Actually, the R56 engine was built by the french

 

Real minis do not have engines designed by Chrysler, made in Brazil , or that were also used in PT Cruisers- give me a break!!! What could be worse, maybe an engine made by frogs! Fake, Fake, Fakes. BMW minis are just BMW marketing folks faking everyone out of $ who bought one into thinking they are mini folks. Sir Alec is probably spinning in his grave!

You want handling, real power to weight, a real drivers car that lets you become one with the road, one that you dare not leave the garage without and assortment of spare parts, one that keeps your specialist mechanic on your christmas card list and on cell speed dial! Power steering is for wimps, real throttles use a real cable! Get a classic - a real mini, the only real mini, the only car that can claim the name MINI.

Silly rabbits, trix are for kids!

 

My! We have veered a bit off topic, haven't we?

 

i was talking about the R53 engine not the R56

 

This is like saying that the R53 engine is built by the Americans since it was produced in a strategic partnership with Chrysler. The R56 engine was designed in a strategic partnership with PSA (the French), not built by the French. It was built in England by BMW at the Ham's Hall engine plant.

Thanks for reminding me of that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Arthur asks "If you are French what are you doing in England". That was a funny movie!

 

Count me in amongst the people who started with a '05 JCW, went to a '06 Porsche Cayman S, missed my Cooper, sold the Porsche, bought an '07 JCW(tuning, suspension, R105 wheels), drove it for 2000 and put it up for sale(see Marketplace,Ultra loaded JCW) after I bought a stock '05 MCS I stumbled onto for $14k with all three packages and 49k miles.Couldn't be happier and wish I went that route to start. R56 is an awesome car. Buy I wanted a "go cart".

 

Wowsers. After driving the cayman S I said to myself - "this is one car I'd definitely want over the MCS".

Thanks for sharing!

mb

 

I don't know if anyone's taken this view, but I've figured out why I love the R53 so much more than the R56...

Don't get me wrong though, I drove a JCW R56 at Prestige Mini when I took my R53 in for service, and it was definitely a good time. That rev happy turbo motor is fun to play with, but that whole visceral sense of the R53 isn't there.

Plus, the R53 is destined to be a classic, at least I think so. It's got that fundamental idea of British design (although it's really German, which ain't half bad either!) along with American go-power supplied by the Chrysler powerplant. It just makes me think about the Shelby Cobra and how that happened.

Maybe it's a ridiculous connection, but I think that's why the R53 is so intense, whereas the R56 is a more composed, "BMW-ified" sports car.

But they're both MINI's and I love em both!

 

We keep trying to kill the thread, but it keeps coming baaaaack!!!! Ahhhhhh!

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!!!!



Matt

 

Here's a huge difference IMO that no one ever mentions. The interior asthetics. The R56 seems to "modern" and toyish vs the R53 has a classic British sports car look and feel. ESPECIALLY the speedo. My #1 favorite thing about the Mini. I love all the numbers(MPH and KPH) and needles. At night it is the coolest thing ever!!! Why anyone ever took this(the heart and soul and signature of the Mini) out in favor of the hideous chrono pack or NAV is completely beyond me.The R56 speedo is big but thats not my complaint. Its EMPTY! All that space with no needles and just the MPH when theres room for KPH too. It lost the look and feel and classic old school sportiness.I like the R53 in every way better than anything I've ever owned. And that includes some nice Porsches, BMWs, and Lexus'. I plan to mod and drive the '05 until the last day I can order an '08 MCS/JCW and then drive that until the wheels fall off.Anyone who is looking for an R56 JCW please look at mine in market place. Virtually new and you won't find a nicer one anywhere.

 

I was talking to a R56 S owner yesterday and he and I both agree on that the worst single thing that MINI did was to take out the water temperature gauge and replaced it with an idiot light. Why in the world would you do that on a Turbocharged car?

 

Mowse, reading your post has made me want to go out at lunch time and take my 100% stock '05 R53 S for a spin!

 

Hahaha, come on Doc, it isn't so bad is it?

For a guy like me, new to the MCS, this is all very fascinating and intriguing. It's a debate that I'd guess is destined to go on so long as people like these cars. And it keeps things interesting. I wonder what the brass at BMW are thinking about for the 3rd Gen...

 

Mark

 

I love my R56 MCS Whew, that was tough.

Kidding. But seriously, I find it funny how people can completely trash the R56's aesthetics, build quality, and overall effectiveness and THEN turn around and praise and buy the newcomer MINI wagon, which is the exact same car just stretched! I'm not trying to step on any toes, but (IMHO) that thing's hideous and is one of what will probably be many slips away from MINIs staying mini. Is there something just being completely lost on me?

 

You do know the history of the Mini, right?

 

The Clubmans roots go back to the Mini Traveler. And like all variants/versions it appeals to different folks.

Mark

 

Indeed, I read in C&D that the car was originally a toss up between Traveler, Countryman, and Clubman. Traveler had too many issues with rights to the name, and the marketing guys felt it would detract from the "go-kart" rep of the Mini, if people were to drive something that makes them think of farms. Thus, Clubman it was to be

 

Yeah, I know the R57 is a knockoff of the old Traveler or Countryman or whatever it was called, just like the R50-R56s are knockoffs of the old Minis, but still. To me, it just looks...ugly. Then again, I've never been a fan of the wagon versions of any otherwise typical car. It's just a thing with me I suppose. It just floors me that someone could disparage the R56 so heavily yet be so anxiously awaiting its slightly distorted yet otherwise identical sibling.

 

Simple: Temperature gauge is for driving enthusiasts, idiot lights are for the masses. Same for the hood scoop: R53 serves a function to enhance engine performance... for the R56 it is decorative.. for the masses.

 

Don't bother going there, just enjoy whatever YOU like

Mark

 

Great advice! I'm doing just that, in my first ever turbo great-handling anything!

 

Oh gees there I go again, using smilies But he did like my advice

Mark

 

R55 - Clubman R57 - Second gen convertible due next year. Seriously, I have my quibbles with the second gen MINI. To me personally, the Clubman fixes some of the exterior design issues I have with the R56, especially the sides and back of the car. But if the Clubby gets to be too refined, I always will have the R53 on hand for the true enthusiast feel Look for reviews/criticism of the Clubman when I get it. After all is said and done, I am looking forward to it. Heck, I would even let my friend Slag1911 drive it!

 

Has BMW produced a MINI with crank handle windows and no Air Conditioning?