Car and Driver: Mini’s Latest Special Edition Is Barely More Than a Badge

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We’ve just finished digging through Mini’s latest 2500-word press release trumpeting a new special-edition Mini Seven. But as far as we can tell, this “Exclusive Design” model amounts to a special badge, silver trim for the roof and door mirrors, some brown interior bits and 17-inch wheels of slightly different design. That’s it. Not exactly the most impactful way of honoring the Mini’s historic ancestor, the Austin Seven.

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Blame the standard Mini’s wide range of customization options, which essentially allow you to recreate the Mini Seven’s look on your own. For instance, each of the four exterior colors available for the special edition—Lapisluxury Blue, Pepper White, British Racing Green, and Midnight Black—is offered for the standard Mini Hardtop 2-door and 4-door models, as are the silver hood stripes, and the piano-black dashboard trim.

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The “Seven” badges that adorn the front fenders and door sills are meant to hark back to the Austin Seven, twin model to the classic Morris Mini Minor when it debuted in 1959. It was a carry-over name back then, paying tribute to the original 1922-1939 Austin Seven, a tiny machine on a 75-inch wheelbase. Of course, today’s Mini doesn’t have all that much in common with its iconic roots, as it’s ballooned in size and is now made by BMW, rather than the British Motor Corporation.

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Mini has yet to release pricing for the Seven, but we sure hope it doesn’t cost too much more than the standard Mini Hardtop 2-door and 4-door variants, given its minimal changes. If it still strikes your fancy, look for it to go on sale late this summer in both the standard Cooper and the sporty Cooper S trim levels.

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