Mini Launching Value-Oriented Special Edition 1499 GT, Oxford Models

• 1499 GT tips hat to 1969 model

• Oxford adds $5,600 in extras for lower price

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While special editions usually mean a special price tag to go along with it, Mini says that its latest are meant to offer value as much as they are prestige. They’re the Mini Cooper 1499 GT and the Mini Countryman Oxford GT.

If you’re wondering what happened in Mini history in the year 1499, it’s actually a nod to the displacement of the engine (1,499cc) and the 1969 Mini 1275 GT, a 1,275 cc monster known as one of the best bargain sporting Minis ever. Or at least that’s how Mini remembers it.

Copying that classic it has a dark midnight plant paint job with gold side stripes and piano black grille and trim. It also gets the styling package of the John Cooper Works Mini including bumpers and side skirts along with 17-inch wheels. The engine is the 1.5L three-cylinder making 134 hp and 162 lb-ft with either a six-speed stick or seven-speed DSG.

Interior changes are more plentiful including JCW sports seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate, navigation, digital cluster, and Apple CarPlay, all for $27,040 US.

The Mini Countryman Oxford comes in front or all-wheel drive and has the Classic trim’s faux-leather seating, 8.8-inch display, and seven-speed DSG. It has LED head and fog lights and Union flag LED tails, updates to all Countrymans for 2021. 18-inch large wheels are standard, as are heated front seats, auto climate control, and on of six colours. Mini says it all adds up to $5,600 worth of extra kit for no extra cost in the $26,500 starting price (add $2,000 for AWD).

Mini is also planning a Paddy Hopkirk Edition previously announced as a tribute to the Irish rally driver, a Coral Red edition, and the Mini Sidewalk Edition. Mini’s big on special editions, in case you hadn’t guessed.