New MINI Roadster Comes To Town

There’s a new MINI in town and this sixth model in the British premium carmaker’s line-up is the first open-top two-seater in the brand’s history.

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Enjoyed with the roof up or down, we got to test drive the MINI Roadster  under a full moom (well, it was supposed to be full) at Kyalami Racetrack last week.

From the onset, the MINI Roadster will be available with a choice of three petrol engines. The model line-up ranges from :

• MINI Cooper Roadster (90 kW),
• MINI Cooper S Roadster (135 kW),
• the 155 kW MINI John Cooper Works Roadster, what they call the sharpest performer of all.

The launch was very intimate

MINI Ambassador, Euphonik was on the decks

Goodluck performed…

and the MINI guests enjoyed it!

For those of you who are “connected”, so is MINI and this is what the vehicle offers:

Standard is the radio MINI CD audio system (MINI John Cooper Works Roadster: radio MINI Boost CD), while an extra dose of entertainment pleasure can be specified in the form of the Harman Kardon hi-fi loudspeaker system – with 10 speakers, digital sound processing and a 480-watt amplifier – and a USB audio interface.

The radio MINI Visual Boost and MINI navigation system link up with a 6.5-inch, high-resolution colour display in the Centre Speedo and Bluetooth hands-free functionality including a USB audio interface. The maps for the MINI navigation system are stored on the car’s built-in flash memory device.

The USB audio interface allows mobile devices to be integrated into the car and functions supported by them to be activated and operated in customary MINI style via the car’s display and the joystick on the centre console.

These features include audio streaming via Bluetooth, display of album cover artwork on the on-board monitor and innovative office functions.

Apple iPhone owners specifying the MINI Visual Boost radio or MINI navigation system can also access internet-based services inside the car courtesy of MINI Connected.

MINI-specific functions can be uploaded via a MINI Connected software application and operated using the joystick, steering wheel buttons and on-board monitor. Adopting the familiar MINI display and operating logic, MINI Connected enables comfortable, simple, secure and intuitive control of all functions.

The MINI Connected App opens the door to – among other things

• a web radio function,
• use of Google services,
• Facebook and Twitter,
• reception of RSS news feeds,
• the MINIMALISM Analyser,
• Mission Control and Dynamic Music functions,
• and the latest Driving Excitement functions, such as Condition Check, Force Meter and digital sports instruments. Added to which, the driver can have Facebook status updates, Twitter posts and news feeds, for example, read out using the optional text-to-speech function.

Tjo, sounds like there’s nothing you can’t do in  it… well, maybe there is something you can’t do, seeing that there’s no back seat! Or maybe that’s why they don’t have it heheh.

Loved the car, can’t say much about the drive, Nota drove around Kyalami like a Schumacher on steroids. Kids!

Thanks for the ride MINI, I wouldn’t mind testing it in traffic *wink wink*

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