Close it
- Are you sure you want to sign out?
- Are you sure you want to delete?
- Announcements (1)
- Activities (0)
- Recruiting (0)
- Staff Changes (1)
- Banned Members (0)
- The Car Lounge (12)
- Car Maintenance (1)
- You ask, we help (4)
- Vehicle Recall (0)
- Audi (8)
- Bentley (3)
- BMW (11)
- Cadillac (2)
- Camaro/Firebird (4)
- Chrysler (3)
- Chevrolet (9)
- Caterham (2)
- Citroen (2)
- Dodge (2)
- Ferrari (11)
- Fiat (2)
- Ford (12)
- Honda (2)
- Hummer (3)
- Infiniti (3)
- Isuzu (0)
- Jaguar (4)
- Kia (0)
- Lamborghini, Bentley, and Bugatti (9)
- Lincoln (1)
- Mini (3)
- Mitsubishi (0)
- Maserati,McLaren,Morgan (0)
- Noble (1)
- Oldsmobile (1)
- Pontiac (6)
- Porsche (4)
- Subaru (0)
- Toyota (1)
- Volvo (3)
- Volkswagen (4)
- Other Cars (6)
Then Autocar contributor and design expert Hilton Holloway cut right to the heart of an issue with which BMW probably wrestles every day as it develops Britain's most famous automotive brand. Does Mini, he wanted to know, have to get “permission from history” for everything it does?
Henry Ford was famously dismissive of the value of history, but over at Mini they often appear to be obsessed by it. The current standard Mini hatchback is bigger and heavier than its 1959 namesake, but its appealing looks are a reinterpretation of the original, rather than something completely new.
When the estate model was introduced, BMW recalled a name from Mini's past, the Clubman, while the 2009 Beachcomber concept was clearly inspired by the Mini Moke. So it always seemed inevitable that BMW would aspire to replicate one of the most successful chapters of the original Mini story by going rallying.
The decision to enter the Mini into the WRC was only possible because a few years ago BMW for once ignored history and set about producing a Mini for which there was no precedent, a big four-door, four-wheel drive model called the Countryman.
(Message edited by fd5as4f56 On 08/30/2011 23:34 PM)
