MINI Videos Show Maximum Crazy

Much like the rock star who "sells out" to sell more records, BMW has continued to move away from its position as the Ultimate Driving Machine — when the company was like an indie cult band with a rabid following — to become another industry version of the Rolling Stones — now living off its past rep as an enthusiast's car while it keeps softening its offerings to appeal to new fans.

And the comparison to the Stones is particularly apt when you consider that it was the Brit factor that started BMW down this road. That was way back in 1994, when the Bavarians bought the Rover Group from the British government. BMW ended up with some well-known brands, including Land Rover, as well as the rights to the MINI name.

The Land Rover part of the deal offered BMW a way to get into the then-burgeoning SUV business, with the original X5 leveraging a nice chunk of Land Rover DNA for its success and eventually paving the way for the smaller X3 and then the odder X6. I suppose if you're desperate for a 5,000-lb. AMC Eagle that can go from 0-60 faster than a Ford Mustang, a vehicle like the X6 will do the trick. But for those of us who remember cars like the BMW 2002, the company's push into the crossover segments was reminiscent of when Jagger & Co. went disco with "Miss You."

Conversely, when the Mini brand was revived in 2001 (as "MINI," of course), I was pretty geeked. The iconic original was the world's first "hot hatch," winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. Three Minis also took the top three spots in 1966, too, but were disqualified by the (French) judges on a technicality.

With the 2002's successor — the 3 Series — moving further and further up market, I saw the new MINI as a return to BMW's roots. It was, and still is, a great-handling little car that might not be the fastest thing on four wheels but is certainly the most fun to drive. And when you look at the John Cooper Works version, which can rip off a 0-60 run in just 6.2 seconds and reach nearly 150 mph — while still getting a combined 29 mpg — it's obvious MINI's no slouch in the "fast" department. Oh, and just for comparison's sake, the high-performance "M" model of the X6 gets, literally, less than half that figure.

The news got even better recently when the first images of the MINI Coupe (pictured above) and Roadster concepts leaked out ahead of their debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and then were confirmed for production. From a design standpoint, it looks like BMW merely dropped new tops onto the "regular" MINI and MINI Convertible, with the Coupe's new roof appearing to be lifted directly — and bizarrely — from the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Be that as it may, the net results will surely be lighter than the current MINI lineup, meaning they will surely be even faster and more fun to drive, while at the same time being more fuel efficient. Oh, and, again, just for comparison's sake, the MINI also weighs, literally, about half as much as the X6.

But if you think the X6 has sole possession of the "crazy" crown here, you might want to surf on over to YouTube and search "MINI. Two Untamed." Actually, if you're at work now, you might want to wait until you get home — unless your company is okay with you watching twin sisters tear their clothes off and dance to techno music while wearing just their underwear, some jewelry, and the words "Two" and "Untamed" scrawled across their naked bellies in black magic marker.

Now, on the one hand, it's possible these videos — from MINI itself mind you — are already turning off some customers, especially those with two X chromosomes. But on the other, well, it doesn't take much time on Freud's couch to realize there are plenty of people out there who are going to be interested in MINI's new idea of the Ultimate Driving Machine.