With few exceptions, when given a choice between convertibles and hardtops we usually default to the latter as their performance tends to trump their topless brethren. Not to mention that wind buffeting tends to wreak havoc on our ear-to-ear comb over. Nevertheless, as summer fades to fall, it would be a shame not to single out some affordable convertible options that could convince even the most follicly-challenged among us to lay down an extra layer of hair spray and drop our tops.

They may look the same, and their names may sound similar, but Europeans know that there is quite a big difference in price and performance between a MINI ONE and a MINI Cooper. Nevertheless, for many city dwellers, the MINI ONE has proven to be a satisfying decaffeinated version of the MINI that we know and love here in America. Now an even more economical model called the MINI First, along with a diesel version of the MINI ONE are given the task of attempting to restart lagging European MINI sales.

If this car never happens, I swear I’ll kick and scream like a two-year-old. Here we have the Mini Coupe Concept, a celebration of the 50 year anniversary of Mini’s introduction to the public. Power comes from the same 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbocharged engine as in the Mini John Cooper Works. Horsepower is rated at 211, while torque can temporarily jump from 192 to 206 lb-ft by way of an Overboost function. The Coupe Concept is, in a few words, an “expression of MINI design and the great ability of the brand’s designers to fill the elementary values of the brand with new life, using the options of modern drivetrain and suspension technology, and developing fascinating perspectives for the future of the brand on this basis”. Follow the jump for the official press release and more photos of this chopped-top badass.

An Endless Number Of Options

The adornment of the MINI, either just the roof, or the entire vehicle is as much a part of the diminutive speedster’s heritage as its bug-eyed headlights. Of course, these days you don’t have to commit to repainting or permanently defacing your MINI to add a little flair to your life. And you can never have too much flair. MINI Motoring Graphics offers an endless number (they say 5 million) of options to cover part or all of your vehicle, meaning you don’t have to just settle for that tired old Union Jack.

The MINI E UK Research Consortium has won a £25m grant from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board in order to launch a 12-month field study of the MINI E’s real-world sustainability. Spearheaded by MINI’s parent company, BMW Group, the MINI E UK Research Consortium is comprised of several corporate, academic, and government organizations, including energy provider Scottish and Southern Energy, Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), as well as both the Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Joining similar projects already underway in the U.S. and Germany, the UK test project will bring BMW Group one step closer towards achieving Strategy Number ONE: mass-producing the electric plug-in MINI E within the next five years.

Source: Pistonheads.com

Father’s Day is coming up, and so we’re celebrating automotive dads and their little sluggers that got all growed up. Today, we’re profiling a family of little cars that changed the world: the Mini!

California resident Peter Trepp made a ripple in the hybrid world today when he became the first person on U.S. soil to take delivery of the new plug-in hybrid MINI E. Although singularly noted for his possession of the flagship MINI E, Trepp’s sinister quest to sacrifice as much performance as possible in the name of fuel efficiency will not be undertaken alone. Hand selected by BMW, a total of 450 participants (including Trepp) will receive their exclusive U.S.-spec MINI E’s this week, kicking off a year-long field study designed to gauge the MINI E’s viability in a real-world setting.

New And Old Harrison MINIs

A new reinterpretation of one of George Harrison’s own MINIs is being sold off  at a charity auction by his widow Olivia to support the Material World Charitable Foundation.  BMW commissioned the vehicle to be based on Harrison’s original 1966 MINI Cooper S that was given to him as a gift from manager Brian Epstein, and subsequently starred in the Beatles’ 1967 “Magical Mystery Tour” movie.  It was in the original MINI, that George and John are said to have had their first LSD trip……shocking.

2009 MINI Cooper

For those living in the extreme Northeast or Midwest you may not have the pleasure of waiting with eagerness for the “hot light” at Krispy Kreme to be lit.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t still enter the doughnut haven’s newest contest to win a new MINI.  To celebrate the Doughnut maker’s newest product, the mini doughnut, Krispy Kreme is running a sweepstake through the end of May for a new 2009 MINI Cooper. 

Please wash up before you eat your cake.

It was 50 years ago today, May 8, 1959 that you were born to your proud parents the British Motor Company (BMC) and Sir Alec Issigonis. You’ve come a long way since then, Mini. You’ve accomplished things that no one ever imagined you could. We’re quite proud of you.

You were developed in response to a fuel shortage in the United Kingdom; designed to be as small, practical and fuel efficient as possible. You were originally powered by a tiny, 898cc BMC A-Series water-cooled four-cylinder engine mounted transversely, driving your front wheels. Your suspension system utilized small rubber cones in place of coil springs which made you handle, famously, like a slightly larger go-kart (only slightly). You were released fifty years ago today and you became an instant hit.