A Hybrid MINI debuts.
MINI USA introduced the biggest MINI ever, the all new MINI Countryman, at a press conference today at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. The Countryman incorporates owner BMW Group engine technology and vehicle architecture. The ALL4 offers an all-turbocharged engine lineup with good acceleration and the “go-kart driving dynamics
For the first time, the MINI product line includes a model powered by both a three-cylinder twin turbo gasoline engine and an electric hybrid synchronous motor. With an option to plug in, the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 (sic) has a 3-cylinder gasoline engine that works in tandem with an electric motor to produce a combined peak output of 221 horsepower, with the badly named e-rear axle enabling “all-season” 4wd traction.
“The Los Angeles Auto Show is the perfect place for the new MINI Countryman’s World Premiere because the exhibition highlights all of the technological progress the auto industry has made in the last year,” said Thomas Felbemair, Vice President MINI of the Americas. “With the addition of the plug-in hybrid option MINI has achieved its largest, most versatile and technologically advanced product yet.”
Also on display at the Los Angeles International Auto Show will be the new MINI John Cooper Works Clubman that made its World Premiere at the Paris Motor Show and the MINI Seven Special Edition.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
