Next-Generation MINI to Get Advanced New Engines

Upcoming 1.6-Liter Four-Cylinder Co-Developed with PSA

Flip through any car magazine or auto review resource, and you'll most likely find high praise for the MINI Cooper. Without a

The MINI Cooper is one of the finest compact cars ever built, and if there is any shortcoming to be found, it's perhaps the powerplant. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

doubt, it's one of the finest compact cars ever built, offering world-class levels of build quality combined with sports car driving dynamics, all wrapped up in a package that's as cute as a button. It tops many a journalist's top-ten favourites list (including this one), for the MINI is much more than a tool for getting from A to B, but rather is more of a state of mind.

If a weakest link can be found, it's the MINI's powerplant. As part of the car's engineering process, BMW would have loved to fit in its highly advanced 1.6 liter Valvetronic inline-four, but the engine simply couldn't be stuffed under the MINI's diminutive clamshell hood.

While the MINI is now a big seller for the German automaker, when initially in

BMW currently uses the Chrysler-designed, 'Tritec' 1.6 liter SOHC inline four to power all North American MINIs. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

development it was in the company's best interest to source a pre-existing, transverse-mounted engine that would be readily available and easily purchased.

The answers to BMW's cries came in the form of a Chrysler-designed, 'Tritec' 1.6 liter SOHC inline four. The motor, created in the late '90s, can also be found under the hood of European and South American Neons and PT Cruisers. This humble motor currently serves as the backbone to the MINI family, powering every model but for the Mini One D, which utilizes a small-displacement Toyota D-4D common rail turbodiesel.