MINI Draws Up on Rally HeritageWhile I am, and forever will be a fan of MINI, I will readily admit that
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| What do you think Sir Alec would think of this for his 100th birthday? (Photo: MINI Canada) |
there are many things I have still yet to learn about the history of the brand. For example, while I knew that MINI was famous for winning the prestigious Monte Carlo rally, fending off everything from Jaguars to Porsches, I did not know that they did it four times in a row from 1964 thru 1967. I also didn't know that 2006 marks the fortieth anniversary of this event, nor did I possess the knowledge that this very year marks Alec Issigonis' (the original Mini's father) 100th birthday, which, in my opinion ought to be a national holiday, given the many groundbreaking advancements his creation introduced to the modern automobile.
Aside
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| MINI has a grand total of ten forward-pointing lights. (Photo: MINI Canada) |
from feeling the direct need to pick up the phone and call a few friends to chat about my newfound enlightened state, the press release that contained this trivia also had some news which even the biggest MINI fan will appreciate, namely a brand new concept car. In the past few months MINI has been at every major auto show worldwide with some pretty creative vehicles on their display stands. Called the Concept Geneva, this latest iteration will be shown for the first time at, yup, you guessed it, this year's Geneva Motor Salon.
Concept Geneva is yet another variation on an elongated,
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| This is the third of the dressed up tourers. It also makes the most sense. (Photo: MINI Canada) |
so-called 'tourer' two-door wagon version of the MINI. It follows the Concept Detroit, a version tarted up for an active lifestyle, represented through a stars 'n stripes colour theme, while the Concept Tokyo brought quintessential British elements on board, including a nifty tea set. Before that was the car that started it all, the Concept Frankfurt, which laid out a blank creative canvas for which these thematic vehicles followed. By the way, the original car that these concept vehicles are based off of is the old Traveller, Countryman, and Clubman Estate, all two-door Mini wagons with Dutch-style doors at back replacing the standard tailgate. I take it they're trying to hint at something new they'll be adding to the lineup.
Given
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| Does being a rally service car mean that the MINI's no longer fit for fun? Nah... (Photo: MINI Canada) |
that the Concept Geneva's timing coincides with the Monte Carlo rally event, it makes sense that MINI has chosen to do a rally-themed vehicle. However, it makes little sense for MINI to be putting forward a bigger, heavier, and more cumbersome vehicle as a proper race machine. They've left that to the John Cooper Works GP, the stripped-out model with two-seats and even higher levels of performance. MINI also hasn't announced what powertrain the Concept Geneva will be using, though the hood scoop does suggest the 1.6-litre 170-hp supercharged motor. Instead, they've gone and made the Concept Geneva a sort of service, or support vehicle for a team that might be running a MINI in a rally race.
