Valencia Orange not looking so exclusive anymore…

[Dackelone]

Valencia Orange not looking so exclusive anymore… this weekend I was at the BMW Welt for the DTM unveiling. I always park down in the garage there... I was kind of surprised to see this color on this MINI...

I don't know what MINI is calling this color... but it sure looks close to VO.

Have a look...








Dackel

[Drillslinger]

I can't see the pic from work but based on your description I'd guess that you're looking at a Spice Orange MINI.

[Satalite]

VO isn't an exclusive color rather just a color that BMW M has rights too. But then again it doesn't look to good on any other BMW besides the 1M.

Still debating whether or not the VO or AW would better...

[Red135]

Want to blend in: AW.
Want a color that really 'pops' when you wax it: VO.

[Dackelone]

So... is this spice orange MINI color a regular production color? Today I saw another MINI in this color. Never saw this color before this weekend. ? I think VO is a tad bit brighter though.

[Denso]

Originally Posted by Red135

Want to blend in: AW.
Want a color that really 'pops' when you wax it: VO.

Colour choice is personal preference, personally i think the 3 colours available suit the 1M. Too each there own and its AW for me and i never thought VO was a 1M exclusive anyway

[Drillslinger]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

So... is this spice orange MINI color a regular production color? Today I saw another MINI in this color. Never saw this color before this weekend. ? I think VO is a tad bit brighter though.

Yup, it's a production color.

[2045]

i'm not sure they are the same though. i've never seen VO yet but have seen the Spice Orange often in LA. i liked the color on my computer but not in real life. the color looks very dull & i suspect it doesn't age very well. i hope they're not the same...

[as7920]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

So... is this spice orange MINI color a regular production color? Today I saw another MINI in this color. Never saw this color before this weekend. ? I think VO is a tad bit brighter though.

A colleague of mine got his Spice Orange MINI a couple of months before I got my 1M whilst I was still deciding on my colour choice.

It is very similar to VO, and also varies like the VO dependent on light so it too is dull in overcast conditions and bright when sunny.

Another reason why I went for BSM in the end.

[HALOTHANE]

Having seen all 3 color options in person and in real-life conditions, VO seems to hide dirt and brake dust the best....something to consider if daily maintenance is a concern.

[josephvman]

I had a Cooper S Conv. in that color when they came out, I think 2006. It was a POS and I dumped it after a few months.

[Sinister Crayon]

Originally Posted by josephvman

I had a Cooper S Conv. in that color when they came out, I think 2006. It was a POS and I dumped it after a few months.

The original Cooper S coupe was an absolute hoot... like a supercharged go-kart. The first cabriolet though wasn't so good; the body flexed badly in corners even with the amount of structural reinforcements they'd made. Those reinforcements made it heavy and as a result it just wasn't a good car.

The second generation Mini just wasn't nearly as much fun and I think they lost a lot of their appeal to me. Nowadays I haven't even spared them a second glance.

[Wild Bill]

Originally Posted by josephvman

I had a Cooper S Conv. in that color when they came out, I think 2006. It was a POS and I dumped it after a few months.

There are good and bad, between my wife and I we have had 4 MINIs, 1 2004 "S" heavily modded, 1 2004 JCW stock, 1 2007 "S" and 1 2010 JCW Clubman.

We still have all except the 2007 which was returned to MINI USA under the lemon law after 2 years of litigation. No problems to speak of with any of the current MINIs and we have put 37000 miles on the 2010 in 15 months.

There are bad apples in any barrel, one problem car didn't deter us from continuing on with MINIs, we are enjoying our new 1M and hope it is as trouble free as all the rest.

WB

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by Sinister Crayon

The original Cooper S coupe was an absolute hoot... like a supercharged go-kart. The first cabriolet though wasn't so good; the body flexed badly in corners even with the amount of structural reinforcements they'd made. Those reinforcements made it heavy and as a result it just wasn't a good car.

The second generation Mini just wasn't nearly as much fun and I think they lost a lot of their appeal to me. Nowadays I haven't even spared them a second glance.

Agreed. I needed a cheap throw-down car for a few months after my divorce, and I bought an S Coupe. Drove it for around a year and had a lot of fun with it, and sold it for $500 less than I paid for it. Other than the sunshade for the sunroof coming out of the track a couple of times the car was literally flawless. A friend of mine who was GM at a Texas Mini dealership convinced me that the convertibles were going to be very hot for awhile, and got me one of the first ones. It shook, rattled, and rolled, and generally sucked to drive. Also felt like it was 500lbs heavier than the coupe, which it wasn't. I only kept it a few months, and apparently the word on the convertible was out because I took a beating on it when I sold it.

[T1T2GRE]

I think this is one of those colours that's growing amongst several brands. I just traded in my E83 X3 to save some cash for the upcoming 1SMC, and my new ride is a 2011 Suzuki SX4 in "Sunlight Copper Metallic". It doesn't pop as much as the 1SMC did @ the Chicago Auto Show, but it's a pretty close knock-off.

I'm not picking VO b/c of exclusivity, just because the AW and BSO don't work for me. Now if they had a nice blue....

[Jezzer]

Valencia orange will be a standard colour on the next series 1 model I'm afraid

[Turbo Power]

Originally Posted by Jezzer

Valencia orange will be a standard colour on the next series 1 model I'm afraid

This is correct, however I don't believe you will new many new 1 series in VO.
The new 1 series is a horrible looking car, VO is not going to be doing it any favours.

[urban_alchemist]

Originally Posted by Sinister Crayon

The original Cooper S coupe was an absolute hoot... like a supercharged go-kart. The first cabriolet though wasn't so good; the body flexed badly in corners even with the amount of structural reinforcements they'd made. Those reinforcements made it heavy and as a result it just wasn't a good car.

The second generation Mini just wasn't nearly as much fun and I think they lost a lot of their appeal to me. Nowadays I haven't even spared them a second glance.

Agreed to a certain extent. I had a 2001 Cooper, and my wife has a 2011 Cooper S. We also share a 2008 JCW in Monaco and a pre-BMW Cooper in London. All are and were tin-tops.

The original BMW mini was awesome as a driver's machine. In town it just felt lithe, tiny, and all the control weights were set up so as to encourage brisk driving. The next generation (even the JCW, and even post facelift) is much more grown up. It is less in-your-face as a driver's car, but the payoff is far better highway stability and general chassis compliance. I, personally, prefer the original car (or even the restored pre-BMW Cooper we still keep as a London runabout), but I can appreciate the logic of the second generation, if not necessarily the execution.

[Sinister Crayon]

Originally Posted by urban_alchemist

Agreed to a certain extent. I had a 2001 Cooper, and my wife has a 2011 Cooper S. We also share a 2008 JCW in Monaco and a pre-BMW Cooper in London. All are and were tin-tops.

The original BMW mini was awesome as a driver's machine. In town it just felt lithe, tiny, and all the control weights were set up so as to encourage brisk driving. The next generation (even the JCW, and even post facelift) is much more grown up. It is less in-your-face as a driver's car, but the payoff is far better highway stability and general chassis compliance. I, personally, prefer the original car (or even the restored pre-BMW Cooper we still keep as a London runabout), but I can appreciate the logic of the second generation, if not necessarily the execution.

Absolutely a fair comment there. I have to agree, the second gen WAS a better highway car but to me it lost what made the Mini special. It became more like a lot of other cars, and really kind of lost its way. I'm one of those people who would rather find the windy country road to work even if it's an extra 10 miles and 30 minutes compared to the highway. I also ride motorcycles

Having said that, the first gen wasn't for everyone because it was so "in your face". My wife at the time hated it, hence why I didn't buy it) but I was smitten with it. Of course, she decided that she wanted something "more practical". Well, 10 years later I have gotten rid of the wife and getting something even less practical; a 135i

[v1k0d3n]

My old track bike started out with a very similar color to VO.

[clived]

Originally Posted by Jezzer

Valencia orange will be a standard colour on the next series 1 model I'm afraid

Yeah, this has been known for some time - it's just that some people liked to keep believing that VO was only going to appear on the 1M, period ;-)

[nachob]

I very much like the VO, but I have noticed that Kia, Mini, Nissan etc all have versions lately of VO. It is a color of the times. This is not necessarily bad or good, just something of the times like black wheels are all the rage now. I think there will be even more orange cars coming.