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Introduction
In 1961, an F1 designer named John Cooper came across an unusual front wheel drive British car that handled like few other cars during that time, and stopped on a dime. He immediately joined forces with the struggling car company and from the failing Austin Mini came the soon to be famed Mini Cooper, and later, the Mini Cooper S. The little MCS grew in popularity quickly, partially due to the amazing success they had in racing circuits all over the world, and partially due to the trend setters, with celebrities such as Ringo Starr and Enzo Ferrari buying custom Mini Coopers. This little car took Europe by storm, with the steady addition of newer, more powerful engines, until the company was purchased by British Leyland, and they opted to drop the Cooper name from the line, and went away from the performance market in 1969. After that, the next 31 years of the Mini line were very hard, with lows in sales, and added model lines in an attempt to bolster sales. In 1985, the Mini name was sold once again, this time to the Rover Company. Five years of relative poor sales brought Rover to hunt for a way to boost sales, and much like the solution some 29 years earlier, the John Cooper name was added to the line. The new Mini Cooper had a distinct look, as well as a bigger engine. Unfortunately, even the addition of the Cooper name could not keep the line profitable, so in 2000, Rover announced the discontinuation of the line altogether. For the first time in forty-one years, there were no Mini's being produced, but that did not last long. Less than a year later, the all new MINI was released by the BMW corporation, thought to be little more than a novelty release of a once very popular car.
Little did they know that this new MINI would explode with the amazing popularity by both people wanting a car to take to the track, or just a sporty, efficient car that will still seat four people. The MINI has proven to be a car for buyers of all ages thanks to its size, and optional supercharged engine. Worldwide popularity of this new car, over the past 4 years, have left the buying public asking, "what's next?" Well, we have an early look on what exactly is next from the people at BMW, with some help from others.
While very few MINI owners have much to complain about, BMW has taken the ideas from the old Mini models, and from the public opinion to design the new next generation of MINI. This new MINI, the R56, not only has redesigned the MINI that we are all used to from the people at BMW, but they have added a new series, like the older Mini's offered, the Clubman. The R56 offers a few slight changes to the interior, as well as some additions of modern amenities, and a few minor changes to the exterior. The biggest changes of the R56 are not in designs you can see, but instead, design you can feel. Two new engines, including a new type of induction, and a possible third new engine highlight this new generation of the MINI.
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