Motor Industry News
Mini Coupe takes on bold new ground
Created Date: 14/07/2011
The Mini Cooper is and always has been a bit of an icon for our country. Back to its release in 1959, it symbolised everything good about Britain. While it’s safe to say that it’s undergone a lot of cosmetic updates and transformations since that era, it has always remained pretty faithful to the original design - a four seater full bodied affair aimed at being a small family car. This is all set to change however, with Mini – who are now owned by BMW, having just announced a completely new addition to their ever increasing line-up of spin-offs named the Mini Coupe, and it’s totally unlike any other Mini yet.
It’s being named the coupe for the assumed reason – this is not a four seater family car and is instead a two seater coupe aimed at the sportier side of the market. For many the design will take some time to get used to such is its radical departure from the Mini’s of norm. Rather than the straight set roof of a typical Mini, the Coupe has a roof that slopes downwards at the back to give it a more streamlined exterior. Mini call it the ‘Helmet Roof’ after its styling was supposedly based on when a cap is worn backwards. It’s one of those looks that is very difficult to explain; you really need to see the pictures to fully understand its design. The roof incorporates two spoilers which are at the rear of the car: a flip-up spoiler that rises out of the tail at 50mph and a fixed spoiler on the trailing edge of the roof. The former is presumably to help with downforce when the speedometer starts creeping up.
Interior is almost identical to their Mini Hatchback model aside from a few material and trim changes. The big difference is the included recesses in the roof liner, designed to compensate for the Coupe’s 29mm lower height. Also, the removal of the rear seats means that this car has the largest boot capacity of any current Mini model, at 280 litres.
The Coupe is going to be available in four versions, each with their own engine. At the cheapest end of the scale will be the standard Cooper model, which carries a 121bhp engine and average mpg of 52.3. Moving up the scale we then have the Cooper S model, which carries a 181bhp engine and an mpg rating of 48.7. The top of the line model is the John Cooper Works edition, which harbours a mighty 208bhp 1.6-litre engine from said firm. It will take the car to 62mph in 6.4sec and on to a top speed of 149mph. The JCW’s combined fuel economy is 39.8mpg. There’s also a diesel variant named the Cooper SD, which has a 141bhp engine and the best fuel economy rating of the bunch at 65.7mpg. Prices for all four versions start at £16,640 for the Cooper, £19,775 for the Cooper S, £20,510 for the Cooper SD and £23,795 for the JCW edition.
It’s a bold move from the Mini team to make a model that breaks away from the nostalgic look we are accustomed to so heavily and for them to take the brand into new uncharted areas of the motoring market. Its due to go on sale in October with the aforementioned four models above, so it will interesting to see if their risky move has indeed paid off.
Article written by: Tom Wellburn
Sources
http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/mini-coupe-from-16-640-updated-/257793
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/257796/
Car leasing explained
One of the most popular forms of car leasing in the UK is Contract Hire, which is available to both business users and consumers (private individuals).
Frequently asked questions
Leasing a car with us is very easy, and to help even more, we've complied a list of answers to some of the questions we get asked.
Car leasing jargon buster
Don’t let complicated terminology stop you finding the right car to lease. Our jargon buster explains some of the most commonly used words and phrases.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Car leasing made simple is proud to support The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - making a difference to over 275,000 young people across the UK every year.
