First J01 produced yesterday

Those production tail lights look okay, like a minimalized version of the current Union Jack design. One oddity I just noticed, the J01 retains the 2022 LCI frontend design but doesn't seem to have the air curtain slits. So the iconic fog lamps were dropped for no reason? Boo. Overall though it does still look true to current MINI styling.

And no faux hood scoop, maybe @insightman's letter had some influence after all. (Unless what's pictured is the Cooper S, so there's a risk the Cooper SE could have a fake scoop.)

 

Any confirmation yet if the HUD will project onto the windscreen? Or if we'll still have "one more thing that can break"?

 

Same HUD as the F56 but a little more detail. Backup camera now has 360 bird eye view like the 2013+ BMWs. The under seat bass speakers have been replaced with a real amp+subwoofer in the hidden boot compartment.

 

No hood scoop, but I wasn't surprised. I knew from my study of MINI head designer Oliver Heilmer's sketches, concept cars, and prototypes, that he was no fan of that skeuomorphic feature. However, when Mr. Heilmer got the opportunity to start from scratch, he minimalized away a lot of the interior features I found intuitive and useful.

The first car off the assembly line has started the clock ticking. How long will it tick before the first J01 is delivered in the US?

 

The photo of the Zhangjiagang factory on that web page looks like the microscopic magnification of an integrated circuit. That's probably because it's designed to be as efficient as an integrated circuit.

 

Besides the lack of range, sounds like my SE. Replaced my amp, subs, added 360, HUD on a goofy plastic sheet

 

The bonus with using a pop-up HUD is that it does not interfere with polarized sunglasses!

Also power seats with 2 driver memory + power lumbar and 18 inch wheel options (225/40).

The throttle pedal is now top mounted instead of floor mounted - not sure how I feel about that one.

 

Looks cooler on Google Maps across the street from Xinlianxin Happy Farmhouse. I don't know what voodoo magic was able to cut through all that smog.

 

I hope the new OS supports more advanced CarPlay features like passing SoC info to Apple Maps and displaying Apple Maps turn-by-turn (or the map itself) in the HUD.

 

I don't think "Zhangjiagang factory" rolls off the tongue as well as "Plant Oxford".

 

Another bonus: You can still read it when bug(s) splat on the windshield in that location. When this happens with a HUD that projects onto the windshield, it's a challenge to focus on the projection and not the bug guts.

 

On that map, Guotai N Rd looks like a major thoroughfare. Does it go under the factory?

 

That photo was the first I've seen that refers to the BMW/GWM factory as the "Spotlight Automotive plant."

 

Most of Google has been banned in China since 2010 so there will be some inaccurate data. That being said, it could be a super tunnel!

Maybe try one of the of the state-sponsored Chinese super apps for better accuracy!

 

The article was the first I had seen referencing the new name, despite the partnership being formed almost five years ago.

 

I was wondering about that, as I have a VLT 80 ceramic film on the inside of my windscreen, and my (admittedly cheap) polarized sunglasses show vivid kaleidoscopes out the windows, and alter the colors of signs and road surfaces (ie dark asphalt looks olive green).

 

The polarizing component should cut down the glare, but the color shift is from light filtration. In your case you probably have G15 replica aviators or high contrast copper/brown lens sport sunglasses. Generally filters won't dramatically affect windscreen HUD visibility like polarizing sunglasses do.