Mini Works unveiled

By Ben Barry Motor Shows 08 March 2007 01:29 Three new Minis shown at Geneva BMW unveiled several world-firsts at Geneva 2007: a Works kit for the new Mini, the entry-level One, and the new Mini Cooper D. The new Works option is an aftermarket job for the new Mini; it increases power of the Cooper S to 192bhp and adds numerous styling tweaks. A more powerful Works version, which will be built on the production line and boast more than 210bhp, will be added later, officials promised.

Ferrari 458 Speciale with active aero debuts at Frankfurt

The only thing better than a 458 is, of course, a lighter, stronger and more aerodynamically efficient 458. Toward that end, Ferrari unveiled the 458 Speciale at Frankfurt, a successor of sorts to the Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, previous specials that, as good as they were, wouldn't last a race on the same lap as this one. “This is the most powerful V8 Ferrari, never made before,” said Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who still speaks much better English than we could ever hope to speak Italian.

Next generation MINI Countryman to arrive in 2016

The next generation MINI Countryman to arrive in 2016 (current model pictured) We’ve recently had the arrival of the all new MINI, and the next year or so will see the roll-out of a succession of takes on the new MINI. But that process of building a MINI for every possible niche won’t complete until the MINI Countryman (and its coupe sibling, the MINI Paceman) are replaced. That now looks likely to happen in 2016 as, according to Automotive News, BMW is to end production of the MINI Countryman and Paceman at Magna Steyr in Austria in 2016 and move production of the Countryman and Paceman to Oxford and the new MINI Plant in the Netherlands.