Zeemax MINI Cooper CSRI have seen a plethora of aftermarket parts for the new MINI, ranging from spoilers and alloy wheels to exhausts and air filters, but my eyebrows really shot up when I laid eyes on the Zeemax MINI Cooper CSR, a complete car in more ways than one.
To explain the "CSR" bit first: Zeemax supremo Barry Perman did a really nice body kit for the Classic Mini a few years ago, and this was dubbed the Mini CS.
"It seemed logical to continue this line of thought," he said, "so the much faster and more aggressive-looking new car became the CSR. Simple as that! I wanted to design a body kit that would give the New MINI a modern and tastefully aggressive look. At the same time, the parts would have to fit directly to the original mounting points without any drilling or bonding. The parts are made from reinforced GRP composite, and the wheel arches have studs bonded into the material in the production process so they directly replace the original plastic arches. They are very accurately moulded for a precise fit; a set of four takes a whole day to produce."
The kit consists of a new front bumper with deep front spoiler and (optional) splitter, new rear bumper, side sills with mesh vented openings and a taller rear wing (also optional). The rear bumper can take a variety of different aftermarket exhaust designs, whether they have center or side exit pipes. Barry talked about one customer who had Jaguar E-Type V12-style fishtail-design exhausts made for his car!
Sometimes it is the little touches that make the difference, like the chromed mirror covers and Zeemax logo on the chromed fuel filler cap. The Zeemax and CSR logos on the bodywork and dashboard are laser cut from polished stainless steel and were expensive to have made. Never one to cut corners, Barry felt they were worth it.
Helping the handling is a larger adjustable rear anti-roll bar and a set of lowering springs; steering feel and general front-end stiffness are helped by the alloy suspension tower brace.
I have driven enough new MINIs to know that the ride quality on the stock 16-in. wheels borders on harsh. After recovering from the shock of seeing 8x19-in. chromed alloys with 225/35ZR19 Goodyear F1 tires on this car, I fully expected to become very intimate with the lovely leather headlining as I bounced down the road. I was thus amazed to find that the ride quality was hardly worse than standard. If anything, the stiff sidewalls of the run-flat tires fitted to the Cooper S contribute adversely to the choppy ride of the standard car. And I know from talking to some experienced racing drivers that the new MINI handles better on the limit with normal tires.
Few people have any gripes about the MINI's funky interior apart from the badly shaped seats and steering wheel. In the absence of alternative airbag steering wheels, Barry has had to stick with the rather slippery standard item, but his expertise with trim has completely transformed the CSR's interior. Open the wide doors and you get an eyeful of high-quality Bridge of Weir leather in a striking hue that Barry describes as terracotta. The seats were the first things to go, to be replaced with a pair of Porsche GT2 Recaros. Matching Wilton carpet now covers the floor, and leather is on almost every other surface, including the dashboard, doors and headliner.
For a contrast in both color and texture, Barry covered the vertical surfaces of the dashboard in black Alcantara. Nice finishing touches are the center armrest, chrome trim kit for the instruments and air vents and the aluminum pedal kit.