Uncategorized Archives - JCW Adventures

JCW ADVENTURES SHOP

Ali Mir — Tue, 31 Dec 2019 12:36:03 +0000

I am proud to announce JCW Adventures finally has an online shop which you can buy some MINI swag from which covers all three generations of the BMW MINI.

Here is a direct link to the website – JCW Adventures Shop

Official eBay Store – Official eBay Store

I have kept it simple with all three generations of BMW MINI Hatch with Model Designation vinyl decals all of which are available in Chilli Red, Jet Black, Thunder Grey & Ice White.

All 3 Generations of BMW MINI R50, R56 & F56 Decals

All these are available on the JCW ADVENTURES Store with free shipping within the UK and worldwide shipping available with a small additional cost.

Custom colours will be available at upon special requests at a small additional cost with all BMW MINI Generations & variants stickers coming soon.

Along with these all-new decals are the ever-popular R56 JCW & GP2 genuine carbon fibre exhaust tips as first seen on my JCW are back!!!!

This genuine carbon fibre exhausts tips can be easily installed within 5 minutes which simple tools and no drilling is required.

They are only suitable for R56 JCW, GP2 & R56 Cooper S with the JCW back box exhaust given they were developed on my JCW.

These exhaust tips have been designed for road use and show cars only either with a stock or sports catalytic convertor.

For those who have F-Series MINI JCW Pro Exhaust Remote, I have battery replacement available in the stores to get you back to disturbing the peace.

All shipping within the UK will be free, but international orders will incur a small shipping charge.

So if you have read the blog or followed me on social media here is a great way to support a free website that has been here to help any MINI owner around the world since 2012.

If you any questions free to message me at JCWADVS@GMAIL.COM or hit me up on the social media links at the bottom of the post.

Here is the link to JCW Adventures Shops – JCW Adventures Store & Official eBay Store

Thank you for the continued support, smiles, laughs, memories, hospitality, and MINI adventures.

Here’s to continued adventures wherever the open road leads to in 2020 and beyond.

As always it’s a MINI Adventure and try to keep up!!!

Ali R56 JCW Owner & JCW ADVENTURES Founder

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Coming In Hot: All The Details On The F56 MINI GP3

Ali Mir — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 12:55:31 +0000

No more teasing shoots and here are all the details you want to know on soon to be arriving in March 2020 the MINI GP3 the last hurrah to the 3rd Generation F-Series MINI.

Here all the main details you need to know about the MINI GP3:

Limited to 3,000 units worldwide (UK – 575 units & US – 400-500 units)
306 bhp & 450 nm of Torque from the revised 2-litre engine
0 to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds with a top speed of 164 mph
8-Speed Steptronic Automatic & Torsen Mechanical Differential
Multistage traction control with GP Mode
Lightweight wheels with Hankook track-focused tyres
20mm wider front track & 10mm reduced ride height from JCW with adaptive suspension
Rear seats deleted with a rear brace
Nappa Leather steering wheel with metal 12 o’clock position and GP metal paddle shifters
Digital & Analogue Dials
Improved Aerodynamics with Carbon Fibre Arches & Rear wing
90mm exhaust tips finished in matte brushed stainless steel
Darkened LED headlights & rear lights and Black MINI badges
Exclusive metallic Racing Grey paint with metallic melting silver roof
Unique GP side stripe with individual numbers on Carbon Blades
Preorder is now available at your retailers with RRP of £33,895 (US – $44,900)
GT Touring Pack (£2,000 – Option)- Adds dual-zone air- conditioning, heated front seats and Navigation Plus – which includes Satellite Navigation and wireless charging
First UK deliveries start in March 2020

Now with the key points outlined will this be ultimate F56 when it comes out?? I still loved R56 GP2 which I test drove for review a while a back which was still raw, and they just turned the R56 up to 12.

I am not gonna lie the F56 series MINI has been a bitter disappointment to me and the only model that I have driven from the range that has made me smile has been the F56 MINI Hatch Cooper and F56 JCW Convertible as they charm to them. The Cooper had all the power you wanted as it was fun extracting it from its peppy engine while the Convertible JCW brought back some of the visceral rawness of what a MINI should be.

I am yet to drive the F55 Clubman JCW with its ALL4 drive with the same engine as the MINI GP3, but in the real world, the clubman will be faster! It’s ALL4 will allow a quicker 0 to 60 dash at 4.9 compared to the GP3s 5.2 plus you can take your mates with you.

The proof will be in the driving when I get a hold of a set of keys from MINI or a JCW clubman owner willing to borrow it me for a while. Probably the car I am most excited to drive along with the MINI Cooper SE.

Now the car has officially unveiled it has grown on me, and I see more details on it which are cooler than first perceived. The Carbon blades don’t look that much out of place, but I can see it being a nightmare in the real world – people trying to clean them and a lot of people touching them when you are away from it. Plus I am annoyed there is no manual option as the torque figure was too high for them to justify so auto won that fight : (

They should have made the mirror caps Red to follow tradition and the lower grille should have been black as that lower grille is something you don’t want to highlight…

GP numbers on the roof again for tradition reasons but the mega disappointment has been the wheels as they are very much lacklustre. The whole 3rd Gen MINI range as it’s like they gave up in that design department. But the person who made the centre caps deserves needs promotion to head of wheel design.

The wing again should have followed tradition with being carbon fibre and my OCD is kicking off with the base being red next to a silver roof!! Just why why why why

The paddles look nice, but the top parts should have been longer as everyone drives differently and they should have looked to supercars for better inspiration.

Alright, enough of the negatives here are my positives – dark line headlights & rear lights, black door handles, black fuel cap and black badges are perfect but that new racing grey paint though really pops under the sun! The upper red bar grill intake is a pleasant update to get more in and go with the GP3 more power theme.

Interior is where they did their best work with the rear seat delete being something to behold than a rush job with the GP logo, flush carpet and new back strut brace design. New seats are a nice touch with the grey and GP logo, but you will be glad for the new digital with GP interface. It will make you feel that much special every time you got in with GP door stills and mats.

The better diffuser is welcomed as well but could have had a more menace to it. My favourite touch of them all is the matte brushed stainless steel trim exhaust tips. They are something very different much a new look, so it caught my eye straight away.

I thought they were titanium when I did walk around the Goodwood festival of speed back in the summer.

Now that we have done everything at face value, let’s dive deeper into the changes under the hood and beyond.

The engine was revamped to achieve the new power levels with the following upgrades:

Reinforced crankshaft with enlarged main bearing diameter, specific pistons, bushless connecting rods and a new torsional vibration damper with optimised cooling.
New turbocharger integrated into the exhaust manifold and fitted with a divert-air valve that optimises response.
The compression ratio has been reduced from 10.2 to 9.5 in line with the increased boost pressure provided by the system.
The updated intake air duct has an enlarged inlet, and flow cross-sections and the increased capacity of the noise damper ensure maximum de-throttling.
New multi-hole injectors, arranged centrally between the valves to increased flow rate and transporting the fuel into the combustion chambers at an injection pressure of up to 350 bar.

Maximum torque is created at 1,750 rpm to 4,500 with 306 bhp is achieved at 5,000 to 6,250 rpm in the rev range.

With all this new power there was a need for more cooling so there an additional two external coolant coolers. The expansion tank is enlarged for increased volume with a specially designed coolant module storage system and an electric fan with increased output to maintain the optimum operating temperature at all times. In addition, the crankcase cooling system can be temporarily shut off employing a new split- cooling valve to optimise the engine’s warm-up response.

The transmission helps put the power down with an integrate Torsen Mechanical Differential, which can lock up to 31%. To avoid track action issues the transmission has it’s own separate cooling circuit when you out chasing down lap times. GP mode makes a return to give you some slip with traction control but always there on hand to keep you safe if you need it when hooning or a track star.

GP3 has been given underbody bracing by the tunnel bridge is replaced by solid support for the modified rear axle. While the front has been its strut brace for increased rigidity with refreshed new suspension setup and increases front and rear camber.

Continuing with the steering of the GP3 there are stiffer rubber bearings in the support bearings of the front and rear axles. The four wishbones on the rear axle are fitted on the outside with clearance-free metal ball sleeve joints instead of rubber mounts, while on the inside there are highly rigid rubber mounts.

Now if you want to slow everything down there 4 pot front calipers are made of aluminium and combined with 360 × 30 mm ventilated discs. These are encased by 8-inch lightweight forged wheels (8.0 J × 18) weighing less than 9kg. 225/35/18 Hankook tyres make a return to the brand with a choice of road Ventus S1 Evo Z or semi-slicks TD. These are covered by the carbon blades which are formed reclaimed carbon from the i8 & i3 manufacturing. The carbon fibre goodness also helps widen the front track by 40mm wider than a standard F56 JCW.

Hopefully, with all these significant upgrades and improvement, the GP3 will live up to previous to GP name both on track and road. As soon as I can get behind the wheel of one I will be sure to give you my feedback whether it fills up the shoes of the legacy of the slaying everything around its class.

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60 Years Young: Celebrating The Iconic MINI

Ali Mir — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 21:21:34 +0000

We are all defined by moments and events in our life who change who and what we are. To car people, decades are defined by cars and MINI takes the 60s with all four wheels heading to your heart, the movie screen, racing tracks, fashion, music and your driveway.

To celebrate this Icon was the only way possible to bring owners all across together for events and hear their stories for a year-long celebration. MINI UK & their marketing agency approached me to share my story early in 2019 after knowing about my website. It was an honour to share why MINI has key place in my heart, life and how it changed my life all those years ago in 2011.

My MINI adventures started in 2008 when my dad brought me my first car my beloved R56 MINI One to which to this day I miss dearly. That little four-wheel wonder taught me how to drive as I had to squeeze everything out of 1.4-litre engine producing 89 BHP with keeping the momentum and speed through and out of corners. This chapter closed with a bittersweet moment as I had to let her go for the right reasons to move forward with my life. That closed chapter allowed me to move forward but 2011 brought a lot of bad to which I didn’t fully understand or wish upon on anyone else and the only thing that got me through that period is my beloved JCW.

From those ashes, JCW Adventures was born and Surrey New MINI became my 2nd family with my first of many MINI Adventures across the globe. My JCW has taken beyond my dreams and reality with all the doors it opened as both an individual and making me who I am.

The concept of MINI’s 60th-anniversary celebrations was to showcase 60 years of continuous of the brand and stories that go with it from 1959 to 2019.

Me & Rob got the ball rolling with his stories and how his life changed in 2017 and how his MINI & I saved his outlook on life and kept him going from the unfortunate life-changing accident.

This video only shows part of the bond Rob and me as the road isn’t always smooth, but we will always have each other back as JCW blood brothers.

From there was both of us submitting our stories for the Instagram posts to be shared to other fans and owners across the world and on the MINI official website.

The next part of the celebrations is the movie that spread the word of the Mini worldwide with a special screening of The Italian Job in MINI plant Oxford which has seen 105 years of continued car manufacturing.

The final part of the celebrations wouldn’t just be our moments but the whole MINI community spanning 60 years. MINI selected 60 cars to mark each year of MINI production spanning from 1959 to 2019 models.

My JCW would represent 2011 and Rob’s JCW would mark 2013 with only two years apart of one another they both the mark the factory introduction of the Factory John Cooper Works built to owners specifications from Plant Oxford.

Fun fact – R56 MINI FJCW were always made in batches as the engines were different from the Cooper S significantly which warrantied a longer manufacturing time. This schedule didn’t align with the just in time production line method resulting in the batch making and it wasn’t every day an FJCW was ordered either.

This was another event at the home of MINI at Plant Oxford with all 60 owners and Minis converging on the grounds to which they were all born. Rob & I convoyed down together as we usually do to the MINI factory with them both being detailed on the same day to mark this landmark occasion. The only difference is mine loves to drink oil while rob’s loves to drink fuel.

Arriving at Plant Oxford we were greeted by the MINI PR team as we signed in and were waved past into the factory plant past the barriers. Queueing up with other minis of different ages we waited our turn before we called to line up our cars in formation. They were all being lined up for a photo shoot to honour this little city car that is no beloved all around the world and puts a smile on people faces and brought people together from every walk of life.

We were all lined up with pinpoint accuracy and left my car on the grass infield on the grounds of the MINI factory. Leaving our cars behind we took my luggage to the coach which take us to back the visitor centre & MINI Factory Store for our assigned exclusive factory tour.

Back off the coach, we headed into the visitors’ centre to sign in and leave our bags till later. This gave us time to see and meet the others who had been chosen and some of which were familiar faces like Abbie & Ian from my club Surrey New MINI, Harry who I met a Black Panthaa car meet following the release of Forza Horizon 4 for the Xbox.

Sadly as with any car factory tours, no cameras are allowed and there was no sneak peek of the electric MINI Cooper SE or MINI GP 3. However, the only plus that we did see the new 306bhp clubman in full production and fun fact pepper white is most popular MINIs are now painted with which is a contrast from 2nd Gen MINIs days when Chilli Red was to go to paint.

Tour completed we got back on the coach and retire back to our hotel courtesy of MINI UK with the luggage and given a goody bag full of some MINI swag.

The 60th Anniversary Goody Bag included some stickers, 60th edition water bottle, limited-edition classic mini t-shirt and free tickets to IMM 2019.

From there it was a change of plan as it was going to rain so the photoshoot would happen tonight instead of tomorrow due to the rain overnight. So it was back on the bus for the Big photoshoot which us feel like school kids as we waited for the bus to fill up gaining and heads were counted.

Back to our beloved MINIs, we briefed on the shots on how the Queen of the lens Amy Shore wanted us positioned for the photos. Here are the shots:

The British Racing Green IV Cooper S is a 60th Edition MINI Cooper S which is the 10th Millionth MINI every made sitting with first-ever Mini every made upfront in the picture.

History made I took a moment to think while looking at my JCW and where this open road has taken me after 8 years of ownership. This little car has changed my life as I know with the places I have been and people I have met along the way. I glad I made a decision back on 12th March I walked into my local MINI dealership and ordered my JCW to my spec. I say with great pride she was made for me and we both share the same star sign as it Chassis was given its stamp on May 2011 making her a Tauras as well.

The dream was turned into a reality within a few months and I took delivery on the 1st June 2011 to what is the last of the N14 engined JCW but an R56 facelift (LCI) model. The N14 gets a lot of flack but mine is still going strong after 125,000 miles plus and it boils down to maintenance and preventative measures. I will dive into a later blog on how to look maintain a 2nd Gen MINI and what to look out for when you want to buy one.

The photoshoot was done we headed back to the coaches to retire for dinner at the hotel which was courtesy of MINI UK hospitality. It was nice to sit down and have dinner with my club again as it had been a while and talk about our tenth-anniversary celebrations which include a trip to the Nurburgring and autobahn.

I did get a chance to sit down with the now infamous owner of Ruby Roadster aka Petrol Ped. There may be something at a later date will do together as a collaboration as I decided to give Youtube side of the blog to grow then retired for the night.

Breakfast the next day was courtesy of MINI UK we headed back to the visitor centre on the coaches again. This time it was to grab lunch and for the MINI UK team to talk to us about how far the brand has come from its history and BMW being under the helm. Rob and I were asked to be filmed post his video shoot so it was nice catching up with the team we met a few months back now.

With everything wrapped up, we head back to our sweet chariots to load up and head out to the International MINI Meet (IMM 2019) in Bristol but first, there were a few more pictures then some video shooting as we all left.

From there me and Rob convoyed down to IMM but it wasn’t the best of weather as it was down on and off heavy downpours all along the way. The main reason why I was heading down was to meet friends who had come down from the US who I met on my previous adventures for MINI TAKES THE STATES back in 2014. However, another plus was the free t-shirt one-off made by MINI events team and swag I got in the goody bags did make it worthwhile.

If I am honest IMM wasn’t a good experience at all and disorganised which left a bad taste in my mouth personally. It’s gonna be one of those events I can say I did but I won’t be doing it anytime soon in hurry…

I guess this celebration sums up MINI ownership in a dime as it’s a mix of highs, lows and oh I love this thing as it puts a smile on my face & taken places I would never have thought of.

I appreciate the invite, opportunity and hospitality MINI UK has given me and making mine and rob’s JCW forever written in the history books.

Thank you dear icon for changing the world as I know it and for the millions out there with a MINI story and their own parked on their driveways. So here’s to the next milestone of 70 years in 2029 and always it’s a MINI Adventure try to keep up!!!

p.s. MINI if your reading this bring back MINI UNITED…

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The Original Heist: 50 Years Of The Italian Job

Ali Mir — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 17:00:58 +0000

Decades and times are often defined by cars and movies which form pop culture, bringing people together and create cult followings. When a little car was given it a shot at the silver screen, it became an icon and showed the world what a plucky brit could do. All it took was three Mini Coopers to capture the hearts and minds of people all around the world to turn this movie into a classic by blowing the bloody doors off.

The Italian Job movie was a box office hit and catapulted the British icon even further into the stars with arguably one of the best cliff hanger endings of all time. The movie drove more sales for the mini in the dealership, whilst the swinging 60s was in full effect! It cemented this car as a legend on and off the silver screen. This momentum carried when it the rally and touring car racing series as it won the Monte Carlo rally and touring car races against mustangs.

This four-wheel legend created a cult following with the silver screen debut with the now infamous driving scenes and stunts such as driving through the sewer tunnels with the gold bars in the boot. The movie set the standard for stunt car scenes given manoeuvrability of the Mini’s short wheelbase as it darted through a shopping mall, over rooftops and down staircases.

Later in 2003, there was a Hollywood remake which was more of cheap knock off and fell into the category somethings should be left alone. If you have only watched the 2003 version, you need to back the old school version as it still holds up today 50 years on.

2019 marks 50 years of the movie and 60 years of the MINI! When MINI UK emails you saying you have been invited to a special screening you assemble the crew for Mr Bridger and head to MINI Plant Oxford.

Rob and I headed to the MINI factory for the event which is a homecoming for your MINIs. Queue the obligatory pictures for the occasion…

We headed inside the MINI factory for the screening of the movie. We were greeted by a MINI Cooper S with Polizia livery of the Italy police cars in the film which was an Alfa Romeo Giulia TI.

Greeted by the MINI Events team we heading into Italian movie mood set with all original cars from the movies all line up in their trios.

The 3 MINIs in the movie all arranged next to the stage.

On the other side were the fast support cars used in the film – Aston Martin DB4 Convertible, Lamborghini Miura & Jaguar E-Type

All of those vehicles have been hard to find as many exchange hands over the years and many of lost or hidden away. It was first for a lot them being all together since the movie in 1969. The Miura had only just been certified by Lamborghini in being the actual one in the film as it disappeared shortly after the movie wrapped up…

There was an exciting mix of people there from motoring journalist, well know Mini/MINI owners, cast members of the family and various MINI UK faces. Two people caught my eye and the first was Amy Shore, who is a fantastic photographer, so lens and apertures talk was had. Along with this, we spoke about her Mini aka Mayo and the BIG Mini adventure from Athens, Greece to Bristol, UK for the International MINI Meet 2019.

The second person being some who you might know well from EVO Magazine & Carfection Youtube channel and he is Henry Catchpole. I have liked the way he writes and talks about the essence of driving pleasure in the driving roads imaginable while giving us all the technical and fun stuff you want to know. Thank for keeping the fire in me and wanting to push myself future with the blog & YouTube channel.

We took our popcorn and ice cream for the movie and settled down for the movie as the MINI team introduced did a small introduction about the movie, the car and what it means to the brand after all these years.

We had a special message from Sir Michael Caine before the movie started as unfortunately he wasn’t able to make it.

As we know, the rest is history as I sit back and enjoyed the movie all over again like it was the first time…

When the movie ended the light came back and we welcomed by some of the original cast of the movie on stage for Q&A along with Matthew Field who wrote a book on the movie with all the information you would want to know including interviews with the directors, staff, cast and family members.

There were so many funny stories and memories when the movie created, and when it wrapped up, which was blessing and insight that not many will ever know.

For example, Sir Michael Cane didn’t know how to drive a car, and he learnt on the set of the movie in a Mini, so it has a special place in his heart.

Another was after the movie wrapped up one of the stunt drives drove the Mini all the way home to the UK from Italy which landed him in jail. One thing he totally forgot to remember a few things – it wasn’t insured, no tax, gold bars in the boot, never registered and was on fake plates not to forget he was only pulled over because he was speeding…

I will let the videos do the talking and enjoy some snippets from the night courtesy of MINI UK bringing everyone together for this special 50th Anniversary of the Italian Job.

Special Thank You to MINI UK for the invite and hosting the event and Rob with the epic picture of the 3 Minis all together : )

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Brick By Brick: LEGO Speed Champions 75894 – Classic Mini Monte Carlo & Dakar Rally MINI

Ali Mir — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 20:30:20 +0000

Some obsessions start when you a kid like your love affair with cars when you dad lets you sit in the drives seat or lets you clean it. Other starts in front of a TV screen when you hear the sounds and see the sights of Batman: The Animated Series which makes you want to be Bruce Wayne. But some are started when you wrap a present, and you introduced to another world…
My love affair with Lego started when I was 5 years old, and I unwrapped my presents for my birthday. I was greeted to some Batman wellingtons, Batman figurines and finally my first LEGO set. It was a huge blue box divided into with three green base plates covering the tops which I pulled back to reveal mountains of LEGO to which I create anything or any place with my imagination being the limits. It was dawn before Video games becoming a thing and when kids actually played in the streets and your imagination ran wild.
Fast forward a two-decades and LEGO makes a massive comeback with hitting the 80s & 90s kids with nostalgia as they brought old school tv shows, movies and cars in Lego form ranging from the A-Team, Ghostbusters to Ferrari F40. They moved into the new with creating video games for pop culture lovers with Star Wars, DC Comics to Harry Potter while making their own game called LEGO: Dimensions. Even though these LEGO sets were no longer cheap fun for kids but they then transcended to all ages groups, and prices climbed as license took effect with Batman & DC Comic sets to Automotive manufacturers like Porsche, Ferrari and Bugatti coming into play.

2014 saw the LEGO makes the Classic Mini Cooper 10242 in their Creator series with 1077 pieces of LEGO. Here is an extract from the LEGO main website:
Take the iconic MINI Cooper for a drive! This beautifully crafted LEGO® brick replica of the classic MINI Cooper Mk VII is full of authentic details, from the traditional green and white colour scheme with white wing mirrors and racing stripes to the opening doors, hood and trunk, sporty fog lights, detailed engine and separate spare tire compartment. You can even remove the roof to access a tan coloured interior with patterned seats, veneer-style dashboard, turning the steering wheel, and moving gearshift and handbrake. And of course, no MINI Cooper would be complete without a picnic basket and blanket, the perfect accessories for a fun day in the countryside!
MINI Cooper measures: over 4” (11cm) high, 9” (25cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide

I pre-ordered one before I left for MINI TAKES THE STATES and it ironically it arrived the day I got to the US. There was a consolation prize that in my goodie bag from MINI USA there was Mini Mini of the MINI Cooper which is a super cute tiny version of the LEGO Creator MINI Cooper which fits in the palm of your hand.

Fast forward another 5 years to 2019 and LEGO is back with another team up with MINI with their new speed machines series upon Mini’s 60th Anniversary. They created the giant slayer winning Mini Monte Carlo Rally Car and the infamous winning Dakar MINI Countryman in LEGO-sized fun. Along with Minis there is a pit stop station and stand for the cars to be repaired like they would be in real life.

Here is the extract from the LEGO Website:
Stage a classic vs modern rally race with these cool LEGO® Speed Champions 75894 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy car toys! The 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally features a roof rack with 2 spare tires, just like the original car, while the 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy has the suspension to drive over rough terrain. Play out exciting rally racing scenarios with 4 LEGO mini figures and a fully equipped pit stop station, including a buildable car jack stand, a mechanic’s creeper, tool racks, assorted tools and computer screen elements.

1967 Mini Cooper S Rally measures: Over 2” (6cm) high, 3” (9cm) long and 1” (4cm) wide.
2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy measures: Over 2” (7cm) high, 5” (13cm) long and 2” (7cm) wide.

Pit stop station measures over 5” (13cm) high, 11” (30cm) wide and 4” (12cm) deep.
I ordered my own as soon as it came out and it was trip down memory lane as soon as I took it outside its packaging to look over the box art.
Time to get my master builder on…

Building the Monte Carlo Rally Classic Mini

Building the Dakar Rally MINI Countryman

Building the MINI Pit Stop Station

Here are the finished products!

Let’s go hit the road with some action shots!!!!

Tag me on social media when you get your LEGO MINI set : )
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Above & Beyond: 70 Years of Land Rover

Ali Mir — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 18:14:58 +0000

Every once in a while I like switching things up and going outside of my comfort zone. That day came when I went to watch the WRC rally in Wales with my friend Rob as this was something I have always wanted to watch. Something about rally cars that fascinates me about rally drivers that are driving to their absolute limits with a fine line of in control and imminent roll off into a thick woodland. Maybe its the fact these are road-based cars re-engineered from the ground up for speed, power, grip, traction skirting machines toeing the line between in control and out of control.

I have always said every car has its moment just like how every song in my MINI has a memory attached to it. The vehicle in question that was taken to the WRC was really fitting the ground we were travelling on….
After we watched the WRC, we head to our chariot with the infamous words on the bonnet RANGE ROVER

Yes, Rob deliberately parked it like this!! He was showing off how the auto levelling works on the air suspension.
This wasn’t the first range rover I had been in, but my first encounter with one was back in my childhood at the ripe age of 12 years old with a Mark 1 Range Rover. It was owned by dad’s friend who had two (one black and the other yellow).
Heading back to the Range for comfort, we dial in the sat nav details to lead us to black rocks beach for some off-road action for ourselves. I was presented I was handed the keys to the Range Rover Sport HSE 3.0 TDV6 – 240 BHP & 600 NM on the beach to have my first dose of off-roading fun.

Rob showed me all the buttons and what the functions did with the suspension, ride height, terrain, locking diffs, high and low range. All mind blogging at the time and the excitement of finally driving the king of the hill was immense. My exuberance took full effect when Rob raised the ride height and set it in low range while talking me through all the buttons and tech onboard.
I got a little too excited with the throttle as I was going too fast in low range, so the car told me off followed by Rob saying you gonna overheat the box : / sorrrrryyyyy
After getting familiar with the Range Rover Sport, it was time to see what it could do climbing the dunes and entering craters full of seawater.
This resulted in an impromptu full-on live-action photoshoot.

After the photo shoot, Rob asked how to do a doughnut? I was like that’s easy you just turned the traction control and dump the gas pedal all the way and keep the revs steady and apply opposite lock accordingly to make a circle. Look I will show you??? Firstly I forgot to turn the traction control, so all that resulted in us going an in a circle really fast like I was James May.
I looked at Rob and said sorry my mistake I forgot to turn off the TSC. I then planted my right foot sending the rear tyres into a scrabble as they dug deep into the sand as the front end lifted up to the horizon. The rear end slid away as I guided the front with opposite lock guiding her around to form a perfect circle with the palm of my hand on the steering wheel. I turned back to straight motion and let off the accelerator and said to Rob that how you do it! Let’s switch seats so I can show you?

Rob was dumbfounded on how easy I made it look as he got out and saw the perfect circle in the sand. I said when I had my BMW I used to mess around in the loading area of where I used to work, so I learned a lot of car control just by messing around. Time for you to learn how to drift pro with some car control which resulted in some giggling moments. I am sure the onlookers on the beach were thinking what a bunch of ‘Yobos’.
With offroad test drive done we head back to the asphalt where I got to drive the Sport on the B roads of wales which are tight, twisty and chambered. I felt the Range Rovers size which felt like a battle tank to me as we glided over the road with grace. I felt the sensation to be very commanding on the road as the driving position makes you look down to small cars.
I finally understood why people buy a Range Rover, it makes you feel tank commander! There is nothing that can beat you on the road or offroad and it a nice place to be. You are very much astounded in luxury on board HMS RR Sport in your own gentleman’s quarter. What else amazed me was how the air suspension was levelling out as I was tanking away down the country roads and this BMW couldn’t keep up with me.

This what the BMW saw…….

Amazing as the ability of the Sport was down the road it was this random selective feedback to the wheel. I know I could point it where I wanted to go but there road feel was lacking as it appears one sweeping bend then it just disappears a few seconds later???? This didn’t change in Dynamic mode either which was complexing, but hey at least it’s showing up a BMW. This aerodynamic brick weighing in at 2.5 tonnes and demolishing the ground underneath with ease.
Rob did tell me as I didn’t know that the Sport is essentially a modified Discovery 3 chassis. This makes even more mind-blowing given the Discovery looks like it will fall over if you whipped it around a corner to fast. My hat goes off the LR engineers who made the Sport as it’s a modern marvel to me. It now has a special place in my heart after a few hours behind the wheel. I am sure at some point I will own one add it to ever-growing JCW Adventures fleet.

Now it’s time to fast forward over two years but to the beautiful summer of 2018 where I was invited by Land Rover PR team to make history with them. 2018 was an essential year to them as it was 70 years ago when they Range Rover was launched, so it was only fitting that they graced Goodwood Festival of speed in an opulent manner.
I had my invite, and I knew who I had to take given Rob’s childhood obsession with the brand. You mention the word Range Rover or Defender with him, and you can see the excitement go off in him. I love passion especially when it’s around cars and their stories.
We headed out in my JCW given I wanted to give it a nice run to familiar grounds before to find faults before the heading on the MIR RUN: Euro Trip which would cover France, Germany, Austria, Switerzland and Italy in 10 days and cover over 2,000 miles, 3 Racing Circuits and 4 Car Factory Tours.

Rob had found a gem of a place to stay the night before to allow a more leisurely ride to Goodwood as the traffic queues have got bigger and bigger over time. Plus it allowed us to freshen up, relax and catch up over a meal at a Wagamama.
The sun rose, and it was the next day as we got ready our host had already prepared breakfast for us which was a delight as we conversated in the ambience of the grand room with a beautiful summer’s morning light filtering in. We thanked her for making our stay a pleasant one and we hoped to see her this time next year.
JCW all fired up we headed out to the back roads leading to Goodwood Circuit as Land Rover PR team had a welcoming event, registration and day outline plan to run through to make this one in a lifetime opportunity and a great memory.
There is something about driving to Goodwood: Festival of Speed. Is it knowing what awaits me or is the fact it’s a day driving my JCW in the back roads in the summer with the windows down?

We arrived at Goodwood Circuit to a sight of every iteration of Land Rover every made. We had to take a lap of honour around the parked up Land Rovers throughout the years which is a great marvel in itself.
There was everything from civilian vehicles, special forces, army, emergency services, police, G4 Challenge and special editions to vehicles I didn’t even know Land Rover were remotely capable of manufacturing.
Here are some of those vehicles:

Fun fact for everyone my previous boss David Sparks drove for G4 Challenge who is now the head of branded good for Jaguar Land Rover. He was a great boss and all around nice guy who loved cars, and his car history was an awesome collective mix from a Lotus Exige, Honda S2000, Golf R to a Range Rover Autobiography.
We signed on with JLR for registration and got our wristbands for the festival along with a special booklet, t-shirt and keys to our chariot for the day.

I was given the keys to car number 57 – A Phoenix Orange Discovery Sport in HSE Luxury spec with the black pack. It was a cool looking car on a British summer day which was made even nicer with a luxurious interior.
Once we had done nosing around, we were all brought together for a group briefing to discuss what would happen on the day and how the convoy would drive to FOS.
We would mark history by driving up the Goodwood hill in 70 cars to mark 70 years of Land Rover which is truly an honour.
All the Ranges fired up! We headed out in formation to mark this occasion.

This gave us time to get acquited with the new Discovery Sport which is a massive step from the last Discovery 4. The older Discovery had charm as it was a box on wheels and it felt like when you drove it as it would have massive lean in corners, but it destroys any obstacle under its wheels.
Its often is a car’s faults, and quirks that actually make it a good car in a positive way like the BMW M5 V10 was a great M-Car. The V10 howl is its soul but there are too many settings, drinks fuel and everything breaks on it but you will still love it when it works and you open the taps on it.
The new Discovery Sport drove well and it very much felt like a car but the Diesel engine let it down. It didn’t give it a sense of occasion as it didn’t have low-end torque I thought it would have for an offroader. The gearbox is perfect and but you can run away from the fact there should be shove on hand. There is a massively delay between you pressing the pedal and momentum actually occurring which is let down given how good the outside looks. If that delay would be reduced or completed eliminated the Disco Sport would be a great car as I feel it’s missing that just that bit extra to make it a great car to give you the fizz.

Looking at the exterior of the car as it unmistakable Land Rover in every way and everything is where it should with buttons and layout. The cabin is a great place to be and sit in with leather and soft-touch plastic. The utility of the function of the Disco is perfect in every way as everything is where it should and you can tell it was designed by people who actually take cars offroad.
If you have an offroader, please lock the diffs, take it offroad and get it DIRTY!!!!
We stopped by a farm to regroup and get acquited with one another whilst nosing around each other cars.
Some of her majesty armed forces were with us and they were given a Range Rover Sport SVR which was in Madagascar Orange Metallic paint (vibrant orange paint that contains ChromaFlair giving it a warm yellow to red ‘travel’). By god, it sounds amazing!!! V8 Supercharged glory with a metallic grasp like a swarm of wasps, locusts, rattlesnakes, flying ants, bees and ball bearings fighting out in a dark metallic tube.

So came the time to finally to head to the Hill Climb so we proceeded in a timely fashion and grided up. This was a surreal moment as everyone had their phone outs and they were videoing us like we were some kind of celebrities??? I leaned to Rob said let’s go cement ourselves in history as I smirked.
Who would have thought I would get to drive up the Goodwood Hill? I am just some dude with a car and website there is no special sauce here.
Either way here I am defying all odds like any other plucky brit which is what the Land Rover Brand is all about! It’s about conquering anything in front of you and to go Above & Beyond whatever the obstacle comes your way.
We drove up the hill together making videos and taking as many pics as could to capture the moment. Not too many to miss the moment but saviour the moment which a lot of my generation seem to miss nowadays.

It was a surreal moment as my four years for working for JLR’s owned marketing agency came flooding back. I started doing their marketing since I returned from the states from MINI TAKES THE STATES 2014. Having know people on the factory floor, engineers, artworks, marketers I was proud I was doing their hard work an honour as I rolled this Discovery into the history books.
I was outlining the track layout as I went around to Rob as only a lucky few get to drive or ride shotgun on this asphalt. It only sank in when went under the bridge next to the Goodwood House with the Porsche sculpture captivating the skyline.

We drove near the flint wall which is literally what is and it looks unbelieve sharp. If you take that corner wrong at high speed you will get understeer which will result in you shattering the front end to pieces. Over the years it has become a formidable foe and claimed many race cars and driver’s egos.
Today wouldn’t be my day as switch back past it as I hugged the straw bales and kept the correct line and headed into the woodlands towards the infamous finish line for our own personal victory.
I felt the sense of pride like when Top Gear drove down the mall with everything made in Great Britian.

With history made we parked up next to the Goodwood rally stage all in formation in model years which was another sight in itself. But the temptation to drive on to the rally stage was immense as all I had to was slot the terrain system into loose gravel and mash the throttle into the forest. If Land Rover wants to give me that chance to do that another time I would love to do it…

Having parked up, I bumped in Adnan Ebrahim the founder of Car Throttle who was climbing out the Land Rover Defender Works V8 which sounds exactly what it is. It’s literally Defender with a V8 slot under the hood. I moaned why hadn’t JLR made a G-Wagon rival??? If Mercedes makes the G -Wagon there is clearly a market for Defender to have a V8 with a luxury interior???
Fun Fact: G-Wagon is the most profitable car Mercedes makes in their entire range.
I am glad Land Rover finally did make but they should done it a long time ago!!! But like anything, It’s Better late than never! Let’s hope the next Defender due for 2019 reveal has room for a V8 Motor (Insert Jeremy Clarkson’s American accent).

It was good to chat with Adnan to understand his outlook for Car Throttle and how it has come to age with the manufacturers finally understanding the digital age and communities that surround them. The age of traditional print has moved on and the digital landscape has taken hold to newer generations, and how it opens to everyone in the world wherever they are. Carms & Miss Emma Walsh was in our line up of Land Rovers as well so the world of IG & Youtube royalty was with us on this landmark day.
Rob and I went off to enjoy the rest of the festival of speed. The rally stage part of FOS is the only part I had never been to from all of my six visits since 2011. It was nice hearing and seeing some rally legends in the pit area.

After being done with the rally legends, we headed over the main FOS area to which we had to go through the VIP parking area. Two Mclaren Sennas, Huracan Performante, 670 LT, XJ13, Bullit Mustang, Aston Martin AMR & Giulia Quadrifoglio marked it as no ordinary.

Everyone knows where my next stop is….
MINI’s Stand
MINI Electric Concept – Due 2019
MINI GP3 Concept – Due 2020
Next up was a mix of other brands which I am excited to see and hear on the road and at shows for 2019.
Lamborghini Urus

Hurcan Performante Spyder – Hmmmm that Satin Blue paint

I went over to the URBAN stand to catch with an old MINI friend who works for them as a painter and in sales along with another at the Alpina stand who is in sales.

The next selections of cars were my favourite from the show
The moving motor show had a great selection of the new latest and greatest from Manufacturers.

JLR PR team had a few more surprise for us before we headed home so it was off to the Jaguar Land Rover stand. There was a small presentation with a few drinks to thank everyone who came and brought their own cars to fill in the cars not owned by JLR. Then was the final two gifts left by JLR which was some drifting in Jaguar F-TYPE V6 and offroad experience in the Range Rover to show its capabilities.

First up was Jaggggggggggg and the Ex-racing driver. He told me to buckle as we drifted in a continual onslaught of V6 howl tyre shredders smoke around a short technical circuit with little room for error. Sadly I have forgotten his name but I remember him telling he used to race on real street circuits which were the golden days. I wished myself that it would come back to more towns so people could be inspired and a new generation would follow motorsport and go into motor industry-centric roles.

Finally, the Range Rover arrived, and I took a back seat for this one so Rob could be in his element. We had another driver who took the Land Rover to its limit on the confined course to its climb and descent capabilities. This was a showcase of the full articulation of each wheel separately on the latest Range Rover.

It still amazes me how easy any Range Rover product makes offroading look whilst being basked in luxury. I guess there is nothing like Great British Engineering…

I had a good nose around the Jaguar Land Rover stand and there some fantastic cars for all your needs and terrains. The I-Pace was there which is JLR first full-on plunge into the electric car which is a real contender for the Tesla in every way.

The SVR sunk worked F-Pace which has the full-fat supercharged V8 (This was the last car I did some marketing on)

XE 300 Sport

Range Rover SV Autobiography – Which was in Rob Spec

Range Rover SV Coupe
£250,000 of Two-Door Luxury which will be uber-exclusive at 999 units worldwide

There were a few cars in Darkhorse spec, but the one that caught my eye was Range Rover P400e which is a sign to the future. Hopefully, I will get the chance to drive it and experience where the Range will go into the future…
That was a wrap for the day, and I found more than I thought I would. I got to make history with Land Rover and with creating a great memory with best my friend.

Thank you for everything you have and will do for me Rob, and I hope this friendship lasts a lifetime as I can’t see a day without. Here is to the future and our adventures ahead wherever they make take us. Rob is now part of this once solo team as he will be joining on my adventures and be contributing editor & photographer of the site. Don’t worry he has a Chilli Red R56 JCW N18 as well and few more special other vehicles.
Thank you Land Rover UK PR team for everything and making our time with you priceless & memorable.
A few months later the JCW Adventures fleet grew to have something special amongst the ranks. Here is our Black on Black on Black – Range Rover Velar
Let the Adventures begin….
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The post Above & Beyond: 70 Years of Land Rover appeared first on JCW Adventures.

Please Take The Next Left: Where has JCW ADVENTURES been?

Ali Mir — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 15:31:06 +0000

Some roads lead you away from your destinations but sometimes it’s the route you need to head down. With that said in mind allow me to reintroduce myself…
I started this MINI Adventure back in 2011 to share my MINI Adventures with my JCW which was built to my spec and she is still with me. Even after all the roads, tracks, counties, magazine shoots, tv appearances, countries and continents she still puts a smile on my face with well over 100,000 miles on the clock I will never sell her. She was made for me and me alone and she has given me so much I don’t think she will ever part from my side regardless of the cost as its memories, smiles, laughs, adventures and friends which have joined me on this MINI Adventure that makes her special to me.
Oh god, she has cost me some money with the high mileage use I do but I couldn’t stay mad when I looked back at her when I parked her or drove her! She just makes me smile every single time after all these years. God, I sound like I am in a relationship with my MINI.

My absence from posting has been for multiple reasons with work, life and other commitments taking me elsewhere so finding the time to sit down and write became difficult.
Fortunately, the adventures did continue past MINI TAKES THE STATES with the now infamous invite only M.I.R Runs, MINI Shows, Press events and European road trips. I have plenty more tell everyone now along with being able to offer advice on how to keep an R56 going past 100,000 miles. It’s even more so given my JCW is LCI model but with the much misunderstood and underappreciated N14 Engine.
Along the way, I have helped join my lifestyle with the MINI community or actually help them purchasing a 1st, 2nd or 3rd Gen BMW MINI. There will definitely be buying guides coming out from to help you look for a used hero or building one to your spec I will give you the low down on everything you need to know.

There will be an official launch of JCW Adventures shop, monthly runs, new and used reviews and partnerships with brands.
Along with this, there will be a relaunch of the Youtube channel as many of you have requested me to get in front of the camera instead of being behind of it.
JCW Adventures will expand further across the automotive landscape as the fleet has increased beyond my R56 JCW. I wanted to touch base with everyone again and just to let you know as with all great legends I will be making a comeback.
Here is a sneak peek to what I have been up to…
Thank you for all your support over the years from all corners of the world!
As Always It’s a MINI Adventure Try to Keep up!
Ali
Founder of JCW Adventures & Owner of BT11WRK

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The post Please Take The Next Left: Where has JCW ADVENTURES been? appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 2

Ali Mir — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 18:10:58 +0000

I woke to open roads of America waiting for my arrival as donned my JCW ADVENTURES tee shirt with my proud TEAM GB logo on the left side of my chest for queen and country. As I gather my stuff for the road trip ahead, I grabbed my first quick ride to the rise & shine aka breakfast meet point from a family of MINIacs who was glad to see me.
Thanks for the ride Montoya Family in MAX S Cooper!

I grabbed another breakfast burrito as I looked around at the MINIs thinking would be my next ride for the day (Don’t judge me as I loved them as we do not get it in the UK). While I was introducing myself, I decided to bring out the UK flag which I had brought along for everyone that I met to sign to take back as a memento. However, there is something special I have done with it, but I won’t tell you guys until part 5….
I spotted this understated black Cooper S, but my keen eye spotted the rumor JCW Pro exhaust at the time which I had seen online which was a leak of the accessory catalog which I had seen online before the trip. The only thing that was running through my mind is how can I get MINI USA to let me drive this car hmmmmm.

This next person is very important to the whole MTTS trip as she lights up our faces time and time again by waking us up and make us all a family for like. For those who have done, MTTS will know her name Desi is the hostess with mostess. Not only did she make fun of my accent and made me laugh but she was the key to getting this nomad from coast to coast by announcing that I would need a ride every day BOSTON OR BUST!!
Thank you from the top to very bottom of my heart.
She hooked up for my 1st MINI US owner ride with Richard who owns a very unique JCW Clubman which is one of the last few ever to be built. But this was no ordinary JCW by a long stretch as this barely run for this trip with just under 4,000 miles on the clock before the journey started with a lot of option extras. This is arguably the best from the factory spec’d clubmans I have ever seen with JCW & GP2 parts accessories added to make this one subtle, unstated classy modified R55 (Disclaimer – I have a soft spot for the clubman).

Again it was another pinch yourself moment seeing so many MINIs to what would be every morning of a minimum of 500 all meet up at one point for the next stop would be in another state/city. I would be eating, sleeping and driving MINIs for two weeks in a country that I saw in the movies.
Time to snap back to rally as I put my luggage into the back of clubby. This would truly begin my morning ritual of new MINI and new driver every day. I grabbed the route section aka the pace notes which makes you feel like a rally co-driver – Easy Left Over Crest 2 do not cut. So a different car and owner every day hmmmm like I have said before every car has history and every owner has a story. I had to ask Richard about his car history while giving an over why I would travel halfway around the world to this Pilgrimage of your journey with MINI USA owners.
Richard didn’t disappoint with his car history as he was a local around California so he a part of the MINI E project. The MINI E was an in the field electrical car worldwide program which started in January 2012 which formed the base of the development for the BMW i3. It did make me think that a MINI would be the perfect car to be electrified given its low weight and handling which fits the bill. It left me pondering as I am Track Marshall on the weekends at electric go karting track where the karts weigh around 200kg without driver and have a top speed of 35-40mph.
I asked why he brought a clubman and it seemed like he brought one for the same reasons why I would have one. The longer wheelbase, better ride, the barn doors, suicide door and that all important JCW badge. I compliment him on the subtle mods and getting one of the last few JCW clubmans in the world as the dawn of the F generations.

We did stop for short stop for fuel, and we did meet a few characters and MINIs which you will see and read about in due course.
Back to the route as we headed towards a MINI assigned photo opportunity at the Nevada Shoe Tree. The Shoe Trees may be the greatest embodiment of the American Spirit you can find on the highway (free of admission charge, anyway).

A shoe tree starts with one dreamer, tossing his or her footwear-of-old high into the sky, to catch on an out-of-reach branch. It usually ends there, unseen and neglected by others. But on rare occasions, that first pair of shoes triggers a shoe tossing cascade. Soon, teens are gathering up their old Adidas and Sauconys, families are driving out after church with Dad’s Reeboks and grandma’s Keds. Many inscribe messages on the sneakers in permanent marker — greetings, love poems, and life accomplishments.
The shoe tree blooms with polymer beauty. A work of art like this may last for generations, tracing our history by our sneakers . . . As long as the tree doesn’t die or get attacked by shoe tree murderers.
On Highway 50 near Middlegate, Nevada, a lone cottonwood stood, clotted with hundreds of shoes. One tipster told us the first pair was thrown during a wedding night argument by a young couple; later, their children’s shoes were added to it. Whatever its origins, the tree seemed to suck up all the discarded footwear in the county. Sadly, the tree was cut down by vandals on New Year’s Eve, 2010-2011 and another put in its place.

This photo opp allowed me to speak to Briana for a while she signed my UK flag which I brought along for everyone to sign as a memento of this trip of a lifetime as I watched sneakers fly into the air. Briana had brought along a mini MINI for MINI Adventure which was a direct clone of her MINI aka Nirvana.
What Richard did next did surprise me as he had the keys to his clubby and said you can drive…

I was like you sure given you have only just got it, and you only have 4,000 miles on the clock, and we were set to drive on the loneliest highway in the US to Wendover. I was apprehensive about his clubby given how new it was as I didn’t want to wreck his clutch or gearbox so early on with my poor gear shifting technique with my right hand (yes your steering wheel is on the wrong side damn it!!!!).
They were not lying about this being the loneliest highway as all I saw the asphalt on the horizon and nothing on besides the odd truck going the other way which was outshined by a pair of F-18 flying low into the danger zone MURRRICCAAAAA.

This wasn’t the last of the moments we would have as I did get to put my foot down in Richard’s ride as he told me to push on but also I spotted the soon be infamous ‘4 guys and 1 MINI’. These 4 lunatics wanted to ride coast to coast in one MINI but this wasn’t the best thing about them but who they were and smiles they would bring to everyone the trip.
WE SALUTE YOU
I believe this symbolised the community as a whole in the US who are a larger than LIFE set of characters who have been brought together for the love of this little car from the UK.
Along the way, I got see some sights that again have been donned to the movies such as freight trains which ran parallel to the road. I guess it is the opposite given the railways came first as it was these lines that allowed the US to be truly connected on the dawn of the industrial and steam revolution. Sadly there wasn’t any railway crossing for a Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra to race against.

It might be a small thing to US residents but seeing these freight trains in motion will be a memory that will stay with me. We did come across along with one on the move which resulted in us waiting over 2 minutes for this freight train with endless carriages.
We did drive through this small town along the way which to my knowledge was in the middle of nowhere but had a population sign of 100 if that. But when 500 hundred MINIs turned up we more than doubled the population. It bet it was a sight to see for the locals who were in shock. We were welcomed with open arms to this small town so much so the gas station in the town actually lowered the gas price so hundreds of MINIs could fill up. I did personally thank the lady owner for her generosity and gave an insight to MINI TAKES THE STATES.

Not far from this stop we arrived at our next state of Wendover, but this MINI madness will continue into the night for the first party get together. I thanked Richard for the ride and getting me going where I needed to be and putting some miles on one of the last R55 JCW clubmans in the world. But we were but back in the Danger Zone with this parked up Cooper S.

I freshened up and headed out with TEAM GB to the Historic Wendover Airfield which was active during WWII but most notable in these movies such as Con-Air and Independence Day. This gave me another chance to talk to US owners I had spoken to online via various forms.

I finally got to proper speak to Kyle Conner in person following talking to him on FB and appearing multiple times on MINIs on the mind.

But more importantly, I finally got to hear his highly modified Countryman in person. Let’s say it was worth the wait before I retired for the evening….

Carrying on the sense of speed Bonneville salt flats would be our next stop for the next leg of MTTS.
I walked across the road to the rise and shine event which opposite my hotel which gave me some time to buy some merchandise for MTTS. I brought an MTTS grille badge and few other for the keepsake of this transatlantic trip.
Another rise and shine hosted by the hostess with mostest which brought about my next ride with Andrea Jones who slightly reminded me of Emma from Lohen the UK MINI specialist.

Today’s ride would be an R56 MINI Cooper aka FELIX which has his own blog – http://felixgoesalltheway.blogspot.co.uk. The name might mean something to some people as Felix is a cartoon character from the silent film era. The anthropomorphic black cat with his black body, white eyes, and giant grin, coupled with the surrealism of the situations in which his cartoons place him, combine to make Felix one of the most recognised cartoon characters in film history. Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences.
I was slightly complexed when Andrea said it was a Justa??? I said what do you mean. I was let in on this term used in the US which means that it’s just a Cooper hence the slang term Justa. I was bewildered by this given my first car was MINI One which even more basic with a 1.4-litre engine with a monstrous 89 Bhp. I know a lot of people know I am obsessed with my JCW, but that’s only because I brought it to drive fast on road and track, but I don’t look down on people who drive lower powered MINI as you should only buy what you can afford. To this day, I still miss my MINI One as it taught me how to drive and started all this madness. Started from the bottom now we are here!

They do say everywhere you go take the weather with you…. Sadly stopped play for our salt flats fun as it rained through our trip there : / Undetermined we head on to the salts so we could say we were on the flats and drove on it.

It was a little surreal knowing that so many people on this leg of the trip had never driven in the rain?!?! How??? Bloody rains all the time in the UK anyway my other alter ego of RALLY ALI was on hand to help my driver for the day to adjust to driving in the wet *insert pace notes* – a big jump over crest do not lift. I said it’s exactly the same driving in the wet just lower your speed to adjust for lower grip levels and use your wipers accordingly as you need to see where you going. At this point, I was just easing her into the environment and making general chit chat to mellow the mood in the cabin and finding out what she knew about driving techniques.
We arrived at our wet destination which seemed to look like icing on a cake as the salt flats were saturated with the heavy rainfall. But nothing has ever stopped a BRIT from doing what they wanted to do so we drove on to the salts to say we were there and on it. With that ticketed off the list, we headed back on the blacktop as we pointed Felix to our next destination in search of sun and blue skies.

This gave me a chance to teach Andrea some driving tips such as double clutching. I had to do this all the time on my R56 MINI One, so it was time for me to give this Justa a fighting chance in real world driving in the states.
What is double clutching?

Double clutching is when the clutch pedal is depressed while shifting to neutral to match engine speed to the intended gear and vehicle speed, and again depressed for shifting into gear.
This is something you would if you were cruising in 5th and wanted to drop down to 3rd smoothly and pull away rapidly without upsetting the car with a harsh downshift which puts unnecessary strain on the clutch and gearbox. This skill allows all the engine power to be fully utilised on the downshift, so there is no pause in the power delivery which will give you those brief few seconds head start on anything in your or behind you.
We made a brief stop in Helper for a photo op with Alex Rose in her Cooper S who was going all the way as well.

Further, ahead we didn’t realise Alex’s MINI would hit some trouble as the engine management light came on. Like a good co-pilot, I brought my OBD reader for set occasions like this so I could help any MINI owner the best I could. I thought I a MINI broke down on engine fault maybe I could reset and keep it moving till the next safe point. I did work out what was wrong with Alex’s MINI as the thermostat broke which resulted in the engine management light to come on. This was later confirmed by a MINI technician who was one of the support vehicles for this trip.
On a lighter note, the sticker on Felix to this day still makes me giggle.

But later I was on an acid trip after looking at this Clubman.

After I regained conscience and enjoyed my free drink courtesy of MINI USA from Papa Joe’s stop & go we headed back on the road to get our free car wash as did drive on the salts which will eat way at the car.
This automated car wash was like no other I had seen before compared to the ones in the UK. So you can imagine I felt like a 5-year-old all over again going through a car wash for the first time.

From there I was dropped off at my hotel, and I thank Andrea for the smiles on the trip, and I would catch her later tonight for car lovers wet dream as we drooled over someone’s private car collection.
After I had freshened up at the hotel, I drove the Countryman All4 which gave me a chance to see what an Auto All4 S would be like. As everyone else wanted a drink or was tired and given I have never drunk in my life I would be designated, driver. Sooooo All aboard the SS Countryman with Captain lets get a move on. I got the knack of climbing into the wrong side of the car to take the wheel of this machine on the freeway at night which is secretly something I wanted to do for a long time as my childhood playing need for speed and midnight club fills your imagination with so many things.
As we hit the highway to the event destination of Allen Unique Autos, it started to rain and when I mean RAIN I said it as the wipers could not keep up the downpour that slaughtered us in the convoy we connected to. So much so the Countryman did briefly aquaplane as we came off the highway, but I caught it, but everyone thought I was drifting or messing around lol. On a side note to everyone that I do take my driving more seriously when I have passengers on board given I am responsible for their lives as well. I stick to every rule in the book and make everyone feel at ease as I drive smoothly to arrive at our stop on time, but upon request only I can show you a move or two ; )
We arrived safely at our stop that turned me into a five-year-old in a candy store. The sheer vast assortment of cars. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Each car had it’s own mark whether it was a stock to original spec or customised to the owners liking. Like I have said before every car has a story behind it….

MINI Beach Car – Only 15 ever built with one owned by the Queen
Fiat had a successful beach car named the Jolly, so there was clearly a market for a leisure vehicle. Austin commissioned a run of ‘Beach Cars’ between December 1961 and March 1962. 15 examples were made during this period, all Export models with left-hand drive, though there is at least one right-hand drive version known to exist in the UK. 13 of the left-hand drive examples were sent to the United States, where they severed as dealer and distributor promotional vehicles.
The design of the Mini Beach Car, also known as the ‘Riviera Buggy’, was similar to the Jolly, with no doors, no B-pillars, and interior seats made of wicker. The Beach Car were built by hand in-house at Longbridge’s Experimental Department. Four of the fourteen left-hand-drive Beach Cars were finished in Surf Blue with a Snowberry White roof.

One was sold in 2015 for $184,000 at auction.
All these cars were owned by a single person and more importantly by a woman. I salute you!! It’s a shame I never got to meet this person as they wanted to remain anonymous as I wanted to know the history about they were brought, the restoration and why they were modified in certain ways. Either way, thank you for sharing your car collection as I don’t think I will ever see these cars anywhere else.
This evening entertainment concluded and I drove everyone back to the hotel and pondered who would be a ride for tomorrow and what cars we would see along the way.

It was the same routine that we bundled all the bags in the countryman and I would squish into the back seats with a suitcase bigger than me on my lap. Why would you want to change that when it works so well??? (sarcasm). But honesty it was a laugh minus the weight on my thighs.
It was back to last night’s venue as today’s we would heading towards Albuquerque in New Mexico but first without any foods and morning raffles. Sadly our hostess with the mostest didn’t have any clean jokes, so I gave one of mine.
What happens when Batman sees Catwoman?
The dark knight rises
NANANANAAAHAHAHAHA

I did get the mic taken away from me lol I was auctioned again this morning, and this time my ride would be modified R56 MINI Cooper S owned Ross Kopp who was the plastic dip to look like Starsky and Hutch car.
Sadly there was no sliding across the hood today. But walking over to his ride was one of fascination as I saw the half roll cage with go pro and bucket seats which brought a cheeky grin to my face #BecauseRaceCar.

I loaded my suitcase into the back and noticed the MINI UNITED 2012 sun blind and I was like Huh?? You have been to MINI UNITED in France in this car??? Ross was like yeah I move around a lot of work! SMALL WORLD!!!! I guess I probably walked past your then without realising and he was not shy of the track action has he been around the Nurburgring : D
From then on it was talking car mods and what he hadn’t done to his MINI as I brought about the questions about suspension and mapping as I have been looking this for a while. Ross did say his S was running about off today given the altitude coupled with the poor fuel in the state didn’t help as high ethanol percentage isn’t well suited to the map he was running.
Me personally I have never bought into the notion that some guy with a laptop and dyno can approve over what a modern OEM manufacturer with a vast amount of money, time, driven countless miles and R&D has been done to make stable ECU map work anywhere in the world regardless of the climate or conditions. You can screw more power out the engine but what about the other components like the clutch, gearbox, cooling, brakes, etc. Everyone rarely even things about. Then people wonder why their car keeps on breaking when they take it beyond the tolerances there is a fine line between RACE Car and Road car as POWER isn’t everything and this is another key point why you buy a MINI for the Corners.

This why the conversation continued into what suspension are you running and how did you set it up?
Ross’s S was sitting on KW V3 with camber plates which were perfect as I loaded a shed load of questions as I wanted to ask about. I enquired about the chamber rates, compression and how long it is sitting to getting a better picture of how to setup mine. He had worn down his S to around 30mm with added negative chamber for better turn in. Straight away I could tell the ride was a lot better and how planted it felt as you could say the ride was firmer. The things it’s not intolerable in the sense you would tell it was smoothing out the ride a lot better than stock suspension as it wasn’t crashy or unstable.
I was sold on getting coilovers after I sat in Ross’s MINI but I knew I could only for the best in the marker KW as it didn’t want to compromise on quality but that would come with a price so the saving fund would begin for the KWs.

Back to the road trip at hand and we heading toward Russell Stover Candies for some free chocolate!!! So this would be our first stop but not really be being a sweet tooth chocolate fan but I did get interviewed by the MINI USA film crew, and they handed me a go pro and hand mount to film my adventures. I was more interested in getting back to checking out the winning ‘The New Originals’ competition car.
MINI USA held a contest called “Final Test Test Drives” and asked fans to design their very own MINI Cooper S. The winning design, “DeLux” by Alex Coyle, will head to New York to go on display and support the launch of the new MINI. Her design won the competition by getting the most votes online.

‘Lux’ is the root meaning of ‘light,’ explains Coyle. “After I went through all the options I had available to customise the car I went for all the bells and whistles and created what I call a ‘Deluxe’ model. The result was ‘DeLux’”.

So it was back to the road trip heading down 550 into the twisties and mountain passes to Albuquerque. The roads didn’t disappoint, and the weather was perfect for the occasional stop for pictures and appreciate of mother earth.

Again it was something out of the movies for me as we hit this small town amongst the mountains to what seem liked settlement for workers in years gone by.
While we were enjoying the twisties and smiling, we didn’t realise what was happening in front us as the road was shut down. We found through friends and calling each other that there had been a head-on collision with SUV and RV resulting in a fatality resulting the police closing down the road both ways.
I was a quiet moment of thought for me as the harsh reality set in that someone lost their life and open road has many dangers seen and unseen.

After we had waited a diversion was created off the road through a country club and golf course which pop us out further down the road. It was time to make some time up in the twisties but Ross’s MINI wasn’t playing ball as it began to run rough resulting in us back off and cruising the rest of the way.

Our destination was Sandia MINI and we arrived promptly to enjoy their hospitality as they were paying for dinner tonight and they did put on quite the spread & BBQ. But sadly there wasn’t a veg or fish option I opted to go across the road and dine with Phil to catch up his adventures.
We joked and laughed over dinner sharing each others stories and asking Did you see that or this? But it has left me in the sense of reflection after I opened my fortune cookie.

SET THE RIGHT EXAMPLE. IT WILL INSPIRE OTHERS
To this day I still think those are words are still actually sums up what I try to do on a daily basis. There is something inside me that likes making people smile, happy and teach them what they need to know and hear. I love finding out that I am the reason why someone did something, and it improved them. I guess it’s a sense of accomplishment and pride that money can’t buy. It makes me proud and smile every time I hear good news about my friends and family : )

On that note, we headed back to our hotel across the road and got our forty winks. The adventures will continue in Part 3….
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Are you a MINI owner or MINIAC?

Ali Mir — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 21:06:37 +0000

With the rise of retro chic and hipsters around the world has changed since the rebirth of the MINI in 2001 which brought the swinging 60s back with it. BMW’s rebirth of the brand brought a new and old generation back to most fun you can have on four wheels. Some were buying it for the small compact size, low running and fuel economy but others just wanting a slice of the Italian job and MINI adventures. Which one are you?

Having been a MINI owner since 2008 with my first car & love my beloved R56 MINI ONE 1.4, it always brought a smile to my face through my university years. I wasn’t part of the MINI scene but I wanted to but didn’t know to get into it. I didn’t break my cherry until attending MINI UNITED 2009 with a friend who told me to buy a MINI. I guess he started this MINI obsession of mine. His first car was a mini which was brought for him when he was 12!!! I am sure you already know the rest with my MINI adventures in my JCW.

Going back to the title question are you a MINI owner or MINIac? There is a clear difference between to the two.

A MINI owner is someone who has a MINI as city car.

A MINIac is someone who owns a MINI to drive around town to have fun.

A MINI owner is someone who cares about fashion and looking good.

A MINIac is someone who buys a car to be different and to project their personality on.

A MINI owner doesn’t get excited seeing another MINI.

A MINIac is someone who checks out another mini and gives them a smile, the nod of approval, flash or does the MINI WAVE.

A MINI owner is someone who brought a small car.

A MINIac is someone who always parks next to another MINI.

A MINI owner sees their car as a depreciating asset.

A MINIac is sees their MINI as part of who they are and part of their family.

A MINI owner doesn’t know other owners.

A MINIac will know another just by looking a number plate or customisation/mods.

A MINI owner sees their car as object to go A to B.

A MINIac will go for a drive on the roads less taken.

A MINI owner takes a holiday.

A MINIac travels across cities, countries, states, board lines, continents to travel with other MINIac for a MINI Adventure.

A MINI owner will cut you up.

A MINIac will always give way to another MINI even if it’s out of their way.

A MINI owner has their family and friends.

MINI is the only car that comes with friends as standard (MINIacs 2nd family).

A MINI owner will just say they own a MINI.

A MINIac always steer the conversation towards talking about their MINI.

A MINI owner parks up and walks away.

A MINIac will turn around for those few seconds and just stare then take a million pictures.

A MINI owner spec their car for resale value.

A MINIac will spend, spend, spend on their car to give it a personality then spend more money on it taking it to the point that it is unsellable to a point – ahhhh custom mods.

There is a level above this MINIac level which is a CERTIFIED MINIAC who has changed how the MINI community for the better. Their personality has brought even more people together for our shared loves of all things MINI. They may have started a mod, club or a MINI Run which has benefited us all or even set the standard in modifying MINIs across the world which has sparked others to follow or improve on. I have met this few characters from being in the scene for going on 4 years. I am glad I have met them as they truly make the community what it is and I hope to meet many more across the world as my MINI adventures continue…

There is one major thing that bugs me now out on the road as 1st & 2nd Gen MINIs have become affordable to buy. To be precise it saddens me as it used to be the MINI driver was an aware driver of their driving and traffic around them. From what I have seen since the launch of the 3rd Gen MINI I have begun seeing MINIs in areas which I wouldn’t have normally seen them and these owners driving has begun giving us a bad name. The MINI has become one of those “small run around cars’ : (

I have travelled the across boards, countries, continents to do MINI events and nothing really ever changes but the people I meet. I love listening to their stories how this little car changed our lives as we know it. MINIacs across the world have put a smile on my face countless times with the passion and their individual MINIs. This is exactly what has made the MINI community a 2nd family to me with no boundaries. This passion makes us who we are and the reason why we are drawn to the brand and its lifestyle. I am yet to meet a MINIac who hasn’t changed my life in some shape or form.

As always try to keep it’s a MINI ADVENTURE.

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The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 1

Ali Mir — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 19:58:20 +0000

This is my BIGGEST adventure yet in a country I have never visited and only ever seen on the TV screens. I travelled half the way across the world to take part in the biggest mini event in the world which will see me fly to the US to my drive through 18 states, 15 cities in 14 days and cover 5,142 miles all in a MINI. So take a seat in the passenger seat and let me show how one car can change your life as you know it.
This adventure starts on social media but exactly on Instagram where I spend some of my free time talking and posting to my following base. To be honest most are more like friends who happen to live in every corner of the world drive the same type of car and make me smile.

Introducing Lilcoopr aka Christina my female counter part who is cut from the same cloth but has a very different PINK take on all things MINI (Pantone 219 C to be exact). Christina has been in the MINI scene alot longer than me from the early days of the R53 Cooper S right to up to her recent purchase of her new MINI Countryman. She is MINIac through and through with her global trotting for MINI events and for MINI as she actually worked for BMW/MINI Canada. She has actually been to every MINI UNITED except 2005 in Misano, Italy meaning I have walked past her a few times back in 2009 & 2012!!! Its truly a MINI World.
I began speaking to Christina and it was apparent the MINI Passion ran deep as swapped stories on how it all began and our current MINIs. As we Skyped away and sent each other dumb witty messages on every social media platform possible, it was strange to feel such as a connection with someone I had never meant before.

This lead to the discussion of me having the urge to go on a MINI Adventure and wanting to go to the US given 50% of my followers are from the US. I thought there would be no other better way to meet them than on a road trip in a MINI.
Christina told me all about MINI TAKES THE STATES from the destinations and MINI Mates she has made along the way. I was SOLD and the planning began for the trip in 2014 with registration, flights, hotels etc. So we began planning the trip together but with some sadness as MINI UNITED 2014 wasn’t going to happen but it was exciting as I was finally going to meet people I have spoken to over 2 years online.

This is gonna be another trip of a lifetime being surround by MINIs & MINIacs!!! In all honesty who wants to sit on the beach, relax and get a tan. Right?
Can this top MINI UNITED 2012??? I drove on the greatest roads within Europe with arguable the greatest MINIacs ever??
I wouldn’t be alone as Christine and Phil of the Fast Five will be joining me to fly the flag for the UK on this trip. These are the two of six people I cherish the most in my life as they changed my life when did MINI UNITED 2012 as strangers but now are FAMILY. They have been the rock in my hard times and celebrated my triumphs with me so it was right to get some Tees made for this occasion…

Even thought I planned this trip with Christina our aims changed and she would driving from Canada for a bigger cause. She would driving to support the children’s wish foundation – http://www.drivingfordreams.ca
Even thought our goals changed one thing will never change. I will always hold Christina in a special place in my heart as she was there during a difficult time in my life in late 2014 and going into 2015. I will never forget what she did for me and how she shaped my outlook in life and work for the better. I am in indebted to as she doesn’t know how much it meant for her to be by side even though she was thousands of miles away she always put things aside to be there.

I truly believe we meet certain people in our lives who guide and form who we are as individuals. I am glad Christina is one of those significant people.
However this left a BIG issue of me not having a MINI hmmm
I did look into shipping over my JCW but it beyond my reach at £3,000 plus I wouldn’t have my JCW for over a month along with other costs of insurance and hassle of customs. So it was a no go so I would doing the old fashioned american way by hitchhiking all the way from San Francisco to Boston but it wasn’t all pot luck as I know alot of US MINI owners through my website and facebook. I spoke to a few before I left who were more than happy to have me as a passenger and Christine & Phil both had rides sorted with a mother and son combo in blue MINIs.
Before I left the states I given a some free swag by MINI UK team to make the trip easier and I was entrusted with an infamous mascot to take with me….

This little croc is the official mascot of Merseyside MINI Club who is another MINI club I have done a few MINI runs with countless stories to smile and laugh about. I was told to look after this trouble maker and take a lifetime worth of photos for this little critter causing mischief and enjoying the open roads of the US.
Flights and hotels all booked courtesy of the organising super wiz Christine (one of many reason why she is wifey no.1) and I began packing my bags for the journey ahead whilst sorting out the essentials like money, bills, international license permit etc. My phone was non stop buzz of messaging from my MINIacs that I would be coming to the US to meet them.

Before I left for the US I spoke with another MINIac but this one lived in California. Briana is a friend of Christina’s who I skpyed me whilst driving her drop top MINI Cooper S. She was another bag of laughs and smiles and I don’t think I have met anyone who has such a love for animals and has such a cute doggie woggie. OH MY GOD!!!! her and Alice are a perfect match and have shared the limits sky’s of the California sunshine p.s she has an infectious smile : )

This would be Briana’s first MINI event and MTTS which reminded me alot of my 1st MINI event which was MINI UNITED 2009 so I was keen to make her smile and to make sure she made the most of it. I made sure I brought along some stuff to give to the girls as a present as there is no point coming so far and not giving someone something to cherish.

There was one specific person I wanted to meet who I talk to all the time is Philip Casper aka ‘The Blue Ghost’ but there will be more on him later and why he has that nickname. He is another friend I made on Instagram who is all round awesome dude and I can see a great future ahead for him. When we do talk its been very surreal in the sense we talk like old school friends who grew up together. I wish we did as we would have got up to alot mischief but I guess we are cut from the same cloth with his having a bit more MURCIA sewn in.
The night before I left to go to the US I took my JCW out for one last blast before I put her on trickle charge for the basically a month. It was a bitter sweet moment as I knew I may not be to drive in the US even though I got my international license permit. I would never let anyone drive my JCW because its the equivalent of someone giving me their wife for the night.

The night before I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t believe it was happening that I would be apart of the BIGGEST OFFICIAL MINI ROAD TRIP in the US. This wasn’t helped with the fact I had a early morning flight to the US but meh. My alarm went off and up I got with my bags and hugged my family goodbye my dad drove me to the airport but before I left I kissed my hand touched the bonnet MINI emblem and muttered with my head down ‘This will be the only adventure I cant take you with me’. I arrived at the airport & checked in my bags and wondered around until the second boarding call still thinking about my two friends will boarding their flights soon with us touching down within 1 hour of one another.
The call came and boarded my flight with Aer Lingus. I buckled myself in and flicked through the selection of films and what I saw brought a smerk to my face as the whole Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy and LEGO: The Movie was available!!!! But this was only a short trip to Dublin then on to San Francisco as I would heading through US customs in Dublin and walk straight out in San Fran.

I touched down in Dublin collected by bag and waited in line for immigration & customs which was an hour of my life I wouldn’t get back. I was pointed to the desk of hard nosed american official who told me to stand just behind the line and look directly into the camera and hand over my fingerprints. I didn’t like the fact I had to give my finger prints as it felt like a violation of my civil rights but its their country so their rules but I can understand for security reasons.
I was questioned about who I was, what is my job and what was my business to my visit to which replied whilst popping my iBat on the desk (my iPhone case looks like batman’s face). This resulted in a look up at me with a raised brow with quick question ‘Is that an sharp object?’ Nope is silicone as stabbed my hand batman’s cowl in my palm. As I finished my actions I was handed my passport and told to head forth as soon as I stepped across the line I got ‘Hey Cool case’ with an smerk. I thought from then on its gonna be an awesome trip…
After an hour wait I was back on the plane for lunch which was awesome to be fair as I was served steamed salmon with mashed potato and peas. I think that was the best food I have ever had on a plane even though I have flown first class on Emirates to Dubai a while back. As much as I love food, it was time of me to enjoy the Dark Knight Trilogy for sixteen millionth time! Thank you Mr Nolan for taking Batman movies away from the campiness they were into what the comics did so well at showing Mr Wayne’s alter ego for justice and bring down pain on those who pray on the weak.

After watching Batman Begins it was time for a short nap to catch some Zzzz as I would landing after 6 hours to sunny California. I woke up before we landed to take out my UK sim card to switch to my US sim card so I could use my phone and post things on my social media feeds. Don’t worry I didn’t bring down the plane as my iPhone was in air plane mode so there was the small thing of setting her up once we landed. I touched down in California and the shades came out for the sun and i felt like a boss given I didn’t have to go through customs and headed straight out to arrivals but received a text off Phil saying his flight was delayed for an hour so I gave me time to call the blue ghost to tell him I landed in the US and to round up the boys for the Buffalo leg of the MTTS.
I did the most american thing I could do was order some fries and get some coke to drink while I waited for my iphone to charge as I checked my emails, Facebook etc. It was still a surreal moment that I was in the US to do a MINI event without an actual MINI as I am so used to hoping into my JCW to do events which made it a bitter sweet moment.

Phil arrived so it was time to catch a cab to down town San Francisco to our hotel. I hadn’t seen Phil in a while so it was more of a reunion when met in the back of this crazy taxi Prius as we took in the sights and sounds of San Fran to learn Christine flight had been delayed as well and we wouldn’t see her to late that evening.
Me and Phil checked into the hotel and freshened up and hit the streets for some food and look around the city as we would leaving it the next day to start MTTS. The warm summer weather and cool breeze from the sea was perfect as we walked to the pier as I car spotted various cars along the way but again another surreal moment seeing the trams and the verticality of the hills didnt want me to walk up them on the way back. I was surprised Steve McQueen didn’t snapped the chassis on the Bullitt Mustang or the villian’s Charger didn’t bottom out the shocks as they tear through the streets but whilst this was going on Phil just wanted a ride on the tram to tick of his bucket list. I was in the world of my own thinking about the scene from The Rock ‘Hey man, you just F**KED up your Ferrari.’ ‘It’s not mine.’ ahh great film.
San Francisco at night was one of diversity as we saw street vendors selling food to tickets, roller blading crews etc and knowing the city is know for its liberal views and openness to anything with the rainbow flag originating from this city. Yet this city has seen its harsh moment with scale devastation with earthquakes which I learnt at school but as much as the city has taken it has given back with the bay. It was truly a moment of reflection looking at the bay and where this small car has taken to various places I had dreamed of.

As we walked back the hotel Christine aka Wifey No.1 rang to say she had arrived and would be at the hotel soon which we greeted once we got their then retired to our rooms as we would exploring San Francisco in the morning to do a few tourist things before we depart on our BIG MINI Adventure…
The sun rose over the bay and it was time to taste that Cali life as we all got ready to see all the sites but first thing we wanted to is going see the start point of MTTS which was MINI of San Francisco which would host the opening event and where we sign on to collect our goodies for motoring miles ahead. Luckily our hotel was only 15 minute walk away from the dealership so we walked together on this small milestone as I hadn’t seen Christine in a long while which so it was fitting to walk and talk.

One thing I couldn’t get over was how wide the lanes were and how they were allowed to turn right on red lights!!!! I don’t worry I remembered not to J walk even thought its fine in the UK but I did have a little New Yorker inside of me wanting to shout HEY I AM WALKING HERE! A few blocks and there it was that infamous winged logo with my favourite word written in Coolvetica font representing where many start the MINI adventures. The dealer was closed but I could see them prepping for tonight’s launch party but I could see some cool things and a lift?? Oh there are two floors!!!
Now we had see the dealership it was time to head back to the hotel to meet our MINI ambassadors Amy & Tryon Lippincoott who would taking Phil & Christine on this MINI adventure along with staying with us in hotels. Yet again the MINI community still seizes to amaze me how people who would have never met, meet because of this four wheel wonder and travel together on 5,000 plus mile journey. Amy & Tryon offered their MINIs for co-pilot duties for the trip to take them coast to coast even thought they had never met before.

Amy & Tyron rocked up in the cosmic blue and white Countryman All 4 S Auto outside our hotel where formally introduced ourselves after all the chats on Facebook. We headed down to the bay to go visit the iconic Alcatraz prison which I first learnt about in the film The Rock a great Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery movie. Whilst waiting for the ferry to arrive I got acquainted with Tyron who was clearly a car guy was we rattled off stories of our MINI adventures across France for MINI UNITED and the mods we had done to our cars. The pursuit of speed is a fun one as I learned more about Autocross which doesn’t happen in the UK to what I am aware of which is shame as its easy and cheap way of having fun instead doing a full blown track day.
I did take note on Tyron’s advice on upgrading pads to Hawkeye and running braided lines as he said under hard continued braking the autocross the brakes dont tend to overheat. However we did laugh about my Honda Civic YO days as I drove my mum’s 07 1.6 litre Civic which when I was finished with only panel that wasn’t dented was the roof. for a while before I got my 1st car being my 07 MINI One with the lesser know 1.4 litre with 89 Bhp. God how I miss my MINI One.

Tyron gave insight into life as a medic with the US Military as I always thought you had to be a different breed of person to devote your working life to your country and saving people’s lives. We salute you my friend and keep up the good work.

The ferry arrived and we head on board talking away whilst taking on the sight of the bay and the famous Golden gate bridge which we would be driving over on the next day. We disembarked from the ferry into our self guided tour with ear piece into the world of convicts and 5 by 9 feet cells. The islands has taken many forms with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of aboriginal people from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison in August 1934. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. At 9:40 am in the morning of August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas at Santa Venetia, California, before being escorted to Alcatraz, handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by some 60 special FBI agents, U.S. Marshals and railway security officials. Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers. The prison initially had a staff of 155, including the first warden James A. Johnston and associate warden J. E. Shuttleworth, both considered to be “iron men”.

During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael Cancel Miranda (a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who attacked the United States Capitol building in 1954), Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. “Doc” Barker, James “Whitey” Bulger, and Alvin “Creepy” Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families.
During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as “missing and presumed drowned”. The most violent occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz. On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin carried out one of the most intricate escapes ever devised.

The prison was shut down on March 21, 1963 due to costs as it costed nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta.

It was a little surreal walking around the prison since it hasn’t been touch since it shut down as per minor things to make it tourist friendly with signs etc. Just to think there was nothing in the cell but a bed and toilet and you could easy touch both ends if you lied down and stretched out your arms and legs. It was warm but windy summers day and to think that prisons lived in those cells with no air con, tv and barely saw the light of day expect for 1 hour in the yard or just to move to dining hall.
Cell 181 in Alcatraz is where Al Capone was imprisoned
The view from outside the walls was amazing as you looked upon San Fran with a clear view of the golden gate bridge.

We head back to grab some lunch which turned into something impossible as every place on the pier had waiting time of 45 minutes so we head to a dinner near our hotel as I wanted to see that old school I had seen in films.
We got told that the famous Lombard Street had been shut down due to repairs before I left for the states which was a major bummer however we learned that it might be open for a while. Me, Tyron, Christine and Phil jumped back into the Countryman to try our luck…
Behold I our luck!!!

I still cant get over how steep those hills are as you physical pushed back into your seat but back to Lombard street which was over in a minute. It ended up being a minute of slow drive down traffic in first gear given the level of steepness which resulted in me saying it would cool to drive down it in a go kart with some Initial D references. Another thing ticked off the bucket list
Tyron dropped us back off at the hotel so he could go pick up his mum who went to meet a friend. We would be catching them later at the launch party of MTTS at MINI San Francisco. The evening came so a quick freshen up we headed out with our mascots the 3 amigos here to the party to sign up MTTS and meet the people I had spoken online.

I knew MTTS was in full swing as I saw countless MINIs driving by which put a smerk on my face seeing MINI scene in the US. I was truly at home with all these MINIs around me as we entered into the dealership to sign in and collect our MTTS goodie bag which was a welcome treat as there was a LEGO Mini Mini, MTTS ID & Coast to Coast lanyard, some marketing material, these strange things called Peeps and laundry bag.

I went around to spot faces in the crowd whilst I looked around the dealership to how much bigger it was than a UK dealership. I walked upstairs to see the White Roof Radio crew and introduced myself to the wider group who were WFC road team. I was a fan of the show so it was kind of surreal speaking to them as I often listen to the podcast when I am driving to MINI events or to work. I was waiting upon Todd to mention the GP and wondered when project Roxy will ended and the DBs new car would arrive. I also met the couple to be Sami & Brian and gave my blessing for the day of where two become one as have spoke & met through Kyle with his MINIs on the mind show.

Half the time meeting people I didnt know where to turn as people were saying my name and I didn’t know who they were but they knew me. It was a very strange feeling meeting people who knew about what you get up to in even though they are half way across the world. Then I bumped into Christina and then Briana in quick concessions which was a mini shock as hand been bumping into people left, right and centre. It took me a while to orientate myself for a while as I looked to find Christine who was looking around the MINI Lifestyle selection of the dealership.
The announcements what would be happening with the heads of MINI USA marking the journey ahead of what MTTS is all about with the DJ then spinning his set on a MINI Countryman LIKE A BOSS!!!

I was then dragged to the photo op board by TEAM GB.
I got to mingle with everyone enjoying the free food and drink as spoke with everyone introducing TEAM GB and why we came over to do MTTS. Tony Hawks decided to come down and say Hi to the MTTS but he would be back something for something special to cut the ribbon at the starting line in his own half pipe way of life.

The night came to a close and it was an early start tomorrow so TEAM GB assembled and headed back to our hotel to what would be the drive of our lives but not before I made my LEGO mini MINI.

The sun creep over the hills of San Fran with the rumble of MINIs converging to underpass under the golden gate bridge. TEAM GBs US MINI Ambassadors arrived to pick us up to head to the starting line with being some what compressed into the back with all our luggage. Thank god MINI made the Countryman as I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere the stuff we had in both MINIs even thought Tyron had removed his rear seats as well.
It was like sea of MINIs all getting ushered into this some what of a parking lot with cars and faces I recognised. I had the smerk on my face as I knew this would be my home away from home seeing all these MINIs every stop of the way from coast to coast.

It was straight to getting out my suitcase to find today’s first ride and heading directly to the signing on desk to grab todays badges and freebies. Every stop we would do we would receive a new pin badge to add to make each destination which is awesome small touch. I was then surprised to hear that breakfast would be provided everyday of the trip which made life easier given the early starts every morning, Breakfast BURRRRITTOOOOS for everyone!!!!
The coast to coasters were rounded up (these were the people who would be done the whole leg of the trip) as they want to a photo op as well as getting us to sing the MINI Cooper song.
A big crane took up the MINI USA team who held up boards to the lyrics of the song so we got an idea what we would be shouting at the tops of our voices. Riding around in my MINI COOPER WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmHvaSwJO0A
Remember that guy Tony Hawk well he would kick flipping over MINIs to official launch MTTS 2014 but little did I know my first hitch hiking ride would be the first car across the line. I would be any car but an F56 MINI Cooper S Auto driven by MINI USA’s Product Manager Pat McKenna which isn’t too shabby if I do say so.

The chequered flag was waved by the MTTS crew which was met with police escorts locking down cross junctions with bikes and cars with no lookers wondering where so many MINIs came from. I had always had this image of US highways being populated by 18 wheelers, SUVs, pick ups, muscle cars, and the lower rider, ricers & donks.
It had been a while since I had seen so many M&Ms (this is what I call a lot of MINIs) especially one with the steering wheel on the wrong which made it even weirder as I sat what would be my driving seat. It was an interesting drive as I had never mingled with MINI head office and ask a question I thought I wouldn’t be able to ask to gain an insight into MINI prospect as a brand, business and global reach.

From what I gather from Patrick that he was a family man and understood the customer base of US MINI owners by what they wanted and expected from the brand. Even though MINI is a small percentage of car sold in the US around 1% it makes a significant part of MINI sales worldwide only taking 2nd place to the UK with the brand being introduced in 2002 with the Cooper & Cooper S models initially.
This led on to a talk about how US owners have brought into the brand how some loved the marketing, fondness of the British icon and the MINI community. The MINI USA team is much smaller than the UK team but I can see there is a lot more heart there about the brand as they have to try that bit more harder but you could see the MINI USA is very much entwined with the MINI community. Yes there is a marketing angle to MTTS but they are thankful for US population for buying a MINI and making it part of their families just like a pet.

Patrick gave me a real insight into the US owners as MINI has the highest percentage of owners opting for a manual transmission (I shed a tear of joy when I heard this) along with why the standard equipment and options list differed from the UK.
Federalisation of vehicles, import tax and exchange rates plays the first part in bringing a car over to the US as strangely as imports face tougher safety laws which is why the US F56 MINI is heavier than the EURO version thus the higher pricing. MINI USA has to outweigh what options to offer US owners for customer uptake and profit as they have to buy from MINI directly like any other dealership. Therefore options like heated windscreen and having value saving bundles like media package will be a given as that what a customer wants from their purchase. This brings in what to make standard to give value for money but makes it harder in a business case as MINI is a business and it needs to make profit from all the things you tick on the configurator. This leads to why the options are not offered or remove later down the lines as uptake is poor and bottom line doesn’t reflect it like the infamous R56 JCW Recaros which everyone wants but doesn’t due small fortune they cost.

It was a relatively short journey as it was to a new opened Niello MINI dealership in Sacramento which was a quick pit stop.
Me and Patrick grabbed our lunch which was a deli sandwich, crisps and drink.
That on the move lunch hit the spot which was perfect as it gave me time to freshen up and mingle with others and get a closer at their MINI half. I couldn’t get over how MOOOOHHHSSSIVEEE the MINI dealership was, as it was easily three times the height and twice the width.
I caught with TEAM GB and spoke with a few more owners as I walked around looking at sheer amount of passion gone into these MINIs to make them individual and personifier the owner’s personality on four wheels.

This first stop stopped me in my tracks as this long time reader and JCW owner Steve Takahashi made me grin ear to ear. I couldn’t believe what he said to me – The conversation went a little like this
Steve: Hi Ali I signed up to MTTS just to come and meet you
Me: What do you mean? (I had a dumb look on my face at this point)
Steve: I wasn’t sure about buying a MINI and type into Google MINI JCW and your blog popped up and read a few of your posts. I was sold and I ordered my JCW
Me: (there was a pause followed by a moment of disbelief with a handshake) Wow I don’t know what to say but thank you as I didn’t think I affected people that much. I am honoured and humbled that you have come out to see me. Hey MINI where is my commission??
This was all was followed by more disbelief and smiling with looking around saying I cant belief this. I had to see his JCW and see what options he specd and take a few piccies.
British racing green R56 JCW hatch with black roof and ohhh so much WANT of my mine the black xenons. If memory serves me correct this was an 13 model year JCW so it was face lifted model with N18 engine. It looked goooooddd under the Cali. For. Nia sunlight as it reacts the same way my eclipse grey metallic paint under sunlight and really pops out.
After seeing Steve’s JCW I did say to him I hope you enjoying the power and PLEASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE Take it to a track! It’s exactly how you describe Ali with the power and sheer amount of fun you can have with the added soundtrack of pops and bangs. It is moments like this that put a smile on face and make the countless hours I have spent on the blog all worth it. Another happy MINI owner and JCW Manic (sorry not sorry for passing the MINI Bug on to you : P).
I spent the rest of my time looking around the MINIs that were on the run there were a few that stood out by a long mile and so did their owners.

I met the larger than life Keli Creighton and Blaze who had seen online quite often
The next MINI I saw made me all patriotic which may well be the best wrap I have ever seen given it looked like paint and it was perfectly aligned was this Cooper S Clubman with the union jack.

Next up was the internet famous gold wrapped JCW Coupe.

There was another photo op with another aerial view for all you see what you were missing lol.

It was time to head back on the road and this time Patrick asked me to drive. I repeatedly asked him are you sure you want me to drive? Its a brand new car and I am still abit weird about all your road rules being wrong as all on they are opposite to what I am used to. I was handed the keys to the F56 S auto which was the perfect way to see how the auto felt as I had driven the F56 S manual in the UK before departing for my biggest MINI Adventure yet.
Here is my review of the F56 S both in the UK & USA
It was abit of surreal amount as steering wheel is on the wrong side and I am not really a fan of auto boxes so this was going to be interesting. I kept saying to myself don’t kill anyone or break the car but Patrick did ease me into driving in the USA.
I started off smoothly away from the dealership with me constantly asking I am in the right lane?, I am allowed to be in this lane and in my mind repeating stay right. My biggest problem was keeping the car in the lane as I would naturally stay to the left in the UK as the fast lane is the far right lane where as in the US its the fast left lane. Yes I know it sounds stupid that I couldn’t keep the MINI in between to white lines but natural reflex was urging me to move across to which the words I am sorry was mentioned a few times as I went over the rumble strips.

After about 15 minutes of driving on the hang of it and started to relax enjoy to what would be a mile marker of the behemoth journey that was upon us. This where having Patrick as a co pilot helped as I had no clue where we were as he point out a lake we driving parallel to was Lake Tahoe which is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft (1,897 m), it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake (1,945 ft (593 m)). Additionally, Lake Tahoe is the sixth largest lake by volume in the United States at 122,160,280 acre·ft (150,682,490 dam3), behind the five Great Lakes.
From what I saw from the car there was plenty of SUVs packed with tourists, adrenaline junkies and families waiting to make the most of the area.
I finally got to used to driving on the wrong side and began enjoying myself and relaxing. I was actually thankful I was driving an automatic for once as I didn’t know the roads and Waze app was my route guidance. The MINI is truly tiny compared to cars on the road in the US which made it even more fun when you hit the twisties on the roads to Reno aka “The Biggest Little City in the World”.

We arrived in Reno in good time with a quick switch a roo as Patrick dropped me off at Resort Harrah’s Reno which was actually more of a casino than hotel (before you ask I don’t gamble). I headed up and packed a few things and put everything else on charge in double room and I couldn’t get over how big the bed as it could easily sleep 5 people without a question.
Headed down straight afterwards after refreshing myself for tonight’s entertainment which was courtesy of MINI USA. MINI USA had hired out a local bowling alley which is probably a bit of loose term because it MASSIVE like everything else in the US. This bowling alley was called the National Bowling Stadium was actually Bowling megaplex with a 4-story lobby, 78 tournament-quality lanes & Stadium Club with full bar. It took a while to soak in given the sheer size of this place but this where I would pick up more freebies as such the free pin button, food and drink voucher. I used this night to socialise with everyone and too work out how to get a ride for the next day as it was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time talking to people I have spoke to online and now face to face on their side of the world.

It was a great night of laughs and a lot talking as told everyone I was from the UK with my two friends who were more like family. Obviously I show everyone pictures of my JCW and told them about my website and how I came about travelling across the world just to do a MINI event.

But this BIG MINI Adventure had only just begun….
The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES 2014 Part 2
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The post The BIG MINI Adventure: MINI TAKES THE STATES Part 1 appeared first on JCW Adventures.