BMW has always been an astute business and when it refused to release the rights to the Mini as it divested itself of the Rover Group back at the turn of the new millennium you were sure it had a long-term plan for the future of the little car.

And so it proved. The revamped MINI (note the capitals) was launched in 2001 to instant acclaim and has gone on to be a global phenomenon, much like its predecessor.

Customers loved the look of the new car, even though it bore little resemblance – or size – to the original.

When it came to upgrading the model, BMW sensibly looked back rather than forward and taking a leaf out of the classic Mini’s long-lifespan realised there was no need to re-invent the wheel.

Therefore when a new model was launched, BMW sensibly adopted evolution rather than revolution; and it appears the car’s loyal owners share the philosophy.

The new three-door model reignited driver appeal and then company followed this up with the expansion of the range to a five-door model.

It has now adopted the same approach to the model’s estate option, better known to all MINI fans as the Clubman.

BMW says the new car is more refined than the model it replaces although much of the car’s originality remains, including its signature design feature – its split rear doors. However, the unusual passenger door design, with the rear ‘suicide door’ have been replaced with a more standardised four full size door arrangement.

The resulting car is said to be a “powerful fusion of sleek lines, innovative touches and first-rate materials with generous space for five occupants, excellent luggage capacity and classic MINI driving characteristics”.

The more ‘mature’ (BMW’s word) design means the new car is larger than the model it replaces and pitching it to the family market, the boot has a volume of 360 litres, which can be extended to 1,250 litres by folding the rear seats flat.

The car is also equipped with the latest generation of MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology engines. Four new options will be available from launch – the MINI Cooper Clubman, MINI Cooper D Clubman, MINI Cooper S Clubman and MINI Cooper SD Clubman. CO2 emissions are promised to be as low as 109g/km, with fuel economy of up to 68.9mpg.

New to the MINI brand is an eight-speed Steptronic transmission, available as an option on the MINI Cooper S Clubman, the MINI Cooper D Clubman and the MINI Cooper SD Clubman.

BMW says the handling has also been upgraded courtesy of a suspension set-up unique to the new Clubman.

Other new features include an electric parking brake, full electric seat adjustment and the optional MINI Yours Interior Styles with backlit door bezels.

The new Clubman also includes MINI’s Navigation System as standard on all models. Furthermore, every MINI Clubman also benefits from the MINI Excitement Package as standard, which features a projection of the brand logo on to the ground beneath the driver’s side door mirror when the car is opened and closed, as well as extended interior lighting.

Pricing for the new car starts at £19,995 OTR, rising to £24,255 for the Cooper SD.

Bentley on top Down Under

THE 2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed has been taken up to its top speed of 206 mph on a section of derestricted road in Australia.

The Stuart Highway is not just any ordinary road. It covers a distance of 1,761 miles, and stretches from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Port Augusta, South Australia – approximately the same distance as London to Istanbul.

In October 2013 the local authorities decided to revert to an open speed limit on the 120-mile stretch between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek.

Ideal then for high speed trials – at least that’s what Bentley thought.

So they handed the car over to Australian racing legend, John Bowe, and trusted to the design and performance of the luxury cruiser.

A six-time Australian touring car and two-time Bathurst 1,000 champion, Bowe was the perfect choice of driver for the run. He is also familiar with the Continental as he currently races a GT3 Down Under with Flying B Racing.

The 635 PS (626 bhp), 820 Nm (607 lb.ft) W12-powered GT Speed Grand Tourer reached its limit in just 76 seconds, covering a distance of 5.84 miles in the process. At top speed, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo Grand Tourer was covering a staggering 92 metres (or one football pitch) per second.

Bowe said: “This isn’t a modified racecar; it’s a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line. It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206 mph. That’s extraordinary. Even when you break through the 200 mph barrier, the GT Speed just keeps accelerating.”

At top speed, the car is circulating 216 litres of coolant through its engine and radiator per minute; drawing over 4,700 litres of air through its radiator each second; and using 80% of its engine power just to overcome aerodynamic loads.

Belles and whistles at Classic Motor Show

A RARE 1966 Lotus Elan S2 once owned by famous comic actor Peter Sellers, is set to be one of the star lots auctioned at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC this Saturday November 14).

Silverstone Auctions estimates the sports car could fetch somewhere between £45,000 and £50,000.

The car was delivered to Peter Sellers’ Haymarket home on June 22, 1966 and driven by him, with wife Britt Ekland in the passenger seat, until February 1969 when it was sold.

‘SAR 57D’ then went through two other owners before being purchased by the current vendor.

The car is offered for sale having been part of an extensive private classic car collection for over a decade.

The extensive history file contains the original V5 with Peter Sellers’ signature, as well as MoT Certificates from July 1977 until 2005.

Harry Whale, operations manager and classic car consignor of Silverstone Auctions said: “This truly is a unique Lotus Elan with superb ownership provenance, while it maintains a fantastic level of authenticity. First owned by Peter Sellers, who needs no introduction, this Lotus Elan has sat in a private classic car collection for more than a decade and will now be sold for the first time in many years.

“The car is sure to gather a huge amount of attention and we expect that it will appeal to fans of Peter Sellers as well as Lotus enthusiasts alike. This unrepeatable opportunity to purchase such a historically important and interesting car is one not to be missed.”

The Lotus will join nearly 100 other classic cars in an auction at the UK’s biggest and best classic car show, which ends on Sunday.

Also going under the hammer is a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL ‘Pagoda’ once owned by noted London fashion house proprietor Joan Burstein.

Joan Burstein, also known as ‘Mrs B’, is well-known in couture circles, opening her shop, Browns, in London’s plush South Molton Street in 1970. Browns later expanded from a small basement to occupy more space as her name – and her cache of designers including Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan – developed.

To celebrate the business opening she ordered the dark blue/red interior Mercedes, taking delivery of it in January 1971.

One of the themes of this year’s event is ‘She’s a Beauty’, which will see thrilling women exhibit some of their prized classics.

Among the classics is a Bentley 4.5-litre, entered into the Benjafield 24 by the Bentley Belles. This will take pride of place on the feature display stand, along with Bentley Belle Katarina Kyvalova.

The team (pictured above), which also included Gillian Carr, Georgina Riley and Georgie Brewster, only met for the first time the day before the endurance event, and entered the record books as the only all-female team ever to campaign a Bentley in a 24-hour endurance race.

Since then, they have added the same accolade to their list for the Spa Six Hour Race. Katarina also competed in the Flying Scotsman Rally and at Spa, as well as finishing third in a Cooper Jaguar at Goodwood Revival.

Jessica Harvey will be bringing her MGB GT, built for hillclimbing. A ‘Café racer GT’, it’s driven hard, but is also a show-scene classic, to the point where it’s received paint rectification for showing three times this year. She won “Best modified MG” with the car at MG Live in June, a testament to the uprated 2.0 B-series producing 150bhp, the race cam, the fully adjustable suspension and the uprated brakes.

The Whyte sisters are the world’s youngest all female endurance historic rally team, and compete in HERO’s Austin Seven. Seren, 23, and Elise, 25, have been competing in historic endurance rallies since their first Le Jog in 2012, and show no signs of letting up yet. They’ve used a variety of cars from the HERO fleet, including a BMW 1602 and a Triumph TR4.

But women aren’t all about motorsport. Sandra Britton has gone the opposite way with her Mini, taking it to concours-winning condition. Between her and husband Colin, the 1968 MK2 Super De Luxe has been fully restored on a suburban driveway over the course of four years. Sixty ‘first in class’ awards and scores of ‘best in show’ awards later, Sandra’s proud of the car. But not so proud as to trailer it – this car is driven to every show it attends.