...and they didn't really like it. Yes, for those of you who download the show or are in England and get to watch it, it is still considered cool based on its place on the "cool wall" (although the regular MINI has now dropped from its sub-zero cool status based on its over-popularity).

220lbs of extra weight, it still has 4 seats - those didn't score many points with the lads. Yes it handles great but they just felt embarassed to drive it. This is a complete opposite viewpoint from what they think of the hard top by the way.

I only have the full 300 MB episode and haven't found anyone who has just extracted that clip from it. It's very short frankly so you're not missing too much.

Regardless, if you have bittorrent capabilities and high speed internet, go download it yourself from http://gear.viper007bond.com - and if you don't know what bittorrent is or you're on dialup....well, maybe if you're lucky Fifth Gear on SpeedTV tonight will be reviewing it (Fifth Gear is the "other" major British car TV show).

However, if you want to download a video from 2003 where TopGear reviews the MINI (and some customized ones including the 275hp BBR Mini), right click, save targe as this link

If I see the convertible review posted, I'll post it here.

 

im trying to download the file but i cant figure it out. i download that ABC program so i could watch it but its not working...

 

bittorrent is tricky, and requires some configuration of your router (if you have one) to maximize DL speeds and not have it hog all your bandwidth. try searching on google for BT faq.

 

yeah i have the bittorrent device and it is going incredibly slow. do you know a way to optimize download speed?

 

enbable port forwarding on ports 6881-6999

 

My opinion.....

Ya gotta be awefully good to rank with those Top Gear guys.....I mean other-worldly good. However, given all the various opinions out there in the press and elsewhere the cabrio's pretty darn good. Its way up on my cool wall as are all MINIs and is likely to stay there. Ever seen one of those little buggars zip down the street?.......................very cool. Some lucky cabrio owners are gonna be having a blast this fall and I say "..........that's simply awesome!"

 

I have to say that Top Gear can be rough on cars, but they are mostly positive about British cars. The Mini Conv. however is in a class they love to call "hair-dresser" cars... they are mostly for show, not for "go". Being a Mini it is probably at the top of the hair-dresser car class, but who knows! Just as an FYI though... they classify the Mazda Miata as a hairdresser car too... and it is so close to the British style sports-cars....

 

I would imagine that drop tops are not as poppular in england with all there gloom and rain.

 

Yes Top Gear is harsh. But, give me another car show that is? Part of the benefit of being unsponsored and paid for by the public as far as government television is that you have the opporutnity to really speak your mind. Most others have to tip-toe around their advertisers to say some things but on the whole stay somewhat positive - you're not going to find that here.

In addition, they are so popular b/c they review so many exotics and way ahead of everyone else. How else are you going to really hear the engine of a Koenigsegg or see how it does around a track? How else will you know that repeated hard braking on the McLaren SLR will cause the brakes to glow and catch fire? How else will you know that under heavy driving, the new Ford GT 40 gets 4 miles to the gallon! Nobody else is really pushing cars to their limits, it's about time someone did and raise the level of expectations for everyone else.

Honestly, it's just a snapshot of the British automotive perspective. Maybe you have to be British or live there for long enough to understand it. I remember watching TopGear in high school over there. I would drool over the super cars and to this day they refuse to let me down. Every week they just out do themselves, I love it

 

I wonder what they would have thought of my old Geo Metro. But seriously... Clarkson said that he liked cheap cars. In a GoMINI article he said he'd just buy a One and re-chip it. Yeah, right...not after he drove that JCW. Those guys kill me!!!!!

 

yeah thats what im at right now and we are still goin pretty slow

 

what priority do you suggest it be at? does it matter?

 

Trust me, Clarkson's driven a JCW and other even more tuned up MINI's. The MINI was one of the finalists in his "Shootout" DVD last year so it's not as though he really hates it. I can see where they are coming from regarding the MINI cabriolet, I followed the one that was running The Dragon this spring.

Thanks for the Top Gear BT site. I was getting the eps of of Suprnova, not knowing where they originated.

 

Well I think you would be surprised at the numbers of drop tops here, its not always raining, and when it isn't the tops come off in big numbers, even in winter its not unusual to see a sports car with the lid off, and the driver all snug with Barbour jacket and flat cap enjoying the cold and damp air

 

just finished downloading and converting it using ABC

i kinda agree with some of the comments they had about the cabriolet but what do i know? i dont have one nor have driven or even seen one in person yet. im just not too pumped on the car becoming a convertable and slightly hinders how much i like the car now. i was kind of upset on how they moved the hardtop to the uncool section but i guess that can be good as well. the more people that think they are uncool the more rare and cooler the car becomes

 

do you know how they deal with the availability of these videos on the site? i want the nov 16 episode when they test the cooper s works and the bbr 275hp mini but it is unavailable at this moment. anyone know when it will be available?

 

they are released weekly. if it's not already available, on weeks where top gear isn't airing a new episode, they release an older one. jump on the forums though and make a request for it and someone will probably put it on BT for you.

 

thanks...