Issue #15

July-August '08:

Our Cover story this month is about Peter Horvath and his company, M7 Tuning. The article, entitled Screaming Yellow Zonker (page 34) is authored by Publisher, Barry Brazier,  provides the back story on  M7's philosophy of designing and manufacturing thoughtful, interesting and unique aftermarket performance products that enhance the MINI ownership experience.
This summer issue is the earliest one in which we can offer seasonal event coveage and we kick off the 2008 MINI Event Season with coverage of MINIs At The Dragon on page 25. However, rather than just write about the events and goings on at this annual event, the MC2 staff decided to do interviews with five individuals and one couple, getting their thoughts on the event and on driving the country's most famous road for MINI enthusiasts.

Then it is off to Nevada for a Nevada City Adventure (page 72), an annual event sponsored by Mini Mania and held at that aftermarket company's headquarters.According to author John Burnett, the event, now in its seventh years, attracts MINI owners from thoughout the western states who come for the comeraderie, good times and custom installs. Burnett says that this year's event attracted over 120 cars, including restored a host of new MINIs and racers, plustclassics, VTEC conversions and modified classics.

Speaking of classics... our heritage features this month include a story by Senior European Correspondent, Graham Robson, on the Spiritual and Spiritual Too concept cars. In The Minis That Never Were (page 30), Robson details the development of future Mini product in the days before the company was completely swallowed up by BMW. Apart from the Spiritual concepts which debuted at the 1997 Geneva Auto Show, the article gives details on the back room dealings that ended with the British design team being totally left out of the development of the New MINI design.

Then, on page 38, our UK Correspondent, Rob Marshall  waxes poetic on the legendary coachbuilders, Wood & Pickett, who have been restoring and building custom Minis since the early 1960s. In Hand-Built Heritage, Rob writes about the birth of the Mini coachbuilding industry, which filled a demand for custom versions of the iconic classic created by stars such as Peter Sellers, The Beatles, and Mick Jagger, who wanted cool customs for the hip London scene in the 1960s. Still building, restoring and customizing the classic Wood & Pickett has established itself as a premier coachbuilder and Rob tells all how to get their hands on one of the company's elite products.

Car features this issue include a photo feature on David Stearns' unique 2002 Cooper S, a roofless MK-I Cooper S, and a unique Clubman. In A Feeling Called The Blues (page 42) editor Peter D. DuPre tells the story how Stearns purchased a MINI in a color (blue) he really didn't like and then rather than repaint the car, he embraced the color completely and decided to fully detail the vehicle so it was completely blue. The result is a stunning custom that turns heads where ever Stearns takes it. Then, following on page 44, he writes about Jeremey Thorpe's custom 1967 MK-I Cooper S roadster. Not many would be so brave as to cut the roof off a classic, but Thorpe had vision of what he wanted and then meticulously cut off the roof, added a body kit, roll bar and then painted the result bright orange. The result is a remarkable autocrosser that looks cools and totally different. Finishing up the features section of the issue is a story about Aznom's beautifully kitted Clubman S and its tranformation into a one-of-a-kind estate wagon. In Wine Country Estate Wagon (page 48), you can learn about this Italian Design Firm's vision of luxury by examining a car that has a perfectly detailed Spanish leather interior, real wood trim on the exterior, and it's own wine cellar!

In the technical section, we have an article by Matt "Dr. Obnxs" Richter, about how making the wrong mods to your MINI's suspension can result in a car that is too narrowly purposed for comfortable street driving. In The Hows and Whys of Suspensions Gone Bad (page 58), Matt writes about how one mod leads to another and that leads to another and so on. He discusses where most MINI owners make their mistakes, talks about building the "perfect" suspension, and provides tips on finding the vehicle roll center as well as how to set up your car. And so you can put all that technical jargon to good use, we follow up Matt's story with the MC2 Suspension Guide (page 64), a product-packed buyer's guide featuring many of the latest suspension enhancing products, with prices and contact info. All-in-all, it's a pretty exciting issue...

But wait, there's more! Apart from the features and technical articles, there are all the usual columns: On the Apex (gas mileage tips), Mini Cindy (suspension tips for classic racers), Across the Pond (time for a special edition Mini?), The Doctor is In (your tech questions answered), plus MINI News, Your Wheels, the Mini Calendar, and our issue ending photo feature, The Last Word.

As usual, the staff worked hard making this issue of MC2 interesting and informative. We hope you enjoy reading it. ~ Peter D. DuPre, Editor-In-Chief