MINI customers will have the opportunity to go places no other motor vehicle has ever gone when the new MINI Cooper Yachtsman world premieres at the New York International Auto Show next Wednesday, right alongside the Hudson River.
MINI customers will have the opportunity to go places no other motor vehicle has ever gone when the new MINI Cooper Yachtsman world premieres at the New York International Auto Show next Wednesday, right alongside the Hudson River.
MINI Cooper Yachtsman was designed to give MINI ownership to those who view the 70% of the earth’s surface that is covered by water as their home. It is a corner-carving crustacean with go-kart-like handling.
The MINI Cooper Yachtsman will be just as popular in New York Harbor as it is at Jumeira Palm marina, Monte Carlo harbor or Jumeira palm marina. It comes with a shark-resistant undercoating and can go through water at speeds of up to 61 kn. While promising a rewarding driving experience (but no diving experience – both on-road and off-land),
Jim McDowell is Vice President MINI USA. “Our MINI Cooper Yachtsman, the most exciting MINI model, expands our range to seven models in America and offers consumers more options to enjoy MINI ownership in a way that suits their personal taste and location,” he said.
The Yachtsman will be a status symbol. It is a combination car/boat that can evoke ‘land/sea envy.’ The British Royal Navy** originally endorsed the Yachtsman, which brings new levels of versatility to MINI ownership. If someone shouts “Lake” while you are cruising, don’t worry. Just downshift, grab your life-vest and hit the water. Yachtsman will take care of everything else. McDowell agrees.
The MINI Cooper Yachtsman’s showroom appeal is matched by its dockside appeal. The 169.8-inch long craft features Reef Blue metallic paintwork that contrasts with silver alloy wheels and a matching silver rudder. The exhaust snorkel can be finished in body color, and the rooftop antenna extendable with an antenna is white. This sail can also be used to zero-emissions sail if necessary.
The cabin can sleep two people and features waterproof ripstop upholstery, seat cushions that double as flotation devices, and the Marine Chronometer, which allows for celestial navigation in case of a satnav glitch. The glove box contains MINI-branded water wings and a pirate flag, as well as an eye patch for junior “sailors”.
The standard equipment includes a six-foot marlinrod with roller guides, an international trolling rod with 130-lb testline and (on port side) MINI’s latest safety technology – FLOAT (the Frantic Lever Occupied Active Trim) adjuster. A spring-loaded herringchucker is located on the starboard side.
MINI’s customizability is evident in the full range of accessories that this MINI product line-up now offers. These include a Customizable Klaxon, which can be customized with any choice of sea lion, porpoise or dolphin and personalized Under-Hull Messaging. Recommended factory-fit graphic options like ‘Suck eggs’, ‘Krakken’, and ‘Mermaid Magnet’ are sure to be a hit.
The Yachtsman is available as a 2013 model year vehicle starting April 1st. It combines MINI driving and boating fun with the same discerning craftsmanship and select materials that are hallmarks for the best boat builders around the world.
Each MINI Cooper Yachtsman’s propulsion is provided by a turbocharged turbocharged four-cylinder engine of 1.6-liter capacity. It has a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection, and generates 181 horsepower. A specially-fitted, mid-ship gearbox with six forward speeds manages the outdrive to the constant pitch propeller. The new model is 4,600 lb fully loaded. However, the sprint from 0-60 mph can be completed in just 6.6 seconds on land and in 2.4 minutes on water. The top speed on land is 141 mph.
The MINI Cooper Yachtsman was developed after extensive testing on punt prototypes in the River Isis (near MINI’s manufacturing facility in Oxford in England) as well as in the deep waters of Greenland (where The Kraken lurks). It is priced at US $236,000, and comes with an incomprehensible warranty that includes a 3-year, no-cost, annual dry-docking, and free barnacle removal for the original captain.
The MINI Cooper Yachtsman will be on display at the New York International Auto Show, Jacob Javits Center, starting Wednesday April 4th.
Editor’s Notes *The Yachtsman was not the first amphibious Mini. This interesting story was featured in the book “MINI MISCELLANY: Fifty Years of facts figures and stories about the greatest little car in the world” A Mini was able to enter the 1977 River Severn Raft Race, as bizarre as that may sound. Longbridge engineers converted a standard Mini into an unsinkable four-paddle-wheel-drive amphibious vehicle which they christened ‘Aqua Min’. It wasn’t the first Mini to learn how to swim. An amphibious Moke had swum in the River Thames nine years ago for the Sammy Davis Jr. movie Salt and Pepper. The movie was a James Bond spoof so it was only fair that the Moke had machine guns behind his headlights.