The MINI Coupe Concept will be at the Frankfurt Motor Show
MINI has released the first details of the MINI Coupe Concept, which will join the MINI Roadster as new UK built MINIs
Well, it makes a change from yet another MINI special Edition. This time we have something that’s more than smoke and mirrors and a pretty paint job – The MINI Coupe Concept.
BMW are calling this a concept, but I think we all know it will be going in to production. BMW hasn’t missed a single trick in squeezing every last drop of marketing possibilities from the MINI since they relaunched the iconic little car, and MINI’s 50th Anniversary has already given it a whole heap of specials including the MINI JCW World Championship 50th and the MINI 50 Mayfair and the MINI 50 Camden.
The most obvious change to the MINI Coupe is the coupe roof – an aluminium construction that redefines the MINI’s silhouette, lowers the car by 13cm and reduces weight. It will also make the Coupe’s centre of gravity lower, which will reflect in the handling.
BMW are calling the MINI Coupe a ‘Pocket Porsche’ and, with it’s oily bits coming from the JCW and its lower weight and centre of gravity, it should be capable of doing the MINI ‘go-kart’ bit in spades. In fact, with its 1.6 litre lump delivering 208 bhp and a decent wodge of torque, the MINI Coupe can be thought of as competition for cars like the Peugeot RCZ (which will use the same engine in its top-end version) and the new Audi TT (but not quite the TT RS).
Inside expect to see some pretty high-quality trim, and some cute touches like twin Chronoswiss clocks sitting each side of the rev counter and a tailgate that opens at the spoiler to give a decent load area.
MINI are bringing the Coupe Concept to Frankfurt next month. But MINI has released details today, because 26th August is 50 years since the world first saw the original MINI.
All the details are in the MINI Coupe Concept Press Release.
Update: We’ve now posted a huge gallery of photos of the MINI Coupe Concept together with a video.
Kate says
When is the Mini coupe and roadster going to be on sale and how much will the starting cost be?