Another week, another special edition announcement from British automaker, MINI. This time around it’s the MINI Convertible Highgate, a special edition variant of their soft-top, four-seater named after one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in London.

The MINI Convertible Highgate will be offered with two engine variants, the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S and will be produced for a limited time at MINI Plant Oxford. It will go on sale starting in spring 2012.

What sets the MINI Convertible Highgate apart from your standard model is its exterior paint finishes, soft-top colors and wheel designs made specially for the Highgate model. The new body color is called Iced Chocolate Metallic that has a subtle, bluish tint to it in the sun. The brown soft-top seen in the photos also has a light metallic sheen which is further enhanced by the brown/black hood stripes with blue edging. Other colors available for the Highgate variant is Midnight Black Metallic and White Silver Metallic.

The exterior mirror caps of the Highgate has also been match-painted while the 17-inch Double Cross wheels are exclusive to the special edition convertible. MINI mentioned that the wheels’ spoke arrangement has been inspired by the pattern of the Union Jack flag. The “Highgate” moniker can be seen on the side indicator surrounds, door sills and seat tags specifying that this MINI is indeed, unique and special.

For the interior, MINI outfits the Lounge Leather seats and leather Color Line elements are in Dark Truffle with light contrast stitching. Light blue piping, similar to the shade seen on the hood stripes, contrasts with the otherwise dark interior. Stainless steel can be seen on the pedals while a Chrome Line interior package cap off the stylish interior upgrades.

In America, the MINI Convertible Highgate can be ordered on the 121-hp MINI Cooper for $2,750 more than the MINI Convertible base price, or with the 181-hp MINI Cooper S powerplant for $2,500 more.

GALLERY: MINI Convertible Highgate

Here’s an idea: sponsor a blizzard and name it after a line of cars. That way when it snows, the weather man will be forced to advertise them, how could it possibly go wrong?

Mini is learning the answer to that question the hard way as you read this. It turns out that snow storms, much like hurricanes, are unpredictable and dangerous. So much so that at least 100 people are dead in the aftermath of what was supposed to go down in history as cold weather front “Cooper.”

Apparently, Germany’s meteorology institute allows people to sponsor weather systems. That’s what ad agency Sassenbach did to get their clients’ name in front of customers. Unfortunately, the consequences were grave.

According to the BBC, nearly 950 people are in hospital being treated for hypothermia and frostbite. An additional 100 are dead, mostly in Poland and Ukraine.

BMW is apologized for the stunt which only cost 229 euros, or about $300. Going with the cheap and unpredictable option isn’t something we expect from such a big company. After all, it’s sort of like being in high school and giving a homeless guy cash to buy beer for your party: impossible to control and probably dangerous.

Maybe next time they should look into the adopt-a-highway program.

[Source: BBC]

Named after an extremely vibrant area of London, the MINI Bayswater special edition is vibrant in its own right, focusing primarily on “the sporting verge and agile handling for which MINI is renowned.”

The special edition is available as a MINI Cooper or MINI Cooper S sporting a Kite Blue metallic exterior paint job, created exclusively for the Bayswater. On each corner of the MINI is a 17-inch Sandblast wheel with a high-gloss black surface. Those not entirely too keen on the bright blue can also order the Bayswater in Midnight Black metallic or Eclipse Grey metallic paint on the Cooper S model.

Those opting for the Kite Blue metallic, however, will also get a contrasting black roof and sport stripes on the hood and mirror covers. Bayswater lettering can be seen on the side indicator surrounds, door sills and seat tags, while the Punch Leather seats are refinished in an exclusive Rocklite Anthracite color. Two-tone contrast stitching can also be seen throughout the interior of the Bayswater.

That’s not all the interior gets however, as the Bayswater special edition also outfits the MINI with stainless steel pedals and the Chrome Line Interior package and the Pepper Pack. As mentioned before, the Bayswater can be ordered on the standard MINI Cooper with 121-hp or the MINI Cooper S with 181-hp.

In addition to the Bayswater, MINI is also offering a special edition Baker Street model.

GALLERY: MINI Bayswater Special Edition

BMW is currently cooperating with NHTSA to recall 88,911 MINI Cooper models that were sold between 2007 to 2011 for fire risk. Affected models include the 2007-2011 MINI Cooper S, 2008-2011 MINI Cooper S Clubman, 2009-2011 MINI Cooper S Convertible and additional variants manufactured between November 2006 to January 2011.

Back in summer of 2010, BMW began investigating reports of engine fires and the NHTSA opened their own independent investigation in October. It’ is only recently that the NHTSA has sought further assistance from BMW on the matter.

In total, NHTSA has received at least 12 separate complaints of MINI Cooper S models catching fire. Five of the fires reported have completely destroyed the vehicles while the rest have caught fire when the engine wasn’t even running. No injuries related to the fires have been reported fortunately.

NHTSA has recently found that the circuit board on the electric auxiliary pumps that cool the turbochargers are malfunctioning, causing them to overheat. At least 81 of these water pumps are known to have failed and four additional fires have been reported worldwide.

BMW will begin notifying affected owners next month, having needed time to get its supply and repair process in place for the number of recalls they’ll need to do.

MINI will make its way into the commercial vehicle market soon when it releases a cargo-oriented version of the Clubman.

The car, officially called the MINI Cargo, is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March and will essentially be the same as the Clubman (pictured above), but with the back seats replaced by a cargo bed and blacked out rear side windows. The release represents offers by parent company BMW to remain competitive and preempt the similarly-minded Fiat 500 Giardinetta Wagon.

Small commercial vehicles are already popular in Europe, other examples include the Ford Transit Connect, a compact panel van introduced in Europe in 2002.

While not particularly useful for large cargo, having small, efficient and delivery-specific vehicles is useful for small businesses that hinge on such a service. Expect more details to come on the 13-foot wheelbase bread truck soon.

[Source: World Car Fans, Auto Motor Und Sport]

MINI wanted to celebrate its return to the world of rallying with the MINI WRC Team in the FIA World Rally Championship by offering a new accessories package for Cooper S and SD Countryman owners. The MINI John Cooper Works Championship tuning package pays homage to MINI’s new rally star and gives owners a nice rally theme to their vehicles.

Features of the accessory package includes checkered-flag stripes and the number 37 on the side of the car, paying homage to Dani Sordo who currently drives in the WRC. In addition, side scuttles in a special package design are included alongside additional fog lights. To round it all off, a John Cooper Works aerodynamic package is included color-matched to the vehicle.

Available as an option are a set of double-spoke R129 wheels in matte black. The package is now available at MINI dealerships, but no pricing was announced with the press release.

MINI has announced that they will be entering the B-Spec racing class in 2012, with MINI of Charleston, a franchise owned by Hendrick Automotive Group.

The B-Spec car will be a base Mini Cooper Hardtop with a 1.6L 121-horsepower engine. The car will weigh 2,535 lbs and KW Variant 1 coilovers, upgraded brake pads and lines and a full roll cage system. The MINI will go up against the Honda Fit, Mazda2, Fiat 500 and other subcompact cars when racing begins next year.

[Source: Jalopnik]

MINI is finally offering Recaro seats as an option for their various models, but only in one configuration. The Recaro seat option will come in black Dinamica and leather only, but they are heated.

They will be available for all the MINI models except for the Countryman and Convertible. Pricing is set at $3,000 on Cooper models, while Cooper S and JCW owners get a slight price discount at $2,750. The option will be made available starting with March 2012 build vehicles. Recaro branding looks to be absent from the MINI seats, an unfortunate move given that most of the fun in ordering them comes from having the RECARO lettering stitched into the seat itself.

GALLERY: MINI Recaro Seat Options

[Source: MotoringFile]

If you’re a fan of the Mini Cooper, you’ll want to pick yourself up one of the Mini Cooper flash drives. Available in 11 historic versions of the iconic car, this flash drive will impress with its accurate attention to detail.

Made by Zero Basic, these flash drives will go wherever you go and make a geeky (yet cool) fashion statement.  Each Mini Cooper flash drive comes with 4GB of storage and boasts details that are truly impressive. Just a few include tire treads, working headlights (the headlights light up when the drive has power and they flash to signal drive access), front and rear license plates, door handles, windshield wipers and front grills, all of which are crafted meticulously. To plug it in, the USB plug flips out from inside the trunk with a switch found on the undercarriage.

You can buy the 4GB Mini Cooper flash drives GizmoAgent for $35.90.

The British hot hatch just got hotter. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 12 complaints were received in regards to MINI Cooper S engine fires, 5 of them resulted to total vehicle loss. Concerned that this is not an isolated incident, NHTSA has announced an investigation on 36,000 2007-2008 Mini Cooper S, Mini Cooper S, and 2008 Mini Clubman models.

The good news is no accident, crash, or injury were reported as a result of the fires. In fact, Eight complaints reported that a fire occurred while the vehicles were parked with its ignition off. However, as engine fire reports have increased in the past year, NHTSA submitted these complaints as Early Warning Reporting data in hopes to address the anomaly before more Minis are affected.

Mini’s parent company, BMW, has yet to return a message in regards to the matter.

NHTSA have conducted previous Mini investigations concerning power steering failures.

[Source: Detroit News]