In this case, the marketing department made the decision. I have a letter from the head of design.
MINI SE Electric: Hood scoop or nah?
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sacharama
Active Member
Maybe. Or management executives, or the CEO, or or. Out of curiosity, what exactly did the head of design say? Assuming you have contact with the head of design as opposed to a leak of internal communication, did you ask him/her what/who/why the final production model has the scoop?
Tommm
Well-Known Member
Sorry, that's not a replica. It's the real thing baby!
sacharama
Active Member
I am not saying the firebird is a replica. It's the fact that it's a Pontiac that reminds me of the fiero.
MrSnrub
Well-Known Member
Do we have to haul Coors across the Mississippi now?
I've been a Mini fan since John Cooper turned Alec Issigonis' tiny economy car into a giant-killer at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. None of John Cooper's Minis had a hood scoop.
The hood scoop for BMW's supercharged MINI Cooper S made sense, but the MINI Cooper S hood scoop hasn't been functional since a turbocharger replaced the supercharger. People got used to identifying the hottest MINI Coopers by the presence of a hood scoop, so MINI retained the look, if not the function.
I perceived the ornamental scoop as MINI's single styling concession to vanity. Every other exterior component served a functional purpose.
In 2009, when the MINI E was offered for lease in very small numbers, I had been driving a gas-electric hybrid Honda Insight for 7 years. I was excited by the prospect of having a fully electric MINI. Then, to my dismay, instead of an electric MINI, BMW brought forth the i3.
Nine years after the MINI E, spy photos began to appear of the camouflaged SE. None of those pre-production prototypes had a hood scoop. I was happy to see that MINI realized the fake hood scoop no longer made sense on an electric vehicle.
Then, in July, 2019, MINI unveiled the MINI Cooper SE--with a hood scoop. I was very disappointed and I wrote letters to the head of BMW, the head of MINI, the head of Plant Oxford, the head of MINI USA, and the head designer, Oliver Heilmer. In my letter I asked to pay $1,500 to get the less-expensive scoopless base MINI hood installed on my SE in the factory.
Only one of those people responded to my plea: Oliver Heilmer. In his very short note he wrote "I will take up your suggestion with marketing." He said so much in so few words, but I'm confident I'm interpreting his message correctly.
That quoted sentence is the rock-solid basis for my claim that the designers didn't think a hood scoop belongs on an electric MINI. Additional evidence is the absence of a hood scoop on every single SE prototype, concept drawing, and concept car.
I wonder if my logic has seeped into the minds of those with the final cut on the Zhangjiagang SE?
sacharama
Active Member
Ultimately the buck stops at the top so the CEO/president was the one who decided the scoop to stay or decided that marketing's call for the scoop is favored based on whatever the objectives that the decision was based upon.
I am glad that they decided to have the scoop on the SE, otherwise I might have to endure a similar saga to put a scooped hood onto my SE.
Also I can see what the marketing team might have thought in regards to the scoop. The current SE is built on the primarily same platform as the ICE R56 and people know pretty well the distinction between the Cooper S and the Cooper, that is, the S has more horsepower and higher performance and such. Since the electric Cooper is a high performance model with 200 HP and such, it would be appropriate to keep the scoop so it would be identified as the high performance model and not the base Cooper with lower horsepower.
As for the Chinese electric mini, it's a totally new platform which will not have any heritage/lineage to the existing Cooper, so it would make sense that it won't have the scoop as it's a completely new model.
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There's something missing, I just can't put my finger on it.
Oh yeah, the special, aerodynamic air-curtain vents that replaced the beautiful fog lights on my SE. I wonder why the grille-surround is chrome when there's no chrome anywhere else? Will these all-metal wheel wells rust out?
Oh yeah, the special, aerodynamic air-curtain vents that replaced the beautiful fog lights on my SE. I wonder why the grille-surround is chrome when there's no chrome anywhere else? Will these all-metal wheel wells rust out?
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
It's not chrome (see full-size image at story). It's a brushed metal, maybe aluminium? Doesn't the MINI Resolute Edition use bronze?
Thanks. I didn't read far enough.
Will MINI be selling a $600 black trim replacement for the brushed-metal grille surround??
Yeah, I miss the REAL fog lights.
At least MINI knows how to keep their fake hood scoops attached to the hood!
Ford Recalls Bronco Sport Fake Hood Scoop Because It May Detach While Driving
I glad I had a scoopless non-S hood installed as soon as my SE was delivered. As my historical slide-show illustrates, an electric MINI shouldn't have a hood scoop. Clearly, Head of MINI Design, Oliver Heilmer, agrees because when he finally wrested final-edit away from the scoop-loving marketing department, the J01 SE emerged scoopless.
However, now that we've spied the scoopless J01 JCW trim level (a gussied-up J01 SE with the same basic motor), I'm wondering if the genuine JCW J01 will get a hood scoop to differentiate it from the JCW J01 trim-only pretenders? Customers who pony up the bucks for a genuine JCW will want people to know it's genuine, but the JCW-trim customers will cry foul if the genuine JCW looks better. Will there be a market for fake JCW fake hood scoops?
I was surprised how difficult it was to sell my pristine S hood. It didn't sell for $1 on ebay (I didn't offer free shipping). Six months later, someone who saw my Facebook ad showed up in a van and took it out of my garage for a mere $180.
Ford Recalls Bronco Sport Fake Hood Scoop Because It May Detach While Driving
I glad I had a scoopless non-S hood installed as soon as my SE was delivered. As my historical slide-show illustrates, an electric MINI shouldn't have a hood scoop. Clearly, Head of MINI Design, Oliver Heilmer, agrees because when he finally wrested final-edit away from the scoop-loving marketing department, the J01 SE emerged scoopless.
However, now that we've spied the scoopless J01 JCW trim level (a gussied-up J01 SE with the same basic motor), I'm wondering if the genuine JCW J01 will get a hood scoop to differentiate it from the JCW J01 trim-only pretenders? Customers who pony up the bucks for a genuine JCW will want people to know it's genuine, but the JCW-trim customers will cry foul if the genuine JCW looks better. Will there be a market for fake JCW fake hood scoops?
I was surprised how difficult it was to sell my pristine S hood. It didn't sell for $1 on ebay (I didn't offer free shipping). Six months later, someone who saw my Facebook ad showed up in a van and took it out of my garage for a mere $180.
MINI Official Press Release from April 01, 2002, back when BMW's MINI was new, the hood scoop was functional, and the marketing team had fun.
Official Release: Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, April 01, 2002…While most cars now come with either two or four front headlamps, MINI has introduced a groundbreaking third headlamp specifically for foggy English weather.
The third lamp is situated in the air-intake position, which previously fed the MINI Cooper S supercharger. Re-routing the air induction through a ‘hairdryer technology’ sub-mounted pump, has freed up this position for the ‘fog-busting’ third eye.
MINI’s xenon headlamp technology has also been further developed for the center-mounted lamp. This revolutionary new technology emits a super-heated beam that dries out fog up to 100 feet ahead of the car and dramatically improves visibility.
A spokesman for MINI UK said; “We are delighted to be getting this technology as a world first. I have so often been caught out in foggy weather while bringing home my fish ‘n’ chips. This breakthrough really is a godsend, me old mate.”
The dubious U.S. spellings for ‘centre’ and ‘light’ have been combined to form the trademark name of the system; Centerlite’ tm. . ‘Centerlite tm can be used with the main headlights on or off, thus when using only the ‘Centerlite’ MINI can even more closely resemble the motorcycle riding experience.
While trials in the UK are proving successful, MINI admits that work has to be done to improve battery power for the third lamp. The large battery requires the removal of the rear seats and raising the roof height by 3 inches.
No word as yet whether this ‘fog-busting’ technology will make the U.S. market where cold, foggy conditions are not so prevalent. Newfoundland, however, has the item pre-ordered as a 100% standard feature.
The standard two-lamp MINI Cooper went on sale at MINI dealers on March 23 2002. With an MSRP of $16,850 including delivery charges, the car will be joined by the even livelier, $19,850 MINI Cooper S in the coming weeks.
Official Release: Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, April 01, 2002…While most cars now come with either two or four front headlamps, MINI has introduced a groundbreaking third headlamp specifically for foggy English weather.
The third lamp is situated in the air-intake position, which previously fed the MINI Cooper S supercharger. Re-routing the air induction through a ‘hairdryer technology’ sub-mounted pump, has freed up this position for the ‘fog-busting’ third eye.
MINI’s xenon headlamp technology has also been further developed for the center-mounted lamp. This revolutionary new technology emits a super-heated beam that dries out fog up to 100 feet ahead of the car and dramatically improves visibility.
A spokesman for MINI UK said; “We are delighted to be getting this technology as a world first. I have so often been caught out in foggy weather while bringing home my fish ‘n’ chips. This breakthrough really is a godsend, me old mate.”
The dubious U.S. spellings for ‘centre’ and ‘light’ have been combined to form the trademark name of the system; Centerlite’ tm. . ‘Centerlite tm can be used with the main headlights on or off, thus when using only the ‘Centerlite’ MINI can even more closely resemble the motorcycle riding experience.
While trials in the UK are proving successful, MINI admits that work has to be done to improve battery power for the third lamp. The large battery requires the removal of the rear seats and raising the roof height by 3 inches.
No word as yet whether this ‘fog-busting’ technology will make the U.S. market where cold, foggy conditions are not so prevalent. Newfoundland, however, has the item pre-ordered as a 100% standard feature.
The standard two-lamp MINI Cooper went on sale at MINI dealers on March 23 2002. With an MSRP of $16,850 including delivery charges, the car will be joined by the even livelier, $19,850 MINI Cooper S in the coming weeks.
CuriousGeorge
Well-Known Member
K.I.T.T., is that you?
Rexsio
Well-Known Member
As I read something similar as those English engineers working on to put those powerful lights on hood as a third center light on Mini Cooper for French market as you driving at night going home on a countryside collecting frogs for diner and they already fry to eat .Better if they patent that light before I do it.