Owners of 2006 and later Mini Cooper S models rejoice: Superchips has announced an upgrade that will give you 20 more ponies and 19 more foot pounds of torque. US pricing has not been set, but based upon UK pricing you can expect the chip to be in the $700 range. You still have to drive in reverse to get the power to the correct set of wheels, but no you can do so even quicker.

Source: Carscoop

Mary had heard the rumors of Ted’s giant wiener, but their first date left her strangely unfulfilled.

Photo courtesy of You Drive What?

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.

Take a look carefully at the image above … what do you see? This isn’t exactly a Rorschach blot test, now is it? You’re looking at Daihatsu’s (a division of Toyota which makes Kei-cars like the Copen) homage to that classic British minicar … what was its name? It was so miniscule. Ah well, the name of that car escapes us, but at a minimum, the styling ain’t original. And this isn’t the first time Daihatsu’s gone and done something like this … make the jump to see the old Mira Gino.

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.

Suzuki SX4 Gains SportBack Sibling in 2010

Although when it arrives later this fall you might have a hard time distinguishing the new “SportBack” from the current SX4, don’t let that discourage you. It may look the same, but the 2010 SX4 SportBack will be accompanied by some welcome performance updates.

Opel Ampera

Unless you’ve been living in a cave on the Moon with your eyes shut and hands over your ears, you know that electric vehicles are the future. Not a week goes by where there isn’t some announcement about the car that will break the ties of petroleum oppression. For you, dear readers, I have assembled a list of some of the more notable entrants into the EV market with the pros and cons of each. From econoboxes to SUVs, grocery getters to exotics. Enjoy.

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.