MINI sound Speedster tunes-in Down Under
Direct from the USA, the Alpine MINI Speedster is out rocking our suburbsA customised MINI Cooper S from in-car sound specialists Alpine is currently on display at the Canterbury MINI Garage in Sydney, ahead of its showing at this year's Autosalon Automotive Lifestyle event on the Gold Coast.
The Alpine MINI is the latest creation from audio democar experts Steve Brown and Mike Vu from Alpine's Advanced Application R&D team.
The transformation from Cooper S to Alpine Speedster took more than 4000 hours over seven months, including the removal of the MINI's roof and application of a custom-design windscreen. The MINI was also lowered and features a handcrafted body kit to give it a super-wide and wild look. The team decided to seal the car's doors and instead create a 'sled' which incorporates the driver's seat and launches in and out of the car when activated by a remote key command.
The Alpine MINI Speedster was designed to seat just the driver, so the steering-wheel was relocated to a centre position. The entire dash was removed and replaced with Alpine sound equipment which surrounds the driver, creating a mobile DJ desk.
Six monitors are fitted inside the car, held on fibreglass 'arms', along with a DVD player and six-disc DVD changer. A component cluster around the steering wheel also houses a AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA unit and DVD/MP3 player, and a media controller unit which displays settings has been integrated into the top of the steering column.
More conventional driving gauges by Defi sit above the component cluster, housed in custom fibreglass cylinders with chrome accents.
The Alpine MINI Speedster is fitted with six high-performance amplifiers, including two four-channel amps and two mono amps fitted to the MINI's floor. Two more mono amps are installed on the interior sides of the car. There's also the obligatory subwoofers; in this case two 12-inchers fitted to the back of the driver's seat, a plethora of speakers and X-Box system.
The MINI Speedster rides on 20-inch OZ racing wheels, uses Brembo high-performance brakes and features Nitrous Express kits installed on each of the side skirts.
The MINI Speedster's paint scheme was designed by Californian artist 'Noah' -- famous for the striking artwork in the 'Fast and Furious 2' movie.
The Canterbury MINI Garage opened just over a year ago with a 150-strong MINI parade. The Canterbury showroom, which is open seven days, also features the new R56 MINI. The Alpine MINI Speedster will be on display at the Canterbury dealership -- 376-384 Canterbury Road, Canterbury -- until May 27.
Brembo Calipers and cross-drilled rotors
Toyo Proxies on custom 20-inch OZ racing wheels
Entertainment System
CDA-9835 CD/MP3/WMA/receiver
DHA-S680 Six-disc DVD changer
DVA-5210 DVD/MP3 player
NVE-N852A Navigation System (US only)
PXA-H701 Dolby Digital/DTS Audio Processor
RUX-C701 Digital Media Controller (controls PXA-H701)
TME-M580 (x6) Widescreen Monitors
MRD-M1001 (x2) AccuClass-D V12 Digital Mono Power Amplifiers
MRD-M501 (x2) AccuClass-D V12 Digital Mono Power Amplifiers
MRV-F540 V12 Four-channel Power Amplifiers
SPX-137R (x3 sets) Type-X Component Speakers
SPX-17MB (x4 sets) Type-X Component Speakers
SWX-1242D (x2) Type-X Subwoofers
X-Box Gaming System
System Cabling - Monster Cable
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