drive the MINI GP3 twice before. Both on road and briefly on track, at an event in late 2020. This resulted in the first drive review we featured in the February/March issue of PM. While an hour’s drive over some interesting roads was enough to whet my appetite, I wanted to learn more about the fastest GP. A MINI still in high demand, they offered to send me the car for a week in early January this year. Brilliant, I thought. Then the virus did its best to get in the way. Firstly, with ‘Tier…

IN THE SCENE IN THE CLUB! LOOKING FOR A MINI CLUB IN YOUR AREA? TAKE A LOOK AT OUR DIRECTORY FOR ENTHUSIAST GROUPS NEAR YOU… NATIONAL MINI CLUBS BRITISH MINI CLUB www.britishminiclub.co.uk FULL ON MINI www.fullonminis.co.uk MINI COOPER REGISTER www.minicooper.org CLUBMAN ESTATE REGISTER www.clubmanestates.co.uk MINI TORQUE www.minitorque.com TOTAL MINI www.totalMINI.com GP OWNERS CLUB www.gpoc.co.uk 210CLUB FACEBOOK GROUP www.facebook.com/groups/210Club (Challenge210 Owners only) MINI MOVEMENT https://business.facebook.com/groups/MINI.Movement/?ref=gysj MINI COOPER OWNER/DRIVERS CLUB https://business.facebook.com/groups/504433849698049/?ref=gysj R53 OWNERS CLUB https://www.facebook.com/groups/154538898666141/ MINI Y-REGISTER www.miniyregister.co.uk 02 S REGISTER www.02sregister.co.uk MINIACS ONLY GROUP www.miniacsonlygroup.co.uk THE CLUB53 www.theclub53.com MINI BITZ - KILL ALL CHROME www.facebook.com/killallchromeminibitz BMW CAR CLUB GB www.bmwcarclubgb.uk MINI WHORES www.facebook.com/andy996sps JCW CLUBMAN UK REGISTER www.facebook.com/groups/1713021032320203 MODDEDMINI.COM www.facebook.com/groups/1727463463951925 SCOTLAND NEW MINI SCOTLAND www.newminiscotland.co.uk MINICLAN www.miniclan.com SCOTTISH MINIS www.scottishminis.com MINI MAYHEM SCOTLAND https://www.facebook.com/groups/200110513800064 IRELAND MINI CLUB OF IRELAND www.miniclub.ie MINIS…