There's no doubt that overall, from almost any standpoint, BMW's Mini has been not just a home run, but a true 
automotive grand slam, possessing that rare combination of attributes which attracts people to a car, truck or motorcycle. Mini has done it all, and with the Mini Clubman (station wagon/panel truck) and Cabrio (convertible) and Mini S high-performance versions out and about or coming to the US soon, many enthusiasts have been conjecturing about just what Mini would do next.
Well, we have the answer for you. What did every other car company in the world do about ten years when planning for their next new model? Well, of course --- Bring out a new SUV! That's right, Mini is going to introduce their version of the standard big, boxy and bulky American-style SUV, and it being a Mini, of course it will be different from those "other" SUVs. First off, it won't be called a "SUV". No, the Mini SUV is a SAV ... Sports Activity Vehicle (well, shades of parent BMW --- We expected their Mini division to be a bit more original when it came to naming the new vehicle, but there's nothing wrong with going with what's been proven to work). Mini's SAV (photo) should prove popular as it'll no doubt be cute-as-a-bug, remain small and be as fuel-sipping as ever.
The original Mini was designed in the UK as the result of the British government, their island then in the midst of a fuel crisis due to the blockade of the Suez Canal, asking car designer Alec Issigonis to create a car which could seat four adults, carry a weekend's worth of luggage and, most important, get fantastic fuel mileage. Of course, nothing like a 'fuel shortage' would ever affect us here in the USA, and anyway, the government should never get involved in car design for any reason (said with tongue firmly in cheek). Sir Alec's car lives on today as the Mini (and the Fiat Cinquecento, aka the Fiat 500, throughout Europe).
Mini, in its early days, excelled in many forms of road and rally racing, even winning the Monte Carlo Rally. Over 40 years ago, an Irishman named Patrick "Paddy" Hopkirk propelled the Mini Cooper S through the twists and turns of the Alps into the record books. For in 1964 Paddy and the Mini took home the trophy for winning the Monte Carlo Rally, one of the world's greatest races. (Photo above --- Mini wins the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally, and Princess Grace Kelly and the royal family gather to honor the car and driver; doesn't the car looks awkwardly out of place, but happy nonetheless?).
Mini now stages a race series for customers and professional drivers. It's run for the past three years in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Germany. Called the Mini Works Challenge, Mini has updated its John Cooper Works Challenge racecar for the events (photo), which is now powered by a 207-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter engine (this Mini used to be equipped with a supercharger, dropped in favor of a lighter and more reliable turbocharger; turbochargers also do not drain horsepower from the engine due to "parasitic drag" as superchargers do. The supercharger, driven by a crank or belt off the engine, uses up some of the engine's horsepower to operate. Turbos utilize pressure from the engine's exhaust to operate). The Mini JCW Challenge racecar makes its track debut in Australia in early 2008. Mini claims a 0-60 acceleration time of less than 6.1 seconds, with a top speed of 149 mph. That's the fun hi-po news, now for more on the recently-discovered Mini SAV:
Since an SUV will be of particular interest for the U.S. market, BMW’s California based Designworks Studios have already given the variant much thought and effort. But when it comes to actual production, Magna Steyr, a large automotive manufacturing company in Austria, whose products range from simple to complicated parts to entire vehicles and engines, will build this off-road version of the iconic Mini, according to Automotive News. Magna Steyr's contract to build the BMW X3 SUV at its Graz plant expires in 2010. Then the contract-manufacturing plant would switch to making the new Mini Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV), sources said. About 80,000 units of the crossover are expected to be produced annually.
The Mini SAV, code-named Colorado, will be a five-door crossover slightly longer than 4,000mm. The Mini 
SAV will be offered with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The platform is expected to combine the existing Mini engine bay and front suspension with a new central and rear platform that will redesigned to house a transmission shaft for the all-wheel-drive version. The Austria-based company builds cars and trucks on contract for BMW, Mercedes, Saab and other customers, including Jeep and other models for European Chrysler showrooms. (Photo -- Mini Clubman wagon).
Magna Steyr has produced BMW's X3 vehicles since the model’s 2003 introduction. BMW announced in May that the second generation X3 will be built in-house at its US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it builds the X5 and X6. The second-generation X3 is scheduled for introduction in 2010.
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