INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Nostalgia rules with modern incarnation of pin-up darling
Mark Smyth is considering selling internal organs to get his hands on a Mini Remastered
When BMW launched its reinvented Mini in 2001, the car’s designer, Frank Stephenson, was adamant the new model had to look like a Mini. Granted, it was bigger than the original and since then it has grown even bigger and don’t even get us started on the bus that is the Clubman. Stephenson did succeed in recreating the look of the Mini in many respects, as well as the famous go-kart handling. Since then the brand has been a runaway success, making more money for BMW than stealing a load of gold from the Chinese and legging it out through a gridlocked Turin. Real fans If you don’t understand that reference you are not a real Mini fan and can go back to pottering around town in your Japanese hatchback. If you did, then you understand just how difficult it was for BMW to get it right. The original Mini, or the real Mini as some might say, is an icon. Not just an automotive icon, but an absolute icon. I’m slightly biased of course, partly because I’m British and all British motoring jour...
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