2007 MINI Cooper S for Sale in Fairfax, Virginia

To meet European environmental and mileage requirements, BMW designed a completely new engine for the 2007 Mini Cooper in cooperation with Peugeot. It produces approximately the same horsepower as before: 120 in the Cooper and 175 in the Cooper S. But the devil lies in the details. A turbocharger in the Cooper S in place of the old supercharger produces 177 pound-feet of torque from 1700 to 5000 rpm, significantly improving the sportier model's performance.

The new engine, as well as new European pedestrian safety standards, required that BMW redesign the front panels. To maintain overall design integrity, the stylists chose to tweak the contours of all other panels. Nevertheless, without the old model to compare, most observers would have difficulty spotting the changes. The Mini still is most aptly described as looking like a cheery English bulldog.