(Source: Autoblog)

Mini Cooper has always been a bit funky with their style. From having the Union Jack roof as an option on their cars to a bike that fits in the trunk, they do some cool stuff. The newest product from the Mini Lifestyle Collection is a dope set of sneakers. An attempt to bridge the gap between sneaker collectors and car lovers, they have come out with a pair of shoes that I personally love. A clean high top using navy blue canvas, the Union Jack as an accent and 2 small mini logos make them a set of shoes you can wear out anywhere. As we do with cars, these shoes were unveiled at the Sneakerness convention in Cologne, Germany and will be shown at the other major shoe shows (say that ten times fast) later this year. The shoes will go on sale in September and will be available at select Mini dealers. Their internet shop can be found here.

Top selling racing franchise for the Xbox, Forza Motorsport, has shown off some new images from their fourth installment on the series, due out this fall. The screen shots are stunning. I first saw these four pictures of the cars sitting in a showroom and I thought, “they were real cars”, but in fact, they are how the cars will be rendered in game. The five pictured below are the cars that will only be available depending on where you pre-order the game. The one you need to remember is if you pre-order at Best Buy you get the BMW 1M, which really is the only one you should care about. Not too much else out about the game right now but as news comes out it will be right here.

(Source: Jalopnik)

(Source: Autoblog)

It seems that everyone has been investing in bikes: Audi, McLaren, BMW and now Mini. What’s cool is that all these bikes fit a different audience, McLaren went high tech, BMW was conventional, Audi went green, and now Mini is going, well mini. This bike is for the rare times when the Mini Cooper is just too big. I wasn’t aware this happened, but I’ll go with it. Weighing only 24 pounds, this little bike will fold up and fit into the back of a Cooper for easy transport. Although condensed in size, this is a full featured bike with eight gears that will get you where your Mini can’t, no problem. Coming in at 499 Euros (728 Dollars American) the Mini bike is a bit pricey, but having a bike designed to fit in your car may be a lot easier than dealing with a conventional rack.

As far as crazy engine modifications go this is definitely up there; It’s a jet-turbine powered Mini Cooper S. BMP Design is creating this super Mini for a client who has a “fascination with jet-turbine powered vehicles and a history of owning rear-engined subcompacts.” Behind the front seats sits a Rolls Royce-Allison 250-C20B turbine engine which produces a total 640 HP. This Jet-Turbine Powered Mini is definitely one-of-a-kind and the video is really the only thing that does it justice so check it out below.

At the Paris Motor Show, MINI debuted their WRC ready Countryman and it seems to fit the bill.  If you remember a few weeks back, a video of the Prodrive prepped machine tearing up some roads in Portugal, also shown here.  This car looks ready to tear up the road weather it be tarmac or gravel but will it last the race?

Source: MINI

Caught being put through a few laps in Portugal, the MINI Countryman looks to be WRC ready.

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It appears that MINI is actually going to be entering the WRC with its Countryman.  Prodrive, the company putting the car together, said that they had been testing the MINI at their private test facility mainly on tarmac.  In the coming weeks they will be finalizing the car and sending it off to Portugal for some off road/low grip tests.  It is exciting to see MINI back in WRC and what they can do.

Source: MINI

Saab has reportedly been in talks with the World Rally Championship officials for some time now in hopes to jump start their Rally Racing.  If you remember, Mini will also be joining the hunt in 2011 for a few races and a full season for 2012. Saab will be running a similar schedule.  If Saab joins, they will be racing with either their 9-1 or 9-2 but nothing is solidified.  Rumors are that the WRC rally car will be heavily based off the 9-X Air BioHybrid concept . Hopefully sooner than later, we will be seeing some real photos or renditions of what the car will look like.

Photo Credit: Autoblog