Auction in aid of HIV/AIDS

Life Ball MINI 2008 by Agent Provocateur. Auction on eBay starts next week. Auction in aid of HIV/AIDS projects at http://www.ebay.co.uk/ from 5 to 15 June 2008.

Munich/Vienna. Videos whirred and cameras clicked on Saturday, 17 May, when Joseph Corre drove the Life Ball MINI 2008 over the red carpet outside Vienna's City Hall in front of 40,000 spectators. Escorted by four models in "British policemen's uniforms", and with Sophie Ellis Bextor in the passenger seat, the arrival of the Life Ball MINI 2008 marked the start of the fantastic opening show.

The Life Ball MINI is traditionally created by the fashion designer responsible for the fashion show in the opening event - and in 2008, this was the British lingerie label Agent Provocateur. This year, the new MINI Cooper Clubman was selected as the basis for this exclusive, unique design. "The new shape is so reminiscent of the old English Mini police van that we were immediately inspired to create an Agent Provocateur styled interior that you really would want to get banged up in! A classic yet suped up exterior in Agent Provocateur signature pink and black colours complete with pink flashing light and inside.....the most seductive prison cell with hand to wall cuffs and blacked out windows and iron bars", says Agent Provocateur founder Joseph Corre.

The unique - and escape-proof - Life Ball MINI will once again be auctioned on eBay, as happens each year. It all starts on Thursday, 5 June - and then MINI and Agent Provocateur fans throughout the world have the opportunity for ten days to buy this unique car and do something for charity too. The total proceeds from the auction will be donated, as always, to Life Ball and to projects aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. So far, the auction of the "Life Ball MINIs" - transformed by such famous fashion icons as Diesel, Missoni, Ferré and Versace - has raised a total of € 260,000.

Worldwide measures to combat HIV/AIDS are one of the main elements of the corporate and social policy pursued by the BMW Group. The company's involvement in South Africa is particularly wide-ranging, covering a comprehensive workplace programme for employees and their families, plus a number of different projects in the local communities and further afield.

But the automobile manufacturer is also committed to fighting this pandemic in other affected countries, such as Thailand or China, for example. The company's membership of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC) underlines its long-term commitment at its individual locations.

"By supporting Vienna's Life Ball, the MINI brand is going its own way and making its own very individual contribution to the fight against this auto-immune disease", says Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Head of Brand Communication MINI, commenting on the brand's involvement here.

"The Life Ball brings the pandemic back into the public's awareness each year in a very emotional way, and the auction of each uniquely designed MINI produces a major financial contribution to projects aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS."

Half of the proceeds will be donated to national projects in Austria. The other half will be used to benefit international projects, with allocation of funds regulated by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).

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Engine of the Year

MINI engine wins Engine of the Year 1.4 to 1.8 litre category

Winner of the same International Engine of the Year Awards category in 2007, when it narrowly beat the 1.5-litre Toyota Prius, MINIs four-cylinder has dominated the class this year, collecting 136 more points than its closest rival, the 1.8-litre TFSI Audi engine that powers a plethora of VW Group products.

Riding high on the growing trend of combining power with downsized powertrains, the 1,598cc unit had plenty of judges waxing lyrical, including Nikos Kounitis from Greece’s 4Wheels magazine, who commented that he thought the motor represented “downsizing at its best”. Dan Vardie from Romania’s Autoshow added, “This is one of the first small engines able to deliver performance normally found in bigger engines. Two engine experts combine to create a robust, powerful and efficient petrol engine.”

Constructed from light alloy, the heart of the Mini Cooper S, features a twin-scroll turbocharger, gasoline direct injection, twin overhead camshafts, roller-type drag arms that have been optimised for minimum friction, and hydraulic valve play compensation elements. Furthermore, the outlet valves are filled with sodium to aid cooling, and the intake camshaft offers infinite phase adjustment, setting the engine’s valve timing to the driver’s requirements.

All this technology brings together power and economy in one appealing package for consumers: 175bhp at 5,500rpm and 260Nm of torque maintained from 1,600 to 5,000rpm is complemented with an average fuel consumption of 6.9L/100km (40.9mpg). “It’s full of technology, and is the best in its class for torque, power and pleasure,” concludes France’s Christophe Congrega.

Results

1. BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI Cooper S, Clubman, Peugeot 207, 308) Points: 333

2. Audi 1.8-litre Turbo FSI (A3, A5, Seat Leon, Altea, Toledo, Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen Passat) Points: 197

3. Toyota Hybrid 1.5-litre (Prius) Points: 182

4. Mercedes-Benz 1.8-litre Supercharged (C, SLK, CLK, E) Points: 121

5. Toyota 1.8-litre four-cylinder VVTL-i 190 (Lotus Elise 111R) Points: 82

6. Honda 1.8-litre (Civic, Stream, FR-V) Points: 75

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