The tail and brake lights are now LEDs, and the brake lights will pulse depending on how hard you brake – meaning that drivers following behind can gauge the urgency of your manoeuvre.

Mini buyers can choose from five new paint colours – Ice Blue, Spice Orange, British Racing Green II, Eclipse Gray Metallic and Velvet Silver Metallic – and five new alloy wheel designs.

The new Mini models are subtlety different, yet distinctive – they go on sale from 18th September here in the UK.

The star-studded launch – Mini Countryman Open Air – was held at Mudchute Farm in East London and featured an exclusive performance of new single ‘Getaway’ by US country singer Michelle Branch and rap megastar Timbaland.

Reflecting the event’s theme of ‘Urban meets Country’, the VIP guests explored 32 acres of green fields where graffitied sheep roamed against a backdrop of the London skyline.

As a genuine crossover design, the Countryman is the perfect choice for those who love the Mini brand but need more space and greater flexibility to drive beyond the city environment. Families can use it to get around town during the week, but there’s enough room to pack up for a trip away at the weekend. Mini Countryman is the largest ever Mini, and the first with four doors. It also offers an all-wheel drive option.

Contact Bond Street Select for sales information.

Launched in 2007 by the Prince of Wales, the Eco Rally was set up to showcase the very best in present and future green forms of transport.

Every year, a convoy of low or zero emission vehicles travels the classic veteran car run in reverse, setting off from the seafront in Brighton and heading to London’s Hyde Park. This year’s rally was sponsored by Formula 1 tyre manufacturer Bridgestone.

Celebrity drivers included TV presenters Lisa Rogers and Kevin McCloud, and F1 driver Nico Hulkenburg.

In everyday driving conditions the BMW Mini E can travel around 100 to 120 miles on a single charge. It motors from 0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 95mph. The second phase of road testing in the UK will start in September 2010.

Apple’s new iPod Out feature allows your iPhone or iPod to integrate with an outside system, such as that in your BMW or Mini. The idea is that it’ll be just like using your iPod, but on the console screen inside the car.

Drivers of future BMWs and Minis will be able to browse their music using the classic iPod interface, as well as see artist info and album art.

You’ll also be able to use iPod Out for custom playlists and the Genius system, which automatically creates ’smart playlists’.

To use iPod Out in your Mini you’ll need an iPhone or iPod that runs Apple’s iOS 4.

BMW’s Mini Connected project aims to improve software and entertainment options without increasing the risks of driver distraction.

The 1.6 litre, four cylinder engines give an astonishingly low fuel consumption of 74 miles per gallon, with C02 emissions of 99g/km. These results are a record for any series production car made by the BMW group. They’re also achieved without compromise on the high performance you’d expect in a new Mini.

Also in August, for the first time the Mini convertible will be available with a diesel engine. Running at 70 miles per gallon and 105g/km of CO2 – the new engine makes Mini Cooper D Convertible the lowest emitting convertible now on sale in the UK.

All these models also benefit from the design changes announced recently by BMW Mini. Contact Bond Street Select to find out more.

The well-dressed trio will join international stars at the glamorous event in Vienna on 17th July. The annual ball is a major charity fundraiser for research into HIV/AIDS.

The creative director of Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa, has designed the Mini Countryman. Diane von Furstenberg has set her talents to work on the Mini Hatch, while Kenneth Cole applied his unmistakeable style to the Mini Convertible.

All three Minis will be auctioned to raise money for the charity amFar.

This is the 10th consecutive year that BMW Mini has supported this important cause. Every year sees the production of specially designed vehicles – previous designers of Life Ball Minis include Versace, Missoni, Diesel and Agent Provocateur.

You’ll find a equally stunning – and rather more wearable – collection of BMW Minis at Bond Street Select.

Mini has been linked with the highly successful Prodrive group, a British car technology company based in Oxfordshire.

Mini of course has a proud history in rally racing going back to the 1960s. While Prodrive won six WRC titles with the Subaru World Rally Team and also led Aston Martin to back to back wins at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008.

So this could prove to be a very fruitful partnership indeed. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next…

The regular, non-racing Mini Countryman will be available to buy, from Bond Street Select, from September 2010.

First up, the festival will host the first ever Mini E race held in the UK.

The race will feature a modified version of the emissions free Mini which is currently being trialled in the UK and overseas. The event gives BMW Mini a chance to showcase the potential of the environmental friendly electric car.

Also at the Festival of Speed, rallying legend Rauno Aaltonen – one of the original ‘Flying Finns’ – will drive the Forest Rally stage in a classic Mini Cooper S. It’s the same Mini in which he won the 1965 RAC rally.

For a rather more up-to-date range of Mini models, contact Bond Street Select.

There was a time when all boys and girls looked forward to getting a toy Mini in with their packet of cereal.

Now Dorset Cereals are going one better and giving away three brand new BMW Mini Cooper Convertibles in an online competition.

To enter, all you need is a unique code from one of the special promotional packs of Dorset Cereals Tasty Fruit and Fibre or Tasty Low Fat Flakes. Then enter this code on the company’s website to find out if you’ve won a Mini.

So next time you’re at the supermarket, keep an eye out for the special packs!

And if you don’t win, don’t despair. Bond Street Select has a fine selection of BMW Minis to suit all budgets and tastes…

The appetising ‘six pack’ of Minis included the three current models – Hatch, Convertible and Clubman – and three future models. The new Countryman SUV will be available from September 2010. The two seater Coupe is due to go on sale next year, followed by the Roadster in 2012. Contact us to pre-order your new Mini. (Link to contact form)

The announcement that the Coupe and Roadster will be built in Oxford safeguards hundreds of jobs at the plant. It means that five of the six models will be manufactured here in the UK, with just the Countryman being produced in Graz, Austria.

Bond Street Select is the East Midlands’ independent BMW Mini service specialist. We also have used Minis for sale (link to contact Mini car sales page). Why not pop in to the showroom for a closer look?

Mini press day photos on Flickr