check out the FUGLY new mini pictures on motoring file

http://www.motoringfile.com/2005/01/...eather_testing

and please, no more comments about "those are only prototypes, the real cars couldn't be so bad. trust bmw."

i don't who is more disgusting, those stupid european tree huggers and their nanny mobile pesestrian standards or the fools at bmw who don't realize that the beautiful looks of the current cars are an important element of their success.

the could have grandfathered in the current design if they didn't make a big cjange to the cars. but no, those idiots couldn't come up with a new model, they just HAD to redo the current one.

i suspect that the current cars will become classics and that the aftermarket will offer front ends for the new cars that look much more like the current ones.

i just wish i could tell off the bmw idiots in person:
"we don't want a golf and we don't want a scion xb and we don't want scaled down honda element. leave the car alone!"

 

What he said, with an added

Earl

 

I agree, i'm not very fond of the new design with the bigger hood and no hood scoop on the MCS. Still will be interesting to see what the finaly product will look like but i'm happy with my incoming 05' MCS and i think i'll be keeping it for a VERY long time. Even though i'll probably daily drive it till about 100k miles.

 

I don't think they had much of a choice with some of the re-design elements; they were done to meet forthcoming European safety standards.

The new MINI is supposedly only a few millimetres longer than the current one, according to the Motoringfile blurb, so it's still reasonably diminuitive.

The new grill also harks back to the more classical Mini design.

I think a new MCS hood minus the SC scoop, but with cooling vents would look very aggressive.

So long as they don't introduce the dual-headlights I'm a happy-chappy. Aftermarket upgrades for the new (turbo-based) engine should be cheap and very effective (apart from the JCW-sanctioned ones, that is ).

 

Looks like the front end of a dodge truck.

WTFBMW?

I wouldn't be so worried if there weren't three of them sitting there with the same front ends. I believe they intend for that to be the next MINI. Man, I'm glad we got an '05 on the way. :smile:

 

I can see where people are coming from that are saying that the new grille harkens back to the Classic Mini. The problem for me is that the new design elements (big *** grille, higher bonnet) seem to be crammed awkwardly into the current design rather than incorporated aesthetically into a new design. Kind of like the sort of stuff you see coming out of bad aftermarket shops. The proportions are just all wrong, and the parts don't fit together in a cohesive way. If you look at the front end of the 2002-2004 Cooper, it's just a beautiful car. There's not really any way to imagine improving upon it, at least from my point of view. This redesign doesn't seem to even begin to approach that kind of perfection.

As everyone's been saying, hopefully this is a just a function of the prototypical status of the cars that we're getting photos of. I'm willing to hold out hope until we get actual daylight photos of the actual planned production versions. So far the news is not encouraging, though, and this time we don't have photoshop to blame.

 

Maybe BMW should be reading this. I read quite a few posts where people have traded their 02, 03, and even 04s for 05 and 02s for 04s etc. It looks to me like people may do like me and just keep my 03

I really love my 03 and it would take a major improvement to get me to trade and from what I can see this does not look like an improvement at all

Earl

 

is it me or does anybody else not really notice a difference at all. ive had two minis so im very familiar with the way they look. a 2004 MCS and a 2005 MC. these prototypes look just fine. ???????????? the bonnet MIGHT look abit higher, but it does not look higher than the current MCS bonnet. i hope people dont like them...thats less of a wait time for me in 2007.

 

Relax!


The final production R56 MINis are still well over a year and a half away of public unveliling, so while the "spy" photos and what not are good for entertainment, they don't provide an accurate portrait of what the finalized product will look like.

I remember the same negative reactions about the convertible test mules found in spy photos scattered around the internet and people cursed and sweared that that was a fugly car because they had chopped up the roof and the fabric roof was horrible, etc, etc.

The final product looked much better than the hundreds of "scoop" pics and hacked Photoshop jobs before it.

The truth is that if you don't like the upcoming R56 you don't have to buy it! If you prefer the current R50-53 cars that is fine too!

No one outside of BMW's Munich headquarters has seen the "production" R56 and much less have driven one, so lets back down a little bit and reserve our emotions until we all can get to see and touch the final product in person.

 

As an old guy, it's kinda ironic to see European regulators mess up design much like American regulators did in 1975 with the 5mph crash bumper (remember the 1975 MGB?). It will be interesting to see if the divide between 1974 and 1975 cars happens with 2006/2007 cars in the future.

 

Is it me or does the MINI on the left look like a Dodge Ram Pickup from the the front?

 

When I examine the photos I only see minor differences here and there. It doesn't seem like much has changed. So, why do they look so different??? To me it seems like all the minor changes somehow add up a major change in the appearance of the car. Personaly, I don't like it.

There was talk of styling changes when I first bought my '03. I said at the time, that the only changes I was interested in, were changes that made the MINI more fun to drive. I don't think the styling needs to change.

I just traded my '03 for an '05 because it actually is more fun to drive, and I can tolerate the styling changes. The increased HP and the new gearing are great. I thought the worst styling change was the headlamp reflectors, but it didn't significantly change the character of the car as much as all the minor chages I see in those photos. My '05 may be a keeper.

 

Boy am I glad I Just got my MINI. I know they are forced to do alot of these changes but ...come on! thats ugly.

 

Am I hallucinating or does that look like a front mount intercooler?? Hard to tell through that hideous grill!

 

I wouldn't mind the big grille if it was a massive front mounted IC, and a AWD car with 250 HP !!!

But that's NOT likely

It would help if someone got some pics with the lights on!!!

 

OK, this picture helps me pin down why all the 'minor' changes look so different. Maybe its the snow or the shadows, but the headlights appear to be inset, and the 'fenders' look like they roll in from the sides onto an almost flat hood that slopes straight down to the top of the grill. I looks more sloped and less curvey than the current front end. It looks more like a 'sports car' and less like a MINI Cooper. ...and then there's the grill.

 

Add the high hood/recessed headlamps as required by goverment safety mandates...and this is what you get Good for the jay-walkers, bad for design We'll see how bad it all turns out when you put one next to the first gen. I wonder if this is the end of the low front ends on Ferraris?

 

At this point, I'm not a fan of the larger grill, but I didn't buy my Mini because I thought it was a great-looking car.

I do think there will be some division between early MINI owners and later MINI owners if the changes are as radical as they seem to be.

Yes, everyone will still get along and play nicely together, but I think there will be early MINI owners who think they got the purer deal contrasted with later MINI owners who get what may be a faster car.

 

Well when ours are classics and theirs are the 2nd generation we'll see whos right

 

I hope that these Euro pedestrian safety regs won't make EVERY sexy car ugly in the front.

 

It kinda looks like a new T-Bird was violated by a Dodge Magnum..and this is what came out.

The horror.

 

I agree,and at this point they are still refining as they go.I'm sure the designers are just putting rough stuff on the test cars to get them rolling.They are testing the performance of the car,not it's looks yet.
I hope

 

The drag coefficient of the entire European continent just went up

 

Let's face it Frank Stephenson the designer of the new MINI (for Rover) jumped ship and is now with Ferrari/Maserati. Chris Bangle is unfortunately still the design guru with BMW, ergo what did you expect people? Certainly not another classic design coup. Throw some new Euro regs into the mix and voila, instant mediocrity. Oxford had to increase the size of the production plant to meet market demand for the current MINI, looks like we may see some lay-offs come '07.

 

So true... SO true