Here is a highlight of one of our new products: A Mini indestructible splitter!
No.. not like.. a miniature splitter. It's a full sized splitter… but for a Mini Cooper! Specifically, the first gen BMW based Mini Cooper S (R53).
Many many years ago, when Infamous Aero was a wee little baby, we made a small production run of 2 or 3 R53 Mini Cooper S front splitters for a few local customers. Looking back, this splitter was not very refined, and the mounting was less than ideal due to the floppy and thin front bumper design of this generation of Mini Cooper. Thanks to the help of our 3D scanner, and dedicated product design lead, we are officially re-releasing this product better than ever, with an all new partial chassis mount design using the power of computer aided design (CAD). This is not to be confused with cardboard aided design (also CAD) which was the peak of our design technology back when the original version of this splitter was created.
Wait a Minute... Hold up. What is a partial chassis mount design you may ask? Great question. With our normal chassis mount kits, we would design and manufacture some chassis mounted aluminum brackets that connects our splitters to.. well, the chassis of the vehicle. This leaves a free floating splitter, and allows the front bumper to be removed while the splitter stays with the car. Below is an example of our standard chassis mount splitter design for the 11th gen Honda Civic with all the aluminum chassis mount brackets attached.
For some vehicles, such as this R53 Mini Cooper S, the OEM subframe and front bumper designs allow for the indestructible splitter to bolt directly to the chassis of the vehicle without complex and expensive brackets. Besides the reduced cost, one of the main benefits of this design is a strong and easy attachment of the splitter to the vehicle, while at the same time the splitter itself doubles as a supporting bracket for the floppy OEM front bumper.
This partial chassis mount design is also full length, and functional. It effectively cleans up dirty airflow under the front end of the car and also has the added benefit of acting as a durable full replacement for the fragile OEM under engine shields that are often damaged or missing on these cars. Oil pan clearance to the ground generally isn't a known problem with this chassis, but hey, just in case a gnarly rock or dead racoon or something meets the bottom of your car on the road, rest assured that this splitter will also act as a skid plate to protect vital components underneath your car!
At the same time, we also completed this kit with new matching side skirt extensions, and rear bumper spats. (which if I may add, perfectly lines up to all the cut outs and curved of the OEM panels thanks to our fancy 3D scanner)
Before we move onto the next topic, one last thing, and then we can stop talking about Mini Coopers, I promise. The owner of this car also wanted something extra to spice up this aero kit just a bit more… If I'm being 100% honest with you, I don't know what to call this part… But, we whipped out the 3D scanner, CAD programs, and our 3D printers to design and manufacture a little piece that bolts up to and connects both the factory side skirt and our sideskirt extension, and it even has a cute little vent! (because aero)
Now, we don't reaaalllly have plans to release this little sideskirt-to-sideskirt-extension-vent-thingimadoo to the public, however, if the demand is there, we'll put them up on the site. We’ll even workshop a better name for the part. (maybe).
If blogs post aren't your thing, or if you don't know how to read (hey, we don't judge) below you'll find a fun little short video highlighting the product and the installation of this kit.
All these parts are live on our website now. Protect your pride and joy, and fix your floppy front bumper today with our Indestructible splitter! Perfect fitment, easy installation, made from our innovative indestructible material and backed by a lifetime warranty. Prepare for an unparalleled driving experience knowing that this will be the last splitter you'll ever need.
