MINI Coupe

Meet the sensational new MINICoupé! Exactly 50 years after the original Mini made its debut – on 26August 1959 – the British firm is set to reveal its mostforward-thinking model to date.

The car will make its debut atnext month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but Auto Express has all the imagesand details on the latest homegrown hero after being allowed up closefor exclusive access to the new car.

Takingthe shape of a sporty two-seater, the MINI Coupé Concept is a vision ofthings to come as it looks to compete with the Mazda MX-5 RoadsterCoupé, Audi TT and the Peugeot RC Z unveiled in last week’s issue.Blending styling cues from the past, present and future, the new MINI’sremit is simple; to broaden the appeal beyond the hatchback,Convertible and Clubman.

And with its light weight and lowcentre of gravity, it promises to be the most driver-oriented roadgoingMINI ever. The familiar front end is borrowed from the four-seaterhatchback, but incorporates a number of unique touches to set it apart.

Amongthis car’s firsts are body-coloured bars inside the chrome grillesurround, plus the bonnet stripes continuing through the grille itself.View the Coupé in profile and the differences become even morepronounced. The front side panels are lifted straight from the currentConvertible, yet a more steeply raked windscreen sweeps overhead andlends a dynamic feel to the design, even at a standstill.

Ahigh, gently rising waistline is nothing new for a MINI, but this showcar combines it with an ultra-slim glass area and short overhangs for apowerful and stocky stance.

Yet it’s the ‘floating’ roof thatwill provoke most debate. Using the trick of blacking out the A, B andacutely angled C-pillars, this beautifully crafted panel appears to situnsupported on top of the car. But the roof serves as more than anaesthetic component – integrated into its trailing edge is a blade-likespoiler.

This helps to guide airflow over the tapered rearwindow, not only to give added downforce at speed but also for greateraerodynamic efficiency. A twin-section diffuser, exiting either side ofthe trademark double exhausts, cleans up underbody airflow, anddemonstrates the car’s high-performance intentions.

The interioris as extrovert as the exterior; slide into the cabin and the racytheme continues. Deeply bolstered sports seats are finished in acombination of woven leather strands and larger-stitched panels.

Elsewhere,the dinner-plate central speedo and column-mounted rev counter, as wellmost of the switchgear, are lifted directly from the hatch.

However,two Chronoswiss clocks on either side of the rev counter neatly linkMinis of the future with those of the past. One is a purpose-builtdigital stopwatch for taking lap times, while the other shows the timein classic analogue style.

Under the air-scooped hood is afamiliar engine – the 1.6-litre turbo from the MINI John Cooper Works.This kicks out 208bhp and 260Nm of torque, although the latter canclimb as high as 280Nm for short bursts thanks to the overboostfunction. And due to its light weight, the Coupé should display evenmore devastating performance than the hatch or Convertible versionsfitted with the same motor.

That aluminium roof not only reducesthe entire weight of the car, boosting performance and efficiency, butalso lowers the centre of gravity. So despite using identicalsuspension geometry to the JCW hatchback, the Coupé should corner withmore bite and less body roll.

However, MINI hasn’t forgotten acar such as this can’t be exclusively focused on outright speed anddynamic ability – it needs an element of practicality, too. Which iswhy, with the rear seats removed, load capacity is up to a usable 250litres – 40 litres less than in a TT. But to make the most of thisluggage area, the entire tailgate hinges at the top of the roofspoiler, revealing a huge opening.

Officially, its maker saysthe Coupé is a “fascinating vision of how the MINI model family maycontinue”. But based on the cabin finish and practical,production-ready touches that have been built into the package, the carcould be closer to the road than MINI is letting on.