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When the then Chief Designer frank stephenson was ready to present its new first generation Mini Cooper After joining BMW's board of directors in 1996, he realized he had forgotten something important. Small The design team worked several 24-hour days to complete the first full shape clay model Of new mini, and when they were finally finished the designers had a few well-earned beers to celebrate. During the celebration, Stephenson realized that the clay model was missing. exitAnd there were just a few hours left before the design was presented to the board.
So Stephenson did what any sane person would do, and panicked. Well, the story doesn't mention Stephenson being nervous, but I think he was at least momentarily nervous. His 11th hour solution was to strip off the paint His can of Budweiser beer, Punch a hole through the bottom of the can, and secure it to the clay model as an exhaust tip. According to a 2004 story motoring file,
It wasn't long before[Stephenson]was referred to as on the carpet by his boss at BMW. “It wasn't the form (of the tip),” (Stephenson) says, “Everybody appreciated it as a result of it was distinctive however surprisingly acquainted. They have been frightened that I had wasted a modeler's time, Whereas his time might have been higher spent elsewhere, that's after I felt the necessity to confess.
That confession left him surprised into silence, adopted by virtually uncontrollable laughter.”
It's humorous sufficient that BMW bosses have been involved that Stephenson had a modeler create the comparatively ornate tail pipe, a chunk of the automobile that’s typically missed by designers. I’d have been shuddering if my large boss had advised me about this type of state of affairs, however I'm glad Stephenson's confession was nicely acquired. I really like seeing how beer can remove recommendations on Minis, and this story all the time looks like frequent data amongst lovers of the Mini model, however a lot of my associates had by no means heard this story earlier than.
First era R50 mini coopers The obvious was the beer can exhaust tip, whereas the R53 Cooper S had two small can-style suggestions within the middle of the rear bumper that aren’t as apparent. The second era R56 Coopers acquired a similar-looking setup to the R50s, with the usual Cooper's single tail pipe wanting extra bud-like than the Cooper S's twin central pipes.
third era F56 Cooper Vaguely persevering with that beer might look with a rounded exhaust tip on base Coopers and twin central rounded suggestions for Cooper S fashions. Sadly, the upcoming 2025 F66 Cooper S doesn't function any tail pipes on show, with none seen in any photographs.
Though I’m unhappy about this Small Ditching its distinctive exhaust pipes, I hope this story will assist extra folks smile after they see the beer can recommendations on outdated Minis.
