“RACING - Because football, handball, bowling or tennis only require ONE BALL” This message was the first thing I saw when I stepped onto the rooftop of one of Bucharest’s posh malls. It was written on the doors of a brand new MINI Roadster and I was immediately handed the keys to the car. Why was I holding the keys to a MINI Roadster that was parked there, in the middle of the city, but above it?
This is how the carmaker decided to launch the car in Romania - by throwing an automotive, party. When rally driver Claudiu David invited me for a drive, with him giving me instructions from the passenger’s seat, I knew that this was not going to be one of those boring events where I stare at my camera and discover specs of dust that remind me of the latest test drive.
We, the automotive journalists, were invited to tackle an obstacle course using a MINI Roadster, with the winner set to receive a MINI folding bike. I was desperately looking for the booth where I thought I should’ve received my helmet and fireproof clothing, but instead the organizers sent me to grab a couple of beers and a blowup doll. Wait, what?
Yes, before we could drift the car on the dusty surface sprayed with cones, we had to secure our man-create lady friend on the passenger’s seat using the seatbelt and fit certain objects, such as the aforementioned beers and a pair of rubber boots into the car. Then, after we completed the course, we had to use the car to score a goal using a gigantic ball. Sounds like a job for a MINI!
I set off and the nervous sound of the exhaust is there, very close to me thanks to the lack of a roof, I play with everything I could find in the car (the lever placed behind the gear shifter proved particularly helpful), complete the course in a time that brings a smile on my face and score a perfect goal. The doll on my right also seems happy.
Unfortunately, this was just the practice run - in the actual run I missed the net, which put me out of the fight. So, no bicycle for me, but at least I had a ton of fun playing with the open-top MINI in order to avoid hitting the cones, boxes and glass elements placed along the course. See you at the test-drive baby (I am taking about the car)!
We, the automotive journalists, were invited to tackle an obstacle course using a MINI Roadster, with the winner set to receive a MINI folding bike. I was desperately looking for the booth where I thought I should’ve received my helmet and fireproof clothing, but instead the organizers sent me to grab a couple of beers and a blowup doll. Wait, what?
Yes, before we could drift the car on the dusty surface sprayed with cones, we had to secure our man-create lady friend on the passenger’s seat using the seatbelt and fit certain objects, such as the aforementioned beers and a pair of rubber boots into the car. Then, after we completed the course, we had to use the car to score a goal using a gigantic ball. Sounds like a job for a MINI!
I set off and the nervous sound of the exhaust is there, very close to me thanks to the lack of a roof, I play with everything I could find in the car (the lever placed behind the gear shifter proved particularly helpful), complete the course in a time that brings a smile on my face and score a perfect goal. The doll on my right also seems happy.
Unfortunately, this was just the practice run - in the actual run I missed the net, which put me out of the fight. So, no bicycle for me, but at least I had a ton of fun playing with the open-top MINI in order to avoid hitting the cones, boxes and glass elements placed along the course. See you at the test-drive baby (I am taking about the car)!