Meet the tiny MINI that packs a mighty punch! Following our scoop in Issue 1,126 that revealed a new smaller MINI is in the pipeline, insiders have hinted that a hot John Cooper Works model will also make production.
The design is familiar to fans of the MINI range, but there’s a few crucial changes. The as yet unnamed car has shrunk to just over three metres long, although there should still be space for four inside, along with a decent boot.
Efficiency is key, even for this sporty version, and the newcomer will make use of a new 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder engine turbocharged engine currently being developed by BMW.
Despite boasting close to 150bhp, the new engine should be capable of achieving 50mpg and CO2 emissions of just under 110g/km thanks to BMW’s EfficientDynamics tweaks. Expect to see stop/start, brake energy regeneration and an aerodynamic design among the changes.
With dimensions only slightly larger than the original Issigonis designed Mini, the tiny JCW is bound to inherit some of the traits which made the original such fun to drive.
A low kerbweight means straight line-acceleration should be impressive, with the sprint from 0-62mph taking just over 7 seconds. Meanwhile, the short wheel-base and a set of stiffer springs for this hardcore version will help ensure the newest MINI will also be the most agile yet.
With One, Cooper and Cooper S versions coming in 2012, the JCW branded model is expected to follow in 2013 and should cost around £16,000.
Disqus - noscript
THIS is the Mini we should have got originally! Maybe this one will be a worthy successor and not an overrated oversized attempt at reinventing a classic!
With room for 4 and a decent boot, well considering the full sized BMW Mini struggles with room for 4 and has a joke boot, I find it hard to believe that by shrinking it they have liberated more room.
Another ridiculous photoshop rendering which is undoubtadly way off the mark looks-wise and another useless piece of non-news. Why anyone buys this stuff is beyond me...
I think Auto express is getting a bit carried away with all the Photoshopping
And yet you saw fit to comment.... Weird!!! (O.O)
Quite correctly pointed out by others, if the Mini by BMW could not offer rear accommodation and boot space, how will they manage it is something this tiny? The only way is up! more upright seating, as reducing the engine from 4 to 3 cylinders can't benefit overall car length reduction. Unless... they are fitting the engine under the rear seat! Now that's an idea!
What a joke....BMW.
The proposed smaller Mini is what they should have produced in the first place.......Not the present heap of rubbish
I had one of the first Morris Minis in Feb 1960, then a Van and finally a Morris Mini Cooper in 1964 The year it WON the Monte.
The BEST Small car ever made......Give me the ORIGINAL any day.
The suggest price of £16,000 is Daylight Robbery
This is what BMW should have came up with from the beginning when they made plans for a replacement. The current mini is not a patch on the original, looks wise. The smallness and desirability is what made the original so popular. So, until BMW introduce this new mini, the Fiat 500 will continue to be the cutest and biggest selling car in Europe.
Now that is more like it. Very cute.!
The rendering looks like a 2 seater to me, perfect for myself. :)
I've previously owned three MINI's (finishing on a factory JCW) all of which were superb cars. I never had an issue with the size of the boot , or the ability to seat four adults comfortably.
One thing to note on many of these responses. MINI is a brand, not a model, they continue to evolve a product lineup. For the 1960's brigade, that car, the Austin Mini, whilst brilliant at the time couldn't be manufactured now as it wouldn't pass any of the safety regs. By modern standards it would be considered as dangerous, slow, uncomfortable and a rot-box. A lovely classic car to own though.
MINI continue to build the best quality small cars currently available in their classes.
What was that again, there should still be space for four pygmys inside, along with a decent boot. Riiight !. I'd still love one. :-)
Is this likely to happen, as with so many computer generated images created by journalists tagged as 'exclusives'?
I'm more interested in the next generation Mini itself, although if it looked like this but bigger, it would be great. Maybe whoever created these images should be designing cars instead of over-hyped people with no talent such as Chris Bangle!
I understand the sentiments behind the original Mini, but things have moved on - despite its many accomplishments, it is downright dangerous to drive on today's roads with today's drivers. And I never managed to get comfortable in one, thanks to the bumpy ride and bus driver steering wheel angle.
Despite being created by cyncial badge-engineering market men, and seriously overpriced, the BMW Mini still a good car to drive and makes you feel good being in one - just like the original.
An object of fun in a relentlessly tiresome and demanding modern life. I'm now going to buy some cheap clothes and get my credit card cloned.
The mere fact is that its a chopped off BMW Mini and light years away from the original design and concept of Alec Issigonises ADO 15!
This is a con and only really a 2 seater - the space in it certainly will not compare with an ADO 15!
In all seriousness why does not someone in the UK design a new generation ADO 15 usings the basic concepts?
This is truer to the original mini. It is so cute it should sell like hot cakes!
Finally a car that deserves the name MINI it is just bigger than the original and i think it'll do well
again a pointless car from mini even though its exactly what it says. how can you live with such a small car? and the new developed 1.5 T , bmw will probably just put the mitsubishi colt CZT engine under the hood which is a fantastic engine