Euro body styling on the MINI. This is very opinionated due to personal tastes, but I believe we may brainstorm some ideas. What is a euro look on the MINI? Explore thoughts on the following:

Keeping trim black (natural)?
Losing the trim reflectors?
Painting trim?
Wide trim?
Body kit?
Shaving/Smoothing (grills, boot, fenders, lights)?
Body Paint?
Mirrors?
Carbon Fiber?
Wings?
Themes and trends?

 

The above have nothing to do with the euro look

 

Elaborate.

In keeping with themes and trends, there is OEM+ that usually involves sourcing of eurpean only pieces for a very subtle look, in our case reflectorless trim moldings come to mind. Then there is the option of painting them or not, which both look good IMO. When speaking of european pieces, Zeemax also enters the body kit arena where many classic minis have thrieved (the CSS kit looks great, but could use some smoothing/shaving for a less boyracer, more euro look IMO). Also, we can't ignore the widebody trend, which seems intergrated in all popular top euros be kit form or pulling of fenders.

I agree on wings, but sometimes they have a place, just like carbon fiber.

You didn't elemenate body paint, shave/smooth, or mirrors. What do you have in mind?

 

Wings and CF definitely have a place...but not a "euro" car.

OEM+ is more about adding factory options and factory wheels to get a hot look. VW's have the votex bodykits, and often use Audi wheels for the OEM+ look. It's not really about getting european parts like the arches, i would consider that a UKDM type of thing, kind of like JDM crazes of getting japanese parts for your honda...

Nothing about the Zeemax kit will be euro....its a very aggresive bodykit. It's import tuner if anything. It can come from a european country, but that doesnt mean anything. You will find very few euro cars with wide bodykits. They pull the fenders a little to fit wide wheels...

I would consider my car kinda OEM+, my sideskirts and bumper aren't stock...but they are factory parts....the black grill is a factory option as well etc.

A euro car is (IMO):
Expensive,wide, deep dished 3 piece rims (BBS, schmidt, Keskin etc)
Stretched tires
Low offsets with tire poke
Slammed! (coilovers required)
Subtle body mods
Some shaving when necessary

Taken from our euro thread over on M|U http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...ght=house+euro

Beautiful form of euro:








OEM plus....all mods are factory (lip, wheels, etc)

Beautiful car:

 

rally is right... Euro strictly means stretched tires (as in 9 inch wheels with smallish 215 size tires)

wide body kit is nice, but i'd do one that's more subtle... like the koenigsder super wide body kit, allows width up to 9 inch wheels... not really my cup of tea, but hey.. u want euro...

the red is the superwide kit, the silver is the regular wide kit

notice this kit also gives somewhat of a shaved look.... but to be truly shaved... shave the doors, and even try to mold the bodykit around the body in one piece...
and yes, defenitely needs slammin to be euro

 

I would call the above kits import tuner too....a little aggressive for "euro" cars.

Basically, to a non-car enthusiast a euro car would look like a completely stock car because the mods are so subtle.

 

more euro-ness:






shaved, stretched, and slammed:

 

No disrespect, but can some one explain the stretched tires? Just for looks? performance benefit?

thanks!

 

looks, and allows you to go lower with low offset wide wheels that poke out past the fender while avoiding rubbing your tires.

for some good examples of tire stretch:
http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...hlight=stretch

 

performance wise... only real benefit i can see is that it stretches the sidewall, means stiffer sidewalls and it'd get great steering response... but in the same time... i wonder how they ride.......

 

thanks for the responses guys!

 

Paint the moldings, shave the hatch, as for the themes, and trends, theres 19 inch rims, with wheel that are too small, and stretching them to fit larger rims, and using spacers for a wider stance, I want to do it one day, but not with my income now.....

 

everything but the 19s....too bling for a euro

 

Those cars sure are Euro...Euro-trash!

 

Shave the hatch, I like that. Fill and smooth the licence plate recess (where to mount the plate?). Also, I think I'd like to smooth the side grills too. I really like the cleanliness appearance of the VW sidemarkers, although it appears all but one of the examples above have been shaved entirely.

Speaking of lights, the R56 model now has blinkers in the headlight housings. The previous models w/o xenon have an extra slot in the headlight. Rally, any VDub how-toos on that transfer we might adapt? Any thing can be molded with experienced auto-body, but I suspect a R56 swap to be quite difficult given the update features surrounding the new hood. Also, the '05-06 light housings are more appealing to me than '02-04. A call to the dealer said the newer ones do not show fitment on early models. Any truth to this? Any known differences in mounting?

One thing not touched so far is the portly mirrors. Their location makes for an easy delete, but pulling them closer in appeals too. Pulling them in would require a different mirror. Ideas?

The moldings, whether painted or not, extrude a certain sexiness about the car. Painted, gives that ultra clean finished look. Natural has an appeal too. Take the two examples above; the light blue 4-door in post #7, and the silver 2 door in post #4.

 

Couldn't resist:

Zeemax Css


Idea I've toy'd with:



Obviously needs refined; I don't like the stunned face w/ fu-manchu.

 

Mabey if they are BBS....

 

Since the MINI is, in fact, designed and manufactured in EUROPE, I believe ( I am pretty sure I am correct) that is already has a Euro Look!

 

nah....the 'euro' look is a tuning scene

 

19s are still way too big for our car

 

y'all better listen to Rally on this one, everything he said is correct. There is a big confusion with Euro look, and the rest.

Painting the arches is not important, you can still keep them black. Lower the car (c/os) and have wider rims with real aggressive offsets. I would shave the front park lights since they look like **** anyways, and please no tint if possible.

Then there is OEM+ look, which like Rally said, you can add an Aero Kit, nice wide BBS or OEM rims with moderate drop. You have to be real careful, because if you over-do stuff, you will be out of OEM+ territory

and now Rally, remember the days we had to wear flamesuits? Jok you and I.... funny

PS: If you like JDM look, look at Kens car.

 

About shaving the park lights....

For instance: (photo courteous of haulin oats, parks pshopd by me)



My car, much pshop: (note '03 Cooper Fr Bumper slats, parks, side grill)



I've been toying with the idea of shaving the base Cooper's bumper for a while (I like the curve lines, and its sitting unattached in the garage). Compare MC to MCS above, both minus parks.

Smoothing the bumper completely is going to bring the "face" back that I found in the CSS pshop I posted earlier. MINI cleverly disguised it with parks, recess, and fogs.

About relocating the parks to the headlight housing? There is an unoccupied "hole" already in place (seen above in the silver pshop, mid-outside within the housing).

 

I'm glad I don't have any rules to follow when modding my car.

 

it has nothing to do with the rules, i would call them standards if you want to call your car Euro Look. Different folks, different strokes, no need for negative comments

 

x2.

Some *****-ing:







The surf green Mk3 is OEM+ FTW. I think mine is getting there, but I still need to shave the MINI emblem from the boot.