Hi all, I've been following this site for a long time. Now it's official.

 

If this is the real Frank that we all know from design then welcome. Post up some pics of your latest designs. And let us know how it was to work with the Rover Group for MINI in the early years.

 

Thanks! Yes, that's me, I'm the design director at McLaren now. The MINI story from my viewpoint would put War & Peace to shame, and a heck of a lot more gripping and entertaining for sure! ; )

 

Wow, if it's the real Frank Stephenson, it's awesome to have you on the site and posting, hats off to you and welcome!

If it's not the real Frank Stephenson, may you be relegated to driving a Smart car for the rest of your natural life and beyond. Be a huge letdown if you're scamming us, but I guess it would be kind of funny all the same...

So when are you going to write a book? Between BMW/MINI, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mclaren, you've got more than enough to interest a ton of people...

So how do you REALLY feel about the F56? Loving those headlights, aren't you? A five door MINI, that has to register. If you were desiging it, do you think it would've been possible to get a few more vents on the front grill?

 

No scamming, I don't have that kind of time on my hands. In general I have to say that I wish MINI design would have made a further jump into a more futuristic design language after the first generation. I fear they've painted themselves into a corner now, similar to the Porsche 911, and although they've branched out into some pretty different directions size-wise, I'd love to see a return to a small/fun/nippy MINI range, a cutting edge interpretation of a 21st century Mini. For creative designers and engineers in this day and age there are no limits, just challenges and out of the box solutions. We need to move car design onwards and upwards a lot faster than it currently is happening in the mainstream segments.

 

From a design standpoint I would be interested in your views on the Mini Coupe/Roadsters VS the new concept Mini Sports Car.

 

Interesting--and here many of us are complaining that the F56 has gotten too futuristic...Like the 911 stalwarts, many of us were blown away by the original R53, and have never gotten past that (I'm guilty of that myself). The more I think about it, I'd probably be happier with a more futuristic MINI, with clean, simple lines rather than keeping the basic shape the same but making it more complex, I hadn't really thought about it that way before. That being said, the 911 has done pretty well...

I still own my R53, and I'll never get rid of it--it's been heavily modified, it's a fantastic track car, and the R56/F56 don't do it for me (the Rocketman concept was intriguing, but that went to the wayside). The R53 struck a nerve with a group of tuners/aftermarket suppliers that was truly amazing; the R56 and F56 are more mainstream--I get that, but my heart will always be with the R53.

Did the R53 ever actually turn a profit by the end of it's cycle? Some of the construction process that makes the car so unique--such as how the bonnet was formed--has to be relatively expensive. What was the original thought behind the R53--was it a one-off labor of love that became a phenomenon to the point that the brand was continued almost accidentally, or a conscious effort to "test the waters" to determine wether it was a viable brand? Urban legend promotes the former, and the way it was developed seems to support that, but was BMW inclined to keep the MINI marquee going all along?

 

Welcome aboard sir. Thank you for what you for what you have done!

 

In my opinion the Mini Superleggera Vision is a pretty car, unfeasible for production, but pretty. That's maybe a good thing because as it stands, it ain't a MINI. It's oozes Italianess, not Britishness, and if they followed through with it, it would look like the Coupe's and Roadster's distant hot Italian cousin. A limited run could make sense but as a core model I feel a MINI has to have chilled out Bulldog genes in its blood.

 

Might you drop by motoring alliance.com

 

Frank. Can you tell us the story about the beer can or Coke can exhaust tip design.

 

Frank where are you from originally?

 

Sure, though I'm sure most of you know about it already. Is this a test to see if I'm me?
In a nutshell, I ran out of time to finish off the clay model's pipe and grabbed Colin Laing's (anybody here know who he is?) can of Bud', sliced it and polished it, jammed it into the clay and 2 years later I told the exhaust pipe finisher supplier that I needed that beautiful piece put into production. Bingo, the beer can true story then leaked out. Good thing they didn't "can" me for it... ; )

 

Born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco rum4. Norwegian/American dad and Spanish mother.

 

No test. Good story. Just wanted to know if there was any more to the story then posted around the web.

If you do have some latest drawings of design that you can post. That would be great. Or possible a MINI rendering.

 

If that beer can is still in existence, it would fetch a hefty price....

Bud though...Ugh. You guys could have done better there.

 

nice welcome

 

Thanks for the story. First time I ever read about it.

 

It still exists... ; )

I agree, it should be a crime to drink Bud in Munich of all places. Then again, a beer stein exhaust would've killed the design... ; )

 

 

Gotta say it's not my favorite MINI... ; )

 

Tell you what--I'll give you a six-pack of your favorite German beer for that can. Heck, I'm feeling generous...I'll make it a twelve pack.

 

Welcome to NAM Frank, it's an honor to have you join this fun site.
Would you share with us what you're driving these days? Is it a MINI, Mini, or McLaren, or something else entirely?

 

So, Frank, is there a building somewhere with a floor 7 1/2 and a portal into your design head?

 

Frank, thank you for the job you did on the R50 R53 MINI.