Hi fellow R55 Clubbie owners! Happy to be posting this up in here...

Bit of back story... more than a few years back now I enjoyed my time in a couple of MINIs, including an R56 Justacooper in Pepper White and a very special 2006/R53 JCW in Chili Red/White. After spending time with the "practical car" being Bimmers in the intervening years... was time to move from the 2012/e82 135i M-sport DCT to something that could more readily haul stuff to the island cabin and fit parts boxes etc. (open-wide hatches are MUCH better than coupe trunks for this! Plus wanted something that could travel comfortably enough long distances to family and friends (relative to my beloved 1995 British Racing Green NA MX5 miata... perhaps not a high bar?), be useable year-round even in snowy winter (the miata goes into storage), yet remain a PROPERLY ENGAGING driver's car that would make me want to choose it to head out for a day of driving back roads the way my miata does.

After considering a few options it was pretty clear I wanted to be back in a MINI and there really wasn't anything else out there with the same driving experience and "character". For current needs the R55 Clubman was tops thanks to the slightly longer cargo area/barn doors and the club door making it easier for back seat passengers whilst staying comparably small (newer F55 is too large a footprint for what I wanted). So started looking and when I saw a 6MT Chili Red/Black with reasonable km (80,000 km) on the odometer, no significant rust anywhere, and some very desirable-to-me options (sunroof, anthracite headliner, Sport Package, 17" wheels, xenons, comfort package) at a fair asking price I decided to give this "little red wagon" a new home.

Have already done a number of what I call "welcome home" maintenance (oil change, new spark plugs, new cabin filter, new air filter, new struts on the barn doors) and as the previous owner had the windows tinted very dark had this removed and replaced with 80% "clear" tint as I do with all my cars.

Will be fitting mods in the OEM+ spirit so have some good plans for this little guy. The usual breathing mods, exhaust, and suspension (Ohlins) are planned as is of course one of our Corsa-D steering wheels in Alcantara/Perforated Nappa leather... that will be out of the workshop soon and fitted in the new year.

Meantime, some photos as it is in "winter mode" (will be looking for a clean set of silver-finish 17" wheels before spring... not sure what MINI wheel model yet or if will go lightweight aftermarket but planning is part of the fun, right?).



Even on winter wheel/tires already giving smiles exploring "real world" roads.

Chili Red cleans up nice for 8-yr old paint (real detailing will come in spring).

Clubbie drivers know... these doors are not just appealing "because quirk" but amazing for loading cargo and the occasional back-seat passenger.

Clean interior and the must-have anthracite (would have liked sport seats but will be adding the lumbar support to these at least).

The zingy N18 in stock/pre-mod form.

Yes, Amherst Island (Canada) is muddy this time of year (before it gets snowy) -- being able to drive this little guy all over and in all conditions is one of the great things I miss about MINIs... glad to be back!


The "little red wagon" joins the Pip the "little green roadster"... here exploring freakish landscapes this past summer.

 

Subscribed, because Clubman

 

love a good clubman!

 

Subscribing as well. Clubbys4Life 😉😋

 

If you haven’t done it yet I suggest doing the lower engine mount. Completely has changed how the car takes off and really is the simplest mod to do. I found the BSH lower mount for $90 on their site and that seemed to be the cheapest route, minus a new oem/ bushings from Way, which is about the same price with shipping.

 

Had a magical drive in the Little Red Wagon on xmas day. This is Amherst Island on Lake Ontario for those who know the area... pretty neat to combine fresh snowfall with the loud sound of waves relentlessly rolling in along the south shore!

 

Well... here is an update... of course our R55 is going to get a new steering wheel. Proud to show the Corsa-D we crafted for it in couple of photos we snapped at the workshop!

Couple of design thoughts that went into this particular wheel... it's the Corsa-D model so smaller diameter than factory and a proper flat bottom. We went with Peforated Nappa grips (I personally love that feel) with Jet Black Alcantara @ top/bottom. Specifically chose the "true/deep/none-more-black" Jet Black Alcantara colour to pick up the Piano Black trim that's in Little Red Wagon particularly the horizontal dash panels adjacent to the steering wheel's "horizontal" top/bottom sections. Stitching is the purposefully understated "Jet Black" to fit the theme of my R55 (I generally like it dark/subdued inside which is why I have the Anthracite headliner). And stitch pattern is the OEM-like "Baseball" pattern (very subtle on this wheel since thread is Jet Black). And we also prepped the Spoke Trim Set in Piano Black / Gloss Black to match the rest of interior accent trim panels.

Will of course post up more photos when it arrives and make time to get it fitted but thought my fellow Clubbie drivers would appreciate this "sneak preview"!

 

I love it, where’s the color at 12 o’clock?

 

Subtle

 

Thanks Jason! We do a lot of wheels with time attack stripes in all sorts of colours. I personally don't run them in my own cars (find them visually distracting... yeah, I'm weird like that lol).

 

Thanks man! Wanted a premium and subtly custom look that remains much "at home" in this R55.

 

Will you be producing them for others?

 

https://guardiandesigns.eu/ - yes, he has another post with all of this info.

 

hi Veelangs - You bet, that's exactly what we do for any gen MINI (and loads of other enthusiast cars). Check out our MINI steering wheel models at our store: https://guardiandesigns.eu/collections/mini

And our Instagram is probably best place to get lots of ideas (we post photos of completed customer wheels or customer cars several times a week):
https://www.instagram.com/guardiandesigns.eu/

Just send me a PM if you have more questions or want some design help on what would work in your 2013!

 

Small mod while waiting for bigger ones... swapped the stock dipstick for a Cravenspeed and much, much easier to read the oil level!


Stock versus Cravenspeed - I did check that they were both same length, just in case!


That the dipstick handle is red is a bonus for us Chili Red owners.

 

I like winter mods! Did you get the steering wheel installed yet?

 

winter mods are good, until you miss the one bolt your forgot to torque, while checking things over for her first dragon run.

im interested in the steering wheel as well, judging by the pic in the other thread you have been dealing with the white stuff.

 

Hey Nick & Jason - Not yet due mostly to lack of time but also because winter weather makes it not fun to spend time doing car stuff. I'll have some heated garage time this weekend and have a list of possible things to do so let's see what goes in. So, probably like you guys, it's been mostly about planning and ordering mods. Summer wheels to be ordered today.

 

That is some great work. Are you making the shift and emergency boot covers for the mini cooper's I only saw mazda.

 

Thanks for checking out our work! Yes, we can definitely do shift and brake boots for the MINIs to go along with the MINI wheels. We offer them because a lot of customers like to upgrade the center console with their new wheel... looks and feels great when the wheel and shift/brake leather and stitching colour or even pattern match up / complement each other. If you are interested then send me a PM.

 

I'm definitely going to reach out to you shortly.

 

Wishing my fellow R55s where here....

 

Ok guys - as promised - installed our Corsa-D over the weekend! After a quiet few cold months, felt good to be upgrading the MINI... especially something I can enjoy each and every drive.

For anyone curious or considering similar for their car, Corsa-D model is a true flat bottom D shaped wheel for more legroom, slightly smaller diameter for sporting turn-in, and great road feel through a chunky ergonomic rim. Design details on this particular one is perforated nappa leather side grips with Jet Black Alcantara top and bottom, Jet Black stitching in “baseball” stitch pattern. Oh, and spoke trim in gloss black to match rest of Piano Black trim in my R55.






And then I went for a drive on a twisty road near a hiking park we like to visit. The flat bottom really works on this chassis and now I look forward to the summer wheels/tires and suspension updates all the more!

It won't be mucky/sandy roads and winter tires for much longer, we all hope! lol

 

Looks great. Definitely need one of these.

 

I like it! I would consider it, but it’s just too close to my JCW steering wheel to justify the switch: