Mini Mania is proud to announce the “Awesome New Product Idea” Contest. The grand prize winner will receive a 25% off promo code! Two second place winners will receive 15% off promo codes. Deadline is October 15, 2008.
To submit your “Awesome New Product Idea”, simply comment on this post with your great idea. Products can be items Mini Mania doesn’t yet carry, or a completely new product that requires development. Be original! Be creative! Don’t wait too long or someone else may beat you to it!
Winners will be announced on this blog October 20th.
Update: The “Awesome New Product Idea Contest” is now closed. A big thanks to all who participated! Now it’s time for everyone vote for their favorite ideas! The results have been broken down loosely into groups (it’s a long list!), the top ideas in each group will go on to the final round of voting to determine first and second place winners.
MINI Coopers 
I say that someone finally makes a wide body fender flare that matches the OEM black plastic. To give those that want to run a wider tire the option to have more coverage, give the car a wider stance, and yet keep the OEM look. People have been looking for something like that since I got my car back in 2003. Make it so the pieces simply replace the OEM fender moldings, the 3 pieces in the front, and the 2 in the back for each side…now that would be cool.
The oil pressure gauge is virtually useless. If there is no pressure you are already FU’d. I suggest an oil level gauge. That way you can tell at a glance, once the engine is warm, whether you need to add some oil. Much more useful than the oil pressure gauge.
Sun roof delete. perhaps with some reinforcement and carbon fiber or maybe another light and strong material. the idea is to have the same rigidity as a mini without a sunroof and weight savings at the same time
Arches and black trim that are already smooth and ready for painting. No sanding or filler required by the customer.
A front Bra for the new BMW Mini that makes the front of the car look like a classic Mini.
One thing that unforunately remained the same was the use of plastic on the front end of the car. That’s one thing I believe mini should have changed in the r56
A BBQ shaped like a Mini where the top rolls back like a convertable or can be closed by rolling forward. Also a sliding part in the bottom could be used for getting rid of ashes or could simulate rust.
Black headlight buckets often called the “joey mod” in the forums. A nice high quality replacement to the chrome housing would be nice. The problem with doing the joey mod is the difficulty of getting the paint to adhere to the chrome. If you are good enough to get that far then you run in to the issue of heat from the headlight bubbling the paint.
l.e.d.s on the back side of the door handles so it lights up the indent of where your hand goes, when you unlock your doors!
A decent inexpensive REAR FOG Light kit for R53’s. I live near the ocean and miss the one’s I had on my Jaguar.
Using 12v power from rear battery, a radio control key fob type on/off switch to eliminate any wiring hassels, and you can use those existing harness/socket kits now offered when adding a second brake light in the vacant OEM housings.
Then just add the radio control key fob on/off switch, and wiring for battery and ground. It would be litterly “plug(s)” and play !
How about a rear window air deflector or ? that keeps the dirt from the rear window and lid.
The Cooper needs an “Oh Jesus Strap” at least for the pasenger side as when I test drove my Cooper the wife didn’t have any thing to hang onto as I drove through the clover leaf and she held onto the door handle and still fell into the shift lever … She said “oh Jesus” there’s no handle above the window !
I have a 208 MINI Cooper S and my biggest thing is the cupholer on the console keeps digging into my leg. It sucks!! Maybe you should make a new cup holder where the one on the left is more like a phone holder and the cup holder would be more flat. This way it doesn’t protrude so much and digs in.
MAKE A ONE TOUCH OPEN AND CLOSE MODULE FOR THE SUNROOF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s the most annoying thing. I went from a 2004 MCS to a 2008 MCS and now the sunroof does not open with one touch. Maybe make it so that the module fits where the button is already.
Have fun
Abe
WIND WINGS…WIND WINGS Mounted to the posts some how so I can crack the window in the rain. Make them hinged so they can fold flat like the old style ones. Smokers will love these things. They would look great. Put me down for the first pair. You will sell thousands, and by the way, I don’t expect to pay for mine for such a great idea.
Hi,
Great Contest idea, I have asked about this before–so go ahead and make it–I want one.
A f/glass or Carbon back seat cover for the Conv. remove the rear double bubble roll bar, replace it with a low (below the top when down) cross brace bar, hinge the cover to it, build in double flared headrests, , make it fit inside the raised windows, offer a gas strut or linear actuator to lift as one piece, use your new floor, and also make a front on it–that would take speakers.
The result? A 2 seater with “pass through” storage, secure storage, neat looks, good sounds with the top down, and could be painted to match the body color. Anything that removes the ugly “roll bars” would be a blessing.
A reflector that fits into the cut out blanks for the rear fog lights on the new cooper s . For those that did not order the rear fog lights, this would add a safety feature
I wish if there is a possibility to improve the cosmetics of the car.
– A distinctive colored ribbon to surround the glass roof panel when it is tilted with a matching ribbon around the dull chrome line surrounding the doors. A matching color with the seats would be even better.
– Why don’t we have roof decals that surround the glass tops rather than cover them completely. It could end up as an oil paint wooden frame.
– A colored floor mats matching the colors of the inteior trim would be perfect.
– I would love to have colored shift pedals on my steering wheel.
Tha’s all for now…
A baby stroller shaped as a mini cooper convertible. With a little one on the way, I’ve been hoping to find one of these. 😉
Either that or body colored door handles! I want more options! lol
I second those wide fender flare replacements!
Some body colored calipers that enhance the look of the already tremendous brakes. Simple swap out fit required and maybe optional graphics offered, mini logo, s logo etc.
How about an ALL-WHEEL DRIVE MINI!! This would be all-Custom but very cool! I say just cut the drive train from a R32 GTI or a WRX hatch & Monster Garage that shit on a MiniS! The Result a John Cooper Works AWD Mini Cooper!! Im drooling just thinking about it !
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I agree with Dave Blake.A REAR FACING fog light is a must. Installed on all cars in the UK. In Florida I’ve seen drivers with their REAR FLASHERS on,which is illegal
Most American drivers would leave the rear fog light on and sear my retinas. I specifically deleted the rear fog on my special order, because the next owner is untrained.
I have an 02 S. I would love to ad the Aero front grill kit. The upper grill is a direct replacement, however the lower grill is not. It needs to be cut and modified and there are no directions to do so. Three needs to be a direct replacement for this grill as well.
I’d like to see a bumper sticker for the back of a Clubman that reads:
“You’re just supposed to blow the bloody doors off.”
I don’t know if that line is in the newer movie. But is a classic line from the original “Italian Job”. you could put this sticker on a regular Mini Cooper. But the Clubman from the back looks more like the van they were blowing the bloody doors off of.
Some carbon fiber areo kits or can be specific bumpers and fenders which should be direct replacement, no mods needed. Also some angel eyes that may go around the whole light not just and individual section. Like they mentioned above, color matching kits would come in handy, maybe to replace wheel, shifter leather, and floor mats… so on.
For the r56-Cup holder that will actually hold a cup! Base would insert into present holder and have receivers to hold at least a 24 or 30 oz. cup. Could be offered in single or double.
+1 on the black headlight rings (mentioned above) …how about offering them in multiple colors, not just black?
1) Colored Side View Mirror Caps (red, blue, yellow, etc).
2) Colored Rear View Mirror Covers (red, blue, yellow, etc).
3) Colored Hood Scoops (red, blue, yellow, etc)
4) Vinyl Graphic Elements -besides stripes and full roof graphics, graphics for under the scuttle area, stickers for windows
5) Colored Dash trim …to replace the chrome dash trim which seems to be the only option available for customizing dash trim. How about Red, blue, yellow dash trim elements (you know, the guage rings, shifter ring, knob trim, etc).
6) Colored “Stubby” Antennas
7) Black gas filler cap (to replace the chrome ones on the Mini S)
The small flip down side visor is too short & doesn’t work so well for taller drivers who sit way back from the wheel and/or those of us who position the seat very low.
I propose a modified side visor that is slightly taller and would use a slide out extension similar to one that is on my wife’s 1999 Toyota Solara. This type of slider unit is on her drivers side regular visor and seems to use a small interference fit bump inside the visor to hold the slider in the open or closed position. It is all plastic but is colored to match the visor & headliner color.
If something like this were available for my 2005 MCS, I’d buy one for sure! It would also be helpful to have one for the passenger side as well that could replace the grab handle. We don’t find this handle necessary as the design
of the side panels allows the passenger to rest their arm into the armrest area and grab the angled vertical barinstead of holding on above your head.
I would like to see leather jackets (motorcycle type) made with same leather as car seat with matching color insert and Mini wings on the back.
Hi all,
I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S convertible and I really don’t understand why Mini did not make a standard part mud flap for the rear wheels. If you own a Mini, you know how dirty the back end can get from spray even WITH the flaps. Now, imagine that you have 3x the amount of spray landing on the back end of your BEAUTIFUL, BLACK, DREAM MINI CONVERTIBLE with CHROME TRIM on a daily basis because Mini didn’t make mud flaps to fit your car!
PLEASE PLEASE MANUFACTURE BACK MUD FLAPS TO FIT THE CONVERTIBLE MINIS! I want to keep my car as beautiful as the day I drove it off the lot. I want to keep it forever. THANKS for reading!!!!!!
KATE 🙂
How about a spiked license plate frame? Kind of like a spiked dog collar, but going around the license plate? I am always getting little dents from people hitting the front and rear of my car while parallel parking. This way, if they “don’t see” my Mini they will get a mark of their own they can’t ignore! KATE 😉
How about a dog mat to fit the rear seats of the Mini. I bring my dogs along for a ride and only see these types of seat mats for SUVs or larger cars. How about MINI drivers? They can be designed in fun, funky patterns to match the standard Mini interior colors or how about Union Jacks, USA flags, or Cooper S and MINI logos. KATE 🙂
I have a 2008 S Clubman and I love it!
1.) Pat Kaye has the right idea by lengthening the side visor, but don’t stop there, you might as well make the front sun visor adjustable as well, too often when driving into the direction of the sun I find myself leaning to one side in order to block the glare of the sun, a simple slide piece would solve this problem.
2.) I would like to see the tachometer adjustable, making it telescopic would allow the adjustment necessary to avoid having the steering wheel block view of the top numbers.
How about instead of taking away Mini’s uniqueness and style by making larger and uglier models they should make up for it buy adding more unique and secretive touches for example on my 03 Cooper S I like how the controls for the windows and foglights have switches in the center instead of on the door panels.I think that adds a nice 007 feel to it. Also I like how the latch to open the hood is on the passenger side. I think they should put the opening for the gas tank either behind the rear mini logo or maybe one of the tailights can open up and it could be back there. Or they should add a new style digital gauge thats pattern/image/color could be changed. Or they can add an illumination kit that goes on the exterior door handles, and interior and could also come with turn signal lights on the side mirrors.
How about an biometric keyfob that is metalized in place of the current plasticky version with additional programmable functions and perhaps self-illumination around the chrome ring at night time..
1) Turbo kit for R53 that doesn’t cost $4,000+
2) Scoops for Cowl Vents (especially driver side which has intake right under vent)
a super charger that does not fail after 50k miles….. It is an insult to car buyers that the supercharger is an “unserviceable” item on these cars and that the fail and have to be replaced at the cost of $2500…… What happened to quality for the consumer?
2 fuels caps, one on each side, like on the Classic Mini Cooper S…
Awesome …
MINI’s are aging and many are having problems with the waterpump gears at the back of the supercharger. BMW only gave them 100000 mi to live if your lucky. Why not make an affordable electric waterpump conversion?!
At least two other people wrote of the need for WIND DEFLECTORS. These would not only be very practical but continue the MINI theme: squat, cheeky -the Winston Churchill & british bulldog look. Its gotta come -I just wish I had the time to patent it.
Why don’t they have locking badge holders? It’s really quite simple, you make the holder out of metal and it bolts to the grille from the other side. There is a clear plexiglas flip cover with a latch instead of the plain metal face. The latch is hidden behind it so you can lock it with a luggage lock so it won’t be visible. That way, you don’t come back from your errands to find your “self preservation society” badge missing!
1) Side exit exhausts (Viper Style) that come out of the aero side skirts or std skirts
2) GP Style Flat Undertray that starts as a front splitter
3) MINI Challenge Style Brake Ducts
Carbon Fibre Gauge Surrounds … speedo, air vents, hazard lights etc
I highly suggest a chrome ring, to replace that ugly silver, for the center of the steering wheel for 02-06. We look at our steering wheel so often that we deserve something looks elegant on the steering wheel especially we can easily get chrome steering wheel inserts on the side. Why not in the center?
How about a wind deflector for the convertible that would work equally as well for the back seat passengers? It could be a one piece that wraps around the entire front and back seat areas, or two units, one for front and one for back.
Or, how about making something that would make better use of the door pockets. They are nice, deep storage pockets, but everything rattles and bangs around – not nice motoring. Some padded or flocked dividers, with a hinged top that flips up would be perfect – sound-muffling, and hidden.
BigShow – as per the side exit exhaust, like this?
http://nemini.org/index.php/topic,11216.0.html
1. How about a real shark fin antenna with a marginal loss in reception.
2. I made an elegant radar detector mount off the mirror with power, I think others might like it.
3. I made a GPS mount with power off of the non used oval whatever behind the clock. Works and and wonder why this hasn’t been made.
4. How about an illuminated shift knob like the M3? Smoother than the current MINI knob which I no likey.
5. Rear mud flaps for my 2004 S, if someone finds a pair, let me know.
6. A tee shirt stating “I own a Mini, I don’t have a Mini”
actually i love velvet clothe seat covers because they are very comfortable to touch ”
i like velvet seat covers because the texture is very special and i find it easy to clean ‘**
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Need a oil return line repair kit for the S models. Not a new line, just an A/N flare nut and a flaring tool, along with a new banjo bolt and crush washers. Currently, the repair job is $1200 or 5 hrs work to remove the turbo bits and bobs, just to get to the old turbo pressure line. My 2011 MCS has the dreaded loose oil pressure line to the turbo defect.