My first R56 …

Posted on by Ian C.

… seen on the road, today, heading up route 128 towards Gloucester.
A Sparkling Silver MCS (of course) with black roof and, I think, the red interior – we were in Margarets Audi so they had no idea I was interested, but we caught it up and passed it to have a better look … after a while the owner apparently decided to test its performance and flashed past us (and everyone else) doing probably 95 😉
From the rear, the R56 is very MINI like – the two large rear fog lights give the game away, and that nicely designed “bar” reversing light in the taillight cluster … from the front of course those yellow blobs in the headlights are too distracting, and from the side the side marker / vent is the most noticeable thing, looking SO much bigger than it should do …
But all that said, still quite an attractive vehicle on the road 🙂

R56 drive time with Herb Chambers MINI

Posted on by Ian C.

After Fridays meet the R56 at MINI of Peabody, I headed down to Gillette Stadium to join Herb Chambers MINI and their customers/friends for another R56 event – this time, driving was the theme! HC MINI had arranged two autocross tracks in a big parking lot – one was self-driven with a Skip Barber instructor to guide you, the other much more fun was travelling as a passenger with Skip Barber instructors driving! Wild 🙂

Being driven by Skip Barber was excellent! I tried to video the drive but it’s tough holding the camcorder steady while also trying to hold yourself steady, but maybe this will give you a feel for the event.

 

After a while it was just too cold so we headed in to the stadium to warm up, eat, drink & chat – lots of MINI friends again! When the door prizes were called, George won a Hammer & Coop lunchbox for longest drive; he immediately dressed up and it suited him perfectly!

Another great evening, demonstrating the good handling of the R56s … my own short R56 MCS drive left me with only one thought: where’s the clutch! Pressing the pedal down seems to have no feedback at all (although I guessed people will get used to it)

Here’s a heap of pictures from the evening:

Thanks Kerry, Rich and all at Herb Chambers MINI, and also the Skip Barber instructors!