From what I've read about him and interviews with him. If he had continued with MINI the 2nd gen cars would have been even farther away, design wise, than the R56 or F56. More Rocket Man.
Frank Stephenson's post in response to a F56 owner asking him why he didn't like the F56:
"Hi pepper and the gang. No problem, this thread won't diasppear, I'm always checking in and will try to respond whenever anybody has a question.
Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the 2014 range, I only meant that, in my eyes, it doesn't take MINI any further along the path that I would expect a 3rd generation product to go.
Most critically, it's much bigger in both length and width. That's great for comfort and passenger space but for me it goes against the grain of the orginal concept...big on the inside, small on the outside. That's what gave the original and the 1st new generation their principle character. They say it's evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Well, that's the truth but where is the innovation? Seems they've taken a back seat on spending money moving the design technology forward. On my version I had to lock horns everyday to push the "impossible" single piece clamshell hood through that gave better engine bay access while intergrating the headlamps in it to eliminate the huge overslam gap (that would've been needed) between the chrome headlamp bezel and hood. Flushness was "impossible" to achieve but we managed it and the result was a look of superior quality and attention to detail. The single piece wrap-around rear quarter glass was also "impossible" to press as was the position of the "away from the tailgate gap" taillamps. There were plenty of other "impossible" design details that pushed the limits of engineering back then.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I miss seeing MINI keeping up with the times in terms of raising the design innovation bar. I love the spirited up-graded engines and improved material quality but I also wish they would've "futurized" the 2nd and 3rd generations in a more progressive way...more first impression "wow-ness" and more "how the heck did they manage to do that???" design features. In other words, push the aesthetics into a feasible concept car direction. I can't imagine Porsche 911 designers now having the chance to go crazy with a super exciting NEW form advancement, maybe that's a good thing for such an iconic car, but it sure hampers out of the box creative thinking and creative solutions. The original MINI was a revolutionary ground-breaking design. That idea should remain at the heart of the MINI design philosophy in my opinion."
Two things--it's a great post, and if it's not Frank Stephenson, someone has channeled his juju, and is doing one hell of an impersonation. I think it's real.
The entire reason I decided to own a R53... its not the fastest car (yet) but when driven its an extension of you. You feel the motor, the wheels on the road, the feedback. When it breaks or needs maintenance its feasible given an attitude to learn what is and is not in your capabilities. I've not owned mine long but will likely own it forever.
There is a whole crop of R53 / R56 potential customers, that at some point, would consider buying a new MINI if they would just get the design right....
Golf R, Civic Type R, or Ford Focus RS, BRZ Sti (if it actually happens), for me....If any of those make it to the USA, I will take a long look, when/if it's time to let go of the MINI. If they don't, I would look at a spec Miata, or Miata that I could mod to 275-300WHP.
Once I get my car on the track this year, if it's still running well, and hopefully it will, that will hopefully be awhile.
Cars wear out. I love mine, but it does require TLC, and a MINI isn't exactly an easy car to work on. To replace one part, you have to remove three others to get there. I still love the car, and it may last me forever. If it doesn't, an easier to maintain car, like a Miata, with easy to find, cheap replacement parts would be very tempting. Guys do jobs on the Miata, and it takes them an hour. The same job on the Mini may take four times that.
But if I put a TVS in the MINI, I'd try to make it run forever, warts and all.
Drew is black or white, I don't see him with the ability to pull it off. It may very well be a hoax, and if so, like I wrote in my post over there, he will be relegated for driving a Smart car for the rest of his life and afterwards.
On the other hand, maybe it was Drew, to sort out who all would send PM's referring him to MA, therefore allowing for a whole new batch of lifetime bans...
I so want to pm Drew to definitively find out if this is real or not--if it is, someone from NAM should be all over this; it's huge. If it isn't, they should lock it down. It's the one reason I'm skeptical; this should be front page on NAM, if it was MF, it would an exclusive.
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