CNN article…( click the pic )
-I hope this isn’t the start of continual upsizing of the Mini. It could
turn out like the old Ford T-Bird, cute & sporty in 1956/57, then fed a diet of cubic yardage, horsepower and sheet metal until it became a monster. A too-big Mini might look like the AMC Pacer,-O.K. for Halloween pumpkin-themed events though as the Pacer kind of looked like one.
It would eventually become a rolling irony.
I was glad to see they have finally updated the Lamborghini… 
When I read the title of this thread, I thought that someone had made a stretch limo out of a Mini…
I came on to this thread thinking it might be some sort of trap designed to lure me in…
The New MINI, IMHO, is still a decent car…but it’s not a Mini. Minis are Minis, MINIs are MINIs; MINIs are not Minis…
as far as the “stretched” MINI is concerned, it may be an attempt to move towards imitation of other older Mini models, such as the Mini Traveler and the Mini Clubman Estate which were longer station-wagon-type Minis (there was even a Mini Pickup Truck for a few years). I know for a fact that MINI/BMW is planning a New MINI Traveler hatchback, so I suppose they’re trying to move in that direction…
I dont think that the idea is to fundamentally change the MINI (I sure hope not, it’s already too much of a departure from the Mini), just offer more variety in the MINI like the Mini used to offer. (I hear tell that there might even be a New MINI Clubman sportscar soon too!)
Anywhoooo, there’s a Mini pseudo-expert’s take on the situation…
Edited to add:
By the way, as far as the MINI Limo is concerned…
gotcha covered there!
Slowly, but surely, the Mini Cooper is becomming an oxymoron. 
Morris Mini Traveller, a small station wagon version of the original Mini that was sold in the 1960s.
The “Morris Traveller” (can’t remember being a Mini in the name at all) is the first car i can remember being in. And i’m sure it was the estate version of the Morris Minor? I believe all the tooling and everything was sold to a company in India that’s still making them - or at least the bits to build them with (could be wrong though - i usually am 
).
And i love the old style Mini’s myself, 850 cc engine that anyone with a manual could repair and service very easily. These oversized modernised things shouldn’t be called Mini’s at all.
Rant, rant, rant!!!
CNN is partially mistaken, in that it was not just a “Morris”. Austin also produced the Mini, and the Traveller.
Here are some examples…
That’s the Traveller estate…
Here’s a Mini Clubman Estate…
British Motor Heritege has retained all the original workings to produce Minis (all models) in their original forms…they are still produced, albeit in parts only, in the UK. Any part conceiveable is still available brand new…if one were so inclined, one could build a brand new classic Mini from the ground up (not to terribly difficult if one is mechanically inclined, then you could tell your friends you have a 2005 Classic Mini!)
edited to add;
ps…I hate the 850cc…underpowered and inefficient…upgrade to a 1275-S engine and you’re in business! My current Mini has a 1098cc bored over to 1171cc…close enough!
Ya think? 
Its what I thought when I saw it on CNN’s front page!
I always get a chuckle when I see pictures/shows from England showing people sitting (more like crouching) in these silly little cars, with their knees jutting up on either side of the steering wheel, and their butts inches from the road surface. I’ll keep my gas guzzler, thanks.
djm
Mini-Magnum.
I’ve got more leg room in my Mini than I have in my Eagle Talon or my Toyota Corolla GT-S…it’s about the same ammount of leg room as in my wife’s Grand Cherokee.
Cherokee? You have a Just Empty Every Pocket? Too small for me. I ride a 94 Yukon. Sitting any lower hurts my back. I would never go back to anything with a smaller cab than this.
djm
Yeah…not completely proud of it, but for a V8 it gets stellar gas mileage (about 25mpg if we’re careful…hell the way my wife drives, I’m surprised it’s not better than that! 
), but only because I’ve custom tuned the thing to be as efficient as physically possible.
Too small for me. I ride a 94 Yukon. Sitting any lower hurts my back. I would never go back to anything with a smaller cab than this.
djm
dont tell me you want an H2…
that’ll catapult ya into 6mpg-land faster than owning a top-fuel dragster .
(As a side note, I have a buddy who has a Chevy Avalanche and the idiot keeps whining about how much it costs to fill his damn tank… I tell him he oughta sell it and buy something with a smaller engine…you know what he says?
“But it’s my truck!” 
Waaaaaaaa…someone call the waaaaaaambulance! )
Anywhooo, about your back…have you tried a Subaru Forrester? My mother just bought one of those (she has all but three vertibrae fused in her back and is very particular about how she has to sit) and she loves it.
They sit quite a bit higher than any normal car, but folks that I know who own them report getting 30mpg or better out of them.
Edited to add…
P.S., the Forrester alson comes in a 260hp turbo model that just plain ol kicks ass too! I
Was there a wood shortage in the UK at this time? I looks a bit odd to me that they would have just enough wood to call attention, but not finish the “woody” look.
“Clear the forests!” US look:
“Careful now!” UK look:
Of course there is enough wook on a 1936 Ford “Woody” to built a couple of wood minis.
dave boling
If you want to get off the ground, and have that all-powerful presence in traffic, I recommend my part-time current ride:
Weight: 37,900lbs (17191 kg)
Length: 401 in (10.18m)
Wheelbase: 210 in. (5.33m)
Turning Circle : 100 in. (front 4 wheels turn)
Engine: 450hp Turbo Diesel
The only other SUV I would consider is a Damlier-Benz Unimog:
dave boling
ooohhhh, yeeaahhhhh, make-a feel like-a REAL man!!!
No, I feel no need to be a mocha man (or a Village People for that matter). If you get a chance to sit in a Yukon/Suburban notice how high and straight you can make the seat, almost like sitting in a regular chair. If there was a car that had the same size cab and seating I would have gone for that instead. I have no need for a truck’s power, but the road height is a nice bonus. Gas mileage is a secondary consideration to comfort for long haul driving.
djm
A UniMog with multiple power take offs, front and rear YES!!!
This is mine. I love her. Name’s Millie.
