theSwitchback

MINI has always said that their car is not a “retro car”, such as the VW Beetle or even PT Cruiser, it is a completely modern car, with a strong historic bloodline reflected in its style. Or words to that effect. Despite this, the MINI is still due to be one of the stars at Race Retro 2009, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, from 13th to 15th March.

MINI UK will be there with a MINI John Cooper Works (which will be reviewing here in full in April) and a MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE race car. The new MINI Convertible will also be there, at one of its first public outings in the UK. We’ll also be driving the new MINI Convertible soon, and you can follow our week with the car, starting in the south of France on the 20th March, on Twitter prior to a full report and review here on theSwitchback.

The new MINIs will be joined at Race Retro by an impressive range of historic racing Minis, as well as Mini rally legend Rauno Aaltonen, who will be driving his 1964 Monte Carlo Rally Mini Cooper S. Should be a blast if you can make it.

Still with a retro vibe, today we saw the first glimpse of a unique MINI Clubman and Airstream trailer combo designed by Republic of Fritz Hansen. The concept will be unveiled to the public at the INTERNI DESIGN ENERGIES exhibition in the courtyards of Università degli Studi di Milano during the upcoming Salone del Mobile show in Milan. The exhibition will be open from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 30th April from 10:00 a.m. until midnight.

Republic of Fritz Hansen are a renowned furniture maker based in Copenhagen, with a strong identity, best known for minimalist, functional design. The MINI Cooper S Clubman and Airstream trailer have proven to be an ideal canvas for them to turn their hand to. Taking inspiration from the image of a surfing lifestyle, the Airstream will feature new interpretations of the iconic Egg and Swan Chair. The MINI Clubman will sport a jet black “wetsuit” paint job with neoprene accents and lightning green trim, while the 22ft silver Airstream trailer will enjoy the same exterior details as the MINI but will have an interior designed for beach goers with features such as a waterproof interior and a sun bathing bed.

We’re naturally cynical about these cross-branding design and marketing initiatives and to a degree the very concept of “cool” products, but MINI, Airstream and Republic of Fritz Hansen are all brands that have a very strong image of their own that we find uniquely appealing, and should compliment one another very nicely.

From retro futurism to one possible avenue for the future of motoring. Electric cars, and our favourite battery operated go-kart, the MINI E.

Jay Leno has done a pretty interesting piece on the car as part of his Jay Leno’s Garage series, you can view the video in full on the Jay Leno’s Garage website. The show doesn’t really tell us anything new, but it’s nice to see the MINI E out and about on the public highway.

We also recently stumbled across a couple of blogs run by soon to be MINI E custodians and testers, Elia Sheldon will be covering her MINI E experience as part of her wider ranging personal blog, while Robert’s MINI E Field Trial blog is, as the name suggest, a more focused MINI E affair.

Tags: airstream, jay leno, mini clubman, mini e, race retro, retro

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 9:09 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.