One Mini Special Edition Points to Heritage, Another Aims for Value

No brand is immune from putting out special editions to honor its heritage, and so it is with Mini. The company is launching two – the 2021 Mini Cooper 1499 GT and 2021 Mini Countryman Oxford Edition.

The former is meant to be a homage to the classic Mini 1275 GT, while the latter does not, as far as we know, come with a tweed blazer with elbow patches.

The 1499 GT has a “bespoke” (note to PR departments – that word is getting a bit out of control in press releases) look with Midnight Black Metallic paint and gold stripes for the sides. The grille, door handles, and headlights are framed by a Piano Black finish. The headlights themselves are LEDs and the car has fog lamps, too. The LED taillights are in the shape of the Union Jack and the finish around them is also Piano Black.

Some of the John Cooper Works styling package makes its way over – the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, split-level spoiler, and door plates all come from the JCW package. Seventeen-inch wheels wear all-season rubber.

This special edition is powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder that makes 134 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. The car has performance specs of 0-60 mph in 7.5 sec and a 130 mph top speed. A six-speed manual is standard (hooray!) and an optional seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic for the party poopers out there.

Inside, the JCW theme continues, with the cloth seats from that package. They’re in Carbon Black/Dinamica cloth here. The JCW steering wheel with perforated leather and red stitching is present, there’s Piano Black finishing, and an Anthracite headliner. Available features include dual-zone climate control, 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment with navigation, Apple CarPlay, and digital gauges.

Pricing will be set at $27,040 plus $850 for destination.

The Countryman Oxford Edition will be available on both Cooper Countrymans and Cooper Countryman ALL4s, and it has the standard features that come with Classic trim. Those include leatherette upholstery, 8.8-inch screen, Bluetooth, rear camera, rear park-distance control, seven-speed automatic transmission (dual-clutch), and a panoramic sunroof. The car now has this spring’s updates: LED headlights, fog lights, and taillights, with those taillights having the Union Jack shape.

The Oxford Edition adds 18-inch wheels in either silver or black, run-flat tires, Anthracite headliner, heated front seats, automatic climate control, and a choice of six exterior paint colors. One of those is, of course, British Racing Green. Body-color roof and mirrors are available, or the buyer can contrast a white or black roof and mirrors with the body color.

Mini has set the MSRP for this one at $26,500 for Cooper Countrymans and $28,500 for Cooper Countryman ALL4s. Like with the 1499 GT, that doesn’t include the $850 destination fee.

[Images: Mini]