MINI by Rolls Royce: Posh Limited Edition Model Revealed Ahead of Shanghai Show

A couple of years back, we shared some scoop photos of a prototype MINI with styling elements from Rolls Royce models. A company spokesman had then confirmed that the car was real, but to the dismay of many fans, he said that it was a one-off for a special dealer event. If you happened to like the idea of a Rolls-Royce-flavored MINI we have some good news for you as the British company will premiere a special edition model at the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show next week.

The limited production model is called “Mini Inspired by Goodwood”, with the name paying tribute to Rolls Royce’s headquarters. Only 1,000 examples of the special Mini will be built at the British firm’s Oxford plant, with first deliveries to take place in the spring of 2012.

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MINI Officially Launches WRC Team, Unveils Countryman Racers

MINI's preparations for the brand's imminent return to the World Rally Championship have culminated with the official launch of the team less than a month ahead of its first WRC event, the Rally d'Italia Sardegna (May 5 - 8). At the company's plant in Oxford, England, the MINI WRC Team unveiled its two MINI John Cooper Works WRC cars, the driver/co-driver lineup and its plans for 2011.

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BMW Group Smashes Monthly Sales Record in March with More than 165,000 Units

The BMW Group is on track to reach new records in 2011 with the company posting its strongest monthly sales ever in March. The Bavarian automaker delivered a total of 165,842 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles in the past month, not only significantly beating the figure for March 2010 (141,717 units / +17%) but also the previous sales high of 152,721 vehicles recorded in December 2007. March sales rose in Europe by 7.8% to 93,540 vehicles, in Asia by a whopping 52% to 35,048 units, as well as in the Americas by 18.6% to 32,020 vehicles.

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VIDEO: When in New Zealand, Beware of the Most Annoying Mini in the World

Did you ever think about adding on some harmonicas to your car's bodywork? Of course not; you don't want people in your neighborhood to vandalize your car. The folks from Mini New Zealand, however, decided to stick 300 harmonicas on a Mini Clubman, just for the sake of a marketing campaign.

Once the job was finished, they created an interactive app on the local Mini website that allows visitors to combine the different sounds from the Mini Carmonica's adventures and create their own compositions. Creative marketing or the result of boredom? Who knows, but one thing's for sure; many of you will definitely turn off the sound after the first seconds of the video below…

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SCOOP: 2012 MINI Coupe JCW Remains Remarkably Faithful to Concept Model

Given that BMW Group officials recently confirmed that MINI’s new coupe model will arrive in the market before the end of the year, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that the company is gradually stripping away the camouflage from its test cars. Spotted here by our scoop photographers in Germany, is the most potent version of the MINI Coupe lineup, the John Cooper Works model that’s easily distinguished by the aggressive body kit with the flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.

MINI first showed the Coupe and Roadster models through a pair of concept cars at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. As predicted, the production version of the Coupe has stayed remarkably faithful to that show car’s design. In fact, with the exception of some very minor details such as the grille and the tail lamp crystals, nothing else has changed, including the shape of the top that’s supposed to resemble a baseball hat worn backwards.

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MINI Launches New USB Flash Drives for the Car Gadget Geeks

For all you MINI fans and car gadget geeks, BMW’s British subsidiary has released a new collection of USB flash drives. The data storage devices come in three unique shapes: an 8GB stick in the form of a MINI ignition key with an illuminated ring; a 4GB unit in the shape of a bulldog, which is said to reflect the firm’s British heritage, and a dual-purpose liquid mouse with a white MINI miniature swimming around in a two-tone, transparent orange fluid. More photos after the jump.

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BMW Confirms Plug-in Hybrid Version of 5-Series for China as well as New 3-Cylinder Turbo Engine and 2012 1-Series

For the past few months, we’ve been hearing various rumors about BMW’s future plans, but today, the German automaker came out with official details at a press conference in Munich starting with the debut of a plug-in hybrid version of the China market 5-Series at next month’s Shanghai Auto Show.

“A highlight at the Shanghai Motor Show in mid-April will be the presentation of our New Energy Vehicle, said BMW Chief Executive Dr. Norbert Reithofer. “This model will be our e-car from China for China – a long version of the BMW 5 Series as a plug-in hybrid. This car will benefit from the strength and the excellent reputation of the BMW brand.”

Reithofer confirmed the presentation of the production version of the MINI Coupe, first seen as a concept model at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, and the second generation of the BMW 1 Series, both of which will be launched this year alongside the new M5 sports saloon and the 6-Series models.

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