This special MINI you see pictured here is the creation of Ken and Annie Burkitt of Ontario, Canada who covered the small British car with 1 million Swarovski crystals depicting 10 American symbols like the Statue of Liberty, White House, Mount Rushmore, the American flag or the Hollywood sign. Named American Icon, the shining MINI is on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum at Piccadilly Circus in London. So, a British car decorated by Canadian artists with Swiss jewels depicting American symbols…talking about globalization.

Photo Gallery: MINI Cooper covered in Swarovski crystals

Read More: "MINI Cooper gets Swarovski treatment"

A few days ago Alfa Romeo announced in a press release their latest car, the upcoming Alfa Romeo Mi.To. The Alfa ‘Mini killer’ (though I hate this term) joins the Fiat 500 in an Italian attempt to challenge Mini’s place in the market. One thing’s for sure about the Mi.To, it has a strange name, which comes from the first two lettres of the cities were the car was conceived. ‘Mi’ comes from Milano, where the car was designed and To comes from Turin (Torino), where the small car will be produced.

Being an Alfa Romeo, we know from the beginning that the car is beautiful and the photos confirm that. The Mi.To borrows some characteristic from Alfa’s latest sensation, the 8C Competizione, such as the three-lobed front-part, the particular shape of the unframed side windows and the shape of the headlights and the LED tail lights. Under the hood, the Alfa Romeo Mi.To will be offered with 4 engines, all Turbo (petrol and diesel), that currently range from 90 hp up to 155 hp, with the range due to be extended by even higher power ratings.

Check out to see more photos, a short video and read the full press release after the jump.

Read More: "The Alfa Romeo Mi.To unveiled"

Everybody’s already used to those Chinese car makers who keep copying European designs and I’m sure you know about the BMW X5 and the Smart cases. Now we have another one, a copy of the Mini Cooper, who actually tries to be original, because it’s not a regular Mini, but a sort of Clubman competition, because it has 5 doors. The Lifan 320 (as if anyone cares) is scheduled to go on sale in China in the first half of this year. And I’m not going to bore you with details about it, because you can imagine that it doesn’t even compare with the real Mini. However, even though I don’t agree with these Chinese clones, after what I saw at Detroit, I’d rather see these copies being produced, rather than these weirdos.

See more photos after the jump.
Read More: "5 doors Chinese Mini Clone"

Presented today at the Tokyo Motor Show, here’s the first video of the Audi A1 Metroproject Quattro which will be the starting point for Audi’s future Mini competitor, the Audi A1. Enjoy the video and if you want to read more about the car an see more photos, check out our previous article (click here).

Read More: "First Video of the Audi A1 MetroProject Quattro"

We knew Audi is preparing a new A1 range that will compete Mini’s Cooper and there have been a lot of renferings and guesses of how it will look like. And now, we finally have an official reaction. Here’s the Audi A1 Metroproject Quattro Concept. Pretty long name for a small car. In its attempt to fight the Mini, Audi created a more “manlier and sportier” car, with the Audi front part we got used to (the concept doesn’t have it, but probably the car will also have the LED frontlights each recent Audi has).

The A1 will probably be available with turbocharged petrol engine, turbocharged diesel engine, ranging in size from 1.2 litres to 2.0 litres. A base model with an 80 horsepower, naturally aspirated 1.4 litre engine is also expected to hit showroom floors.

The Audi Metroproject Quattro concept will be revealed to the public in person at 10:30 a.m. Tokyo time on October 24th, at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show. Production on the Audi A1 is scheduled for 2009 and, with a starting price around $25,000, they hope to sell 80,000 to 100,000 units per year.
Read More: "Audi A1 Metroproject Quattro Concept"

Oh my God, this Mini must be one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen. And if you’re wondering, no, that’s not some custom paint job, that’s real cow skin. This thing, called, “Pet MINI”, will be presented at the in Zurich-Oerlicon’s upcoming New Spaces exhibition and it comes with a Le Corbusier Chaise Longue.

The idea behind this car, created by Mini Switzerland, was to create a work of art that would impress visitors, but I wonder what will the environmentalists will have to say about this. Good thing they didn’t put a hybrid engine on it and call it a ‘green’ car. View a photo gallery after the jump.
Read More: "What did the cow do wrong? A Mini Cooper covered in cow skin"