3rd Gen F56 Cooper S We drove the NM Engineering F56 today!

Enjoy it while you can.... Hipsters are in the MINI design department....
They really don't have a need for some of this stuff... A gradual elimination of stuff is the future.... Minimalistic, and you just thought it was a slogan......

So now we get 1/2 a tachometer, next gen...... zip
Get rid of the dipstick.... We get the blame for this one because we either couldn't or didn't want to use it....
The heads up display is a harbinger of the future.... Next gen.... The head's up is all we'll get..... No speedometer, no tachometer, no openometer (insert choking noise)......
The "Disco" lights are the future...

We ain't seen nuthin yet.....
I foresee a big light on the dash.... Red when you come to a stop and the engine shuts off... Green when you give it gas that starts the engine.... Yup.... Matches the stop light so you don't get confused....
Gas gauge on the heads up display.... A big smiley face when the tank is full... A frowny face when almost empty....
Oh, almost forgot..... No manual / No auto (giving CVT's another shot).... Replaced by a cup holder..... Starbucks has been asked to join the design team....

 

The layout would look better if they had a large, singular tach directly in front of the driver so it could be seen almost without moving your eyes from the road. Helpful when your hair is on fire carving up the twisties. Not sure why Mini never thought of doing that before....

I think I will put that in the suggestion box at my Mini dealer :devil:

 

While iconic, I never liked the dinner plate speedo. I loved the Chrono Pack on my R53, which was the speedo and tack mounted above the steering wheel.

 

For the next JCW, i'm hoping for a side-by-side speedo and tach that incorporate real fuel, water temp and oil pressure gauges - or, I could live with a big tach that incorporates a digital speedometer and other gauges. (I never use the dinner plate speedo. Tradition aside, it's worthless.) Or, how about a big tach with digital speedo and a secondary gauge next to it, with a user-configurable display that includes all the readout possibilities I got with my 99-cent Dash Commander app? :crazy:

Hey, I can dream, can't I? :fingerscrossed:

 

I liked the color I drove and the brakes did stop well. Also the seats are huge improvement for a standard seat but that's about it. The S is a dog slow pig and the JUSTA with its 3 banger turbo is the star if this release of the new MINI.

Oh I almost forgot the new F'ed car has no R56 bing bong bing key sounds when the door is open. That stupid sound is gone and you don't have to put the fob key thing in the dash.

 

Go ahead and forward my dash-design ideas to MINI. I'll donate them to the cause for the good of all mankind. Maybe they'll name an interior package after me - they could call it the "Spa Interior Package," because you'd be so relaxed driving a car where you knew what was going on under the hood - instead of guessing when you were going to run out of oil, overheat the engine or whatever. :cornut:

 

here is a novel idea...how about given the age of technology and cars like the LFA which uses digital displays for gauges...maybe have the old setup but the center section where the speedo was have a large circular screen with the speedo around the center and the info stuff in the middle...or...since these clowns are all about tech...how about an ability to change gauge displays...like say recreate the R53 or R56 tach and speedo setup and have the ability to render those on the tach and speedo screens...i really hate that after thought speedo thing...or switch it around...big tach with the speedo on the side and an actual needle fuel level like the old days...

 

Every time I see this photo I see the guy saying "Where the F is the dipstick"

 

We should make this a Caption Contest. My entry is:

"Look, mom - no dipstick!" :biggrin5:

 

Someone did.

 

Now there's a guy who can take a hint! :biggrin5:

 

The Dipstick is the guy...who thinks he's on the Price Is Right.

A New Car!...This BMW badged as a MINI...comes with a whole new econoline shape that should turn heads the other way....and this could be yours...if the Price is Right.