Rolls-Royce Inspired Mini Goes On Sale For £41,000

The MINI Inspired By Goodwood, a collaboration between MINI and fellow BMW-owned marque Rolls-Royce, has gone on sale at a price of £41,000.

For as long as there have been Minis (lower case, so I am talking about the Issigonis model) there have been luxurious variants.  Companies like Wood & Pickett and Radford turned the iconic car into mini Rolls-Royces (all lower case, so meaning small) with lavish and high quality interiors.  The fuel crisis of 1973 spurred the market on further, forcing even the super wealthy to downsize.  The classless-ness of the original car made it possible, with posh versions seeming to lack the feel of ostentation you’d expect.

So BMW is really just looking to history in response to these current times of austerity.  Don’t look upon the MINI (all upper case, so the BMW version of the car) Inspired By Goodwood as an expensive MINI, but a cheaper Rolls-Royce.

Just 1,000 MINI Inspired By Goodwood models will be made, priced at £41,000.  Deliveries start in March 2012.

The car is the result of an exceptional collaboration between MINI and the Rolls-Royce Motors Cars design team.  As with luxurious Minis before it, the special edition MINI features top-grade materials and the highest level of workmanship.

The exterior and interior design features, were conceived by Rolls-Royce  in the Sussex town of Goodwood and provide the car with a “luxurious charisma and high-quality ambience”.

The dashboard, central console, air vents, carpets, heated lounge leather seats, roof lining, doors and interior cladding all boast the exclusive Rolls-Royce colour Cornsilk.  The dashboard and doorhandle surfaces, which are manufactured in Goodwood, are finished in Walnut Burr, a premium wood trim exclusive to Rolls-Royce.  The limited edition also features cashmere roof linings, sun visors and rear storage tray as well as deep-pile lambswool foot mats – a quality also featured in current Rolls-Royce models.

The exterior design is finished in the exclusive Rolls-Royce colour Diamond Black metallic and 17-inch light alloy wheels sporting a multi-spoke design.

The MINI Inspired By Goodwood is powered by a l.6-litre 184 bhp four-cylinder petrol engine with Twin Scroll turbocharger, direct petrol injection and variable valve control from the Cooper S.

Standard kit also includes a Xenon Adaptive Headlights, Park Distance Control, automatic air conditioning, an onboard computer, MINI Navigation and the audio system Radio MINI Visual Boost, which includes the Harman Kardon hi-fi speaker system.  The car also comes with MINI’s 5 year servicing package; MINI TLC.

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