Short History of BMW's UKL Platform for the MINI

[insightman]

Today, Gabriel Bridger posted on his MotoringFile website a nice history of the evolution of BMW's UKL platform for the MINI. I enjoyed reading how this wonderful, sporty platform for my favorite-ever car came to be.

I hope BMW creates an i1 version of its electric Neue Klasse series, because that could be turned into the next globally available (yes, including North America) MINI Cooper SE.

Let us imagine one of the MINIs in this stylish photo from the MotoringFile article is an F56 MINI Cooper SE

 

[ghost]

Good read, thanks for posting it here. My favorite part is that UKL means lower class. No wonder why I love mine so much!

 

[insightman]

I'm very glad I got my MINI before the F6X/J0X/U25 transformation. This Top Gear reviewer doesn't appreciate MINI's interior or user-interface changes--especially the "Experiences" offered by the MINI Countryman JCW.

"But a final gripe: those Experiences. There are nine of them and none of them does anything to the suspension. Yes, Go Kart adds a bit of steering weight and sharpens the throttle, but really they are not about the driving, they are about ambient lighting, calming thoughts, screen displays, on board wellness, chakras, personal mindfulness and spiritual awakening. Select one and its arrival is heralded with a whoop, birdsong, jungle beat or whale fart, interrupting my podcast and making me grind my teeth."