Mini wants to make sure its customers know how to drive a car with a manual transmission when it relaunches the three-pedal configuration for select models in the United States. The British automaker has now announced the Mini Manual Driving School to be held at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California. Mini believes for many customers the opportunity to manual drive is limited by their ability to learn how. And it wants to change it.
Mini plans to split the manual transmission line into two stages – the class section and direct driving on the test track. The main goal is for each driver to learn how to shift their own gears in a safe and attractive environment. This course includes exercises that focus on vehicle control, finding friction points, practicing smooth starts, stops, acceleration, and more. Perhaps the best part is that at the end of the course, participants will be tested on a timed course.
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“For more than a decade, consumers have ranked Mini as the most fun brand to drive in America, which is why we are bringing back the manual transmission,” said Rah Mahtani, Brand Communications Manager at Mini US. “This course is not only informative but also a fun and challenging learning experience for a new generation of MINI drivers that they will remember forever.”
Manual transmission options for Mini products in the United States have come and gone over the last five or six years. Recently, the company announced that it will start offering manual gearboxes for the Mini Hardtop again starting with November production. It will return as an option for the Cooper, Cooper S, and John Cooper Works models in just two-door guise.
Mini believes the experience of a vehicle with a manual transmission goes far beyond look and feel and focuses on driving pleasure – and we totally agree. Who knows, maybe an initiative like Mini’s Manual Driving School could bring back the heyday of your line-of-your-own-gear vehicle. But, to be honest, in the era of electrification and digitization, this seems very unlikely.
