In 2001 the second generation Mini Cooper brought the Mini name back to the USA. Since then they have added the larger Mini Clubman with a third door and now the Mini Countryman – a lifted awd four- full-size door Mini.

Now Mini is working on a coupe version of the Countryman. Instead of being a wagon it will have a sloping coupe-like rear-end, similar to BMW parent company’s X6, which has become a huge sales-success.

The new coupe could compete with Land Rover’s new Evoque at a lesser cost. The next-generation Countryman and the new coupe version are expected to have rear suicide doors on each side with no B-pillar.

Also a two-door coupe version of the Countryman is a possibility. It would make a WRC Mini stiffer than a B-pillarless coupe.
A more luxurious version of the Mini, with higher quality wood and leather, with a trunk could revive the Riley name. It is expected to appeal to affluent city dwellers and customers in places where hatchbacks are considered cheap.

At the other end of the spectrum Mini is considering the Minissimo which would use a shortened version of the current car. This version would be a smaller city car like the original Mini, unlike today’s car that is classified as a compact.

All we know is we want more power and more fun at an affordable price!

(Jason Udy, AutoCar)

We talked last month about how Shelby’s SSC Ultimate Aero was a little butthurt about all the hubbub regarding the new Bugatti Veyron SuperSport’s top speed record. Well, now they released pictures to back it up. Lo, and behold, the new SSC Ultimate Aero II.

For those not familiar with the awesomeness that is the SSC Ultimate Aero, it held the record for world’s fastest production car, beating the Veyron by hitting 256 mph. Not super surprising, considering its 182 horsepower advantage.

Once the Veyron SS broke the time, the Shelby crew started hitting the shop immediately to rebreak the record. No word yet on stats or top speed, but the photoshoot from Top Gear magazine’s story hit Jalopnik late last night. We look forward to hearing the stats on this mean machine.

[AJ | Jalopnik]

The first ever PACE Day has come and gone, but the memories of this spectacular event still dance like sugar plums in our heads.

We went into the weekend expecting thunderstorms and torrential rain, but as Moses parted the Red Sea, Utah PACE parted the clouds and blessed us with a beautiful day of cars, music and friends. The turn-out was nothing short of impressive with over 150 cars and 500+ visitors making the trek to Orem, Utah.

Utah PACE’s goal of uniting all car enthusiasts of every kind was realized 10 fold as everyone who came to show their precious metal appreciated everyone else, regardless of make or model. Utah PACE co-founder and PACE Day organizer Josue Andrade stated “The environment was just what we were expecting. Mitsubishi owners where mingling with Subaru guys and the muscle car guys where admiring the import scene and vice versa.”

Utah PACE co-founder and PACE Day show organizer James Crosby said “I can’t even count the number of people that came up to me to tell me about how this is the scene and atmosphere they have been looking for here in Utah.   I think there was a big hole that was missing in getting all the automotive enthusiasts in Utah together.”

PACE Day successfully filled that hole, providing car guys and gals from Utah and the surrounding states a forum and venue to share their passion. While doing so they’ve also helped a worthy cause as proceeds from shirt and sticker sales were donated to Primary Children’s Hospital. Plans for PACE Day 2011 are already in the works and you know that the Daily Derbi will be there to see who the real wheel men and women of Utah are!

Stay tuned for full features and reviews on some of the amazing cars found at the show!

Pace Day 2010 from Josh Clason on Vimeo.

[Brandon Christiansen]

I am going to start this article by going out on a limb and saying that anyone who loves to drive cars has at some point probably had the desire to race one around a track. Most likely a safe assumption on my end and it seems that the folks at Miller Motorsports Park have been listening. That’s how we get that pretty picture above and the Mustang Driving Experience.

For those who don’t know yet, Utah’s automotive racing gem we call the Miller Motorsports Park doesn’t stop at just offering awesome spectator events. They have plenty of activities (karting, anyone?) and programs to get people that track time they’ve been craving, including several levels of driving schools. The Mustang Driving Experience comes in as the first tier of these schools and aims to teach students basic racing elements like how to corner and brake correctly.

Concepts and theory are first taught in a 45-minute long classroom-styled lecture and illustrated on a very high-tech whiteboard by one of the professional racing instructors at the school. And while some of you may be thinking “why would I pay for classroom instruction?”, if your only prior track time consists of karting and Gran Turismo (yours truly), this is absolutely essential.

Of course, it is a bit hard to sit still and pay attention when you know that what you’ve paid for- driving a fast car around a technical track- is just around the corner.

After the classroom instruction has ended, you’re taken around the track you will be driving in a big van. I should mention at this point that you’re with a group of nine other drivers that are relatively or completely new to performance driving- there’s no pressure and no need to impress, which makes the actual driving a lot easier. But back to the van. You’re taken around the course so you get a brief feel for the layout and a general sense of how to hit each apex on each turn. Pay attention to this part! You’ll want this basic feel for the track before you go speeding around it (that’s next).

The cars you drive at the Mustang Experience- this shouldn’t come to a surprise to any of you- are Ford Mustang GTs. They started life out as bone stock GTs but then the friendly folks at Miller pepped them up with new racing suspensions, intakes and exhausts. And for anyone with zero track time, these cars are absolutely epic to begin in. They’re plenty powerful for first timers and they handle well. After a few laps, the cars also become very predictable which means you can drive them faster and harder.

At this point I have to claim a bit of ignorance on my part as I thought after classroom instruction, they would simply turn us loose and see how terribly we go around the track. I was a bit surprised when I found that we’d be following an professional instructor the entire time. But again, like the classroom instruction, this was beyond helpful. Driving behind the instructor and your fellow student drivers helps you recognize what lines to take, where the apexes are, and an overall sense of what not to be doing.

The actual driving experience is so, so far beyond fun. There is such a perfect mix of adrenaline, focus, and fear that I am confident in saying it cannot be found anywhere else. The Miller track is super technical with very few areas where you’re not turning or preparing to navigate your next approach. Variety really is the name of the track’s game- no corners are alike. This give you ample opportunity to push the car to its limits and find out just how sticky those racing tires really are. Even I, the total rookie driver, was able to hang a couple drifts around several corners. The Mustangs are a complete bliss to drive and feel unbelievably light and responsive for being such large cars.

Oh ya- once you’re done with your track time, the driving instructor takes you around for two hot laps to show you how you can really drive the cars. Let me just say, if by the end of your track time you think your  some pretty hot driving stuff, this will take your ego down a few notches.

So here are the two big questions at the end- would I recommend the Mustang Driving Experience to anyone interested in racing and would I spend the money to do it again? The answer to both is a solid and resounding “hell yes!” At $300 a person for the Mustang Driving Experience, it’s certainly not a cheap activity. But when considering the alternative of buying a track car, getting licensed and paying for track time, this become the bargain of the century, if only to experience what performance driving really is.

Check out The Miler Motorsports Park Mustang Experience website for more info.

[Chad Waite]

Now, over three months later, we’ve received word of the impact the event had. Over the past month 25 needy children were fed exactly 750 meals! Doing the math shows that this equates to nearly one meal per lap done!

A final sincere thank you to everyone who came out to participate in this event and to The Miller Motorsports Park for hosting the event. See you next year!

[Chad Waite]

So what’s the problem here? It’s been fun to blame driver error for a time but when the burned down Italia count reached four, most people started to suspect that this isn’t just another case of “Audi R8 meets parking brake meets freeway”. And in fact, it’s not. Ferrari has stated that the adhesive that is used to attach a heat shield under the rear fender likes to ignite under high temperatures. High temperatures that come from, say, a V8 engine just mere inches away.

Ferrari has designed a new heat shield that does away with flammable glue and uses fireproof rivets instead. Owners of the recalled 458 Italias will not be charged for this fix but will probably be left thinking “why the hell did my $250k Ferrari have exploding glue on it?”

[Chad Waite]

Mazda officially revealed the Shinari concept at a design event in Milan. The Shinari concept four-door coupe is the first car to debut Mazda’s new design language: Kodo. Kodo means “soul of motion” in Japanese.

Kodo will replace Mazda’s current Nagare “smiling face” design-language (which was supposed to be nature-influenced but just looked like a cheesy grin ). Ikeo Maeda, global design chief at Mazda, said that the car “will lead to the next generation of Mazda design”.

The concept could be a preview of the next-generation Mazda6 or a replacement of the RX-8, which won’t meet Euro5 emission regulations. Sad times for Rotary lovers world-wide.

The smiling face is replaced by a huge gaping-mouth grill, with slimmer headlights and a front fender grill reminiscent of Aston Martin. The overall shape looks like a cross-between an Aston Martin and a Jaguar with its own unique grill. The concept is a four-door, four-seater coupe just like the CLS which started the trend.

[Jason Udy, AutoCar]

So let’s cut straight to the chase here and address the 900 pound gorilla in the room (is that even how the saying goes?): will it suck? We’re totally serious with this question. After all, the original Top Gear- a phrase we’re still getting used to- is an international mega hit that owes its success to a healthy blend of factors including brilliant cinematography, an absolutely astounding line up of vehicles, challenges and specials that live up to the word “epic”, and of course, the character interaction that comes so naturally from Clarkson, Hammond and May .

That’s a hard ticket to beat (is that even how the saying goes?) and Top Gear USA will have a difficult time trying to recreate what BBC Top Gear has created. But is recreating the British version even the goal of Top Gear USA? The first trailer certainly makes it look so. And therein lies our problem. American viewers who know and love BBC Top Gear will instantly judge Top Gear America after just the first episode, saying things like “They hosts seem like they’re trying to hard”, “Man, even everything feels scripted”, or “Who the hell is Rutledge Wood?”

But for anyone willing to make up their mind after the first episode or two, we say take a breath, step back and realize the the Top Gear pooch hasn’t been screwed just yet (is that even how the saying goes?).

We bring up the fact that most people aren’t familiar with the older days of BBC Top Gear and that what you see on the telly today represents a lot of changes, tweaks and learning since the show’s relaunch in 2002. Simply put, when BBC Top Gear started, it was awkward, different, and easy to judge.

Take a look at the first episode for example (see below)- the Stig was black, James May was actually Jason Daw, the first car reviewed was a terrible and stupid Citroen Berlingo, and the studio was bare and painfully awkward with only a handful of people in it. A far cry from what the show is today. Had BBC Top Gear stayed like that, there is no way it would have experienced the rapid growth and success that it did.

Now with that said, are we saying that Top Gear USA will eventually become just as good as the original? No. Not even close. You can’t better perfection. Anyone who is expecting that will be sorely disappointed.

Will Top Gear USA suck? Who knows. But we are saying that when the first episode is awkward, different, and easy to judge, refrain from immediately casting the first stone (is that even how the saying goes?) and remember to give the show time to evolve and get comfortable in its new and fatter American skin. Or in simple terms, give Top Gear USA a chance!

Refreshing then is the word to use when we saw these spy shots of the next generation Porsche 911. As the photos clearly show, there is no selling out to corporate demands here. It’s still a coupe and in traditional Porsche fashion it’s still impossible to distinguish it from virtually any previous 911 mode, despite minor changes in length and width and an upgraded interior. Basic raw Porsche.

Better yet, zee Germans are sticking with their tried and true direct injected six-cylinder boxter engine. And while most of the focus is on how good these engine’s fuel economy is, the power side of things is what catches our attention. We estimate it’ll put crank out around 440-horsepower with plenty of room for power improvement for the next-gen 911 Turbo.

So props to you Porsche for not being stupid and following market trends on your most iconic model. Expect to see the new Porsche 911 on sale October 2011.

[Chad Waite, AutoCar]