August 10, 2004:

2005 MINI head unit

The 2005 MINI has an updated head unit which is reported to be able to play MP3 data CDs - allowing as much as 5-10 hours of music on a single CD!
I have not yet tried a new head unit, or seen one out of a MINI, but this recent MINI2 thread suggests that the 2005 head unit is a drop-in replacement for the older one - there is a picture which seems to show the same rear connections:

If this is true it is great news for people wanting to stick with the original looks, but get MP3 playback …