In this latest MINI United interview we get an exclusive sit down with Dr. Kay Segler, MINI brand vice president. We talk MINI United. Motorsport, and the new MINI Challenge race car among other things. The latter will be the big take-away for many of you. Listen closely as Dr. Segler talks about the “new heart” of the MINI that will debut with the MINI Challenge car and that will eventually make it’s way to a new JCW product. All fascinating stuff for those of us who follow the brand.
Count this interview as a personal highlight of mine from MINI United. Mr Hildebrand is not only the head of MINI design but a charming (and at times humble) personality who you can’t help but be disarmed by. We talk about what went into designing the R56, how big a MINI can be while still a MINI and we even touch on the often discussed center stack of the new car. For anyone interested specifically in design, you won’t want to miss this.
We’ll be organizing the photos a bit more later in the week for a large photo post. Also keep an eye out for our full MINI United 2007 recap coming in the days ahead. But until then, have a look below:
(Official MINI Press Release) For this Dutch seaside town, summer has never begun quite like it did this year! Over the course of three days, more than 8000 MINI fans from 50 different countries flooded the Circuit Park on the North Sea coast for the MINI United Festival 2007. Under the banner of ‘Friends. Festival. Challenge.’, the worldwide community of MINI fans enjoyed a unique mixture of racing atmosphere, party and lifestyle. It even exceeded the resounding success of the MINI United premiere in 2005. The event underscores the growth of the MINI community and the enjoyment of the MINI brand, lifestyle and sense of community seems to be limitless.
With the North Sea on the one side, and a sea of 3000 MINIs on the other covering the town’s roads and car parks, Zandvoort was certainly the perfect location for the biggest MINI festival ever. Many of the guests had travelled a long distance to be there and join in the action of the MINI United 2007. The longest journey of all was undertaken by Yuliya Tkachenko from Krasnodar in Russia: She left her home seven days before the festival began, travelling some 4200km in her MINI to be sure of arriving in time for the event.
We get the chance to speak with the man, the myth, the legend, Rauno Aaltonen from MINI United. He was great to speak with, full of information and he loved to talk!
Today is all about Munich. We tour the BMW museum (the temporary one since the regular building is being refurbished) and take in all that Munich has to offer.
The MINI sat in the garage all day so there’s nothing to report other than a trip to the main Munich MINI dealer just down the street from BMW HQ. All the typical Euro-only goodies were in the house along with no air-con on a 90F day. Nothing like sweating while shopping.
Day four was all about driving. We left the beautiful (yet tourist filled) town of Rothenburg and headed down the “Romantische Straße” (aka Romantic Road). The drive is dotted with picturesque German towns and villages with great roads in between. It’s not quite as a demanding drive as some of the roads near the ‘Ring but they are fun nonetheless.
The 2007 Cooper S has been fantastic so far. We’ve hit 1000 km and so far it feels as if it were carved from a solid piece of metal. No rattles, squeaks or other sounds that MINI owners might be familiar with. The drive-train has also been a joy to use as well. With such varied speeds on German roads (from the Autobahn to small villages) I’ve seen both ends of the odometer and often within minutes of each other. The only thing the car is really missing on the spec sheet is the sport suspension. While the standard kit is great for cruising, I can’t help but feel the car is missing some edge that would be appreciated in the twisties.
With the Nurburgring in the rear view, we headed east through the German countryside and eventually to the tourist infested town of Rothenburg. The picture to the right is indicative to the type of issues you have when trying to navigate through Germany.
Driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife has been my dream for years. It’s a goal for many auto enthusiasts akin to climbing Everest. The longest and most challenging track in the world, the Nordschleife (North Loop) is unlike anything else in the world. And today, I drove it.
In a word, it was incredible. More than I could have hoped for. The atmosphere, the people and finally the track met and exceeded all my expectations. I split my time between riding in a race-prepped E30 BMW 3 Series, a race-prepped 250bhp R53 Cooper S and driving a brand new R56 Cooper S.
I first went out with Axel (Of MINI2.info - the largest German MINI forum on the web) and his E30. His introduction to the ‘Ring (he’s driven it countless times over the years) was an essential part of my experience. When driving the ‘Ring you have to be incredibly conscious of not only what is in front of you but also traffic coming fast from behind. The Porsche GT3 RS’s, the race-prepped Viper Coupes, the M5 Ring Taxi’s, at times they make you feel like you’re standing still. However Axel’s guidance gave me an enormous amount of confidence going into my own laps that I would have never had otherwise. It allowed me to both push and hold back where needed all while dealing with the constant onslaught of the über cars coming from behind.
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1st Gen MINI R50: One & MC Coupe R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt. R53: MCS Coupe 2nd Gen MINI R55: Clubman R56: One/MC/MCS Coupe R57: One/MC/MCS Convt. R60: MINI SUV
Sections: JCW, MINI United, Motorsports, Podcast Jun 27th, 2007 11 Comments 
