Mini Prepping Roadster, Coupe Concepts

[TinmanMS6]

Mini has been celebrating its 50th anniversary for most of 2009, with special editions - even a Rolls-Royce custom Mini - multiplying like rabbits. But the next few weeks are expected to host the reveal of a pair of all-new concepts, starting tomorrow and wrapping up at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

August 26 is the actual 50th anniversary of the Mini brand, and to celebrate the occasion, inside sources are saying Mini is planning a photo-reveal of a two-seater coupe concept. The same car will later take the stage at Frankfurt, alongside another all-new concept: a roadster/speedster.

The coupe is expected to be based on the same mechanical underpinnings as the John Cooper Works Mini for an added dash of sportiness, while the roadster's running gear hasn't been disclosed, though it's likely to get similar treatment.

Unfortunately for Mini fans and small-car aficionados, neither of the cars is officially tipped for production, and given the current state of the economy and market, high-performance, small-footprint vehicles may not be on the roster any time soon.

[TinmanMS6]

The 2009 Mini Coupe Concept is a kind of birthday present, as the Mini brand celebrates 50 years since it began on July 26, 1959. And we'll all get to enjoy this present, because it will be presented in public for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.

At a secret location near Munich, Mini's Design Director Gert Hildebrand tells us about his newest creation. "The idea to do a Mini coupe was born in our design center," he says. "New ideas never come from the board offices; they come from the floor of the design studio. BMW does trend analysis a lot and every three months we talk to Mini representatives from all over the world to discuss the needs of our clients. But we were never asked to do a coupe. We're close followers of blogs and so forth, and we just felt that people would like the idea of a car like this."

Hildebrand takes a look at this dramatic creation, a two-seater that looks low and sleek. "It's a pocket Porsche," he says. "Maybe we can bring back the same adventurous customers we had with the BMW Z3 coupe. And, actually, both cars have had the same designer — Marcus Syring."

Fire Up the Blowtorch, Hans!
The 2009 Mini Coupe Concept began with a Mini John Cooper Works and a blowtorch. Just like the regular Mini in Europe, it measures 146.1 inches overall and 66.1 inches wide. But thanks to the new greenhouse, it is just 53.3 inches high, some 1.4 inches lower than before. It's a pure two-seater, and there's only luggage space `behind the front seats.

"It is intended to be really sporty," Hildebrand says. "And because of the absence of rear seats, it weighs between 175 and 200 pounds less. It also has a better Cd in the wind tunnel because the windscreen lies back 16 degrees more than the regular Mini."

To lean back the windshield has had complicated consequences for the structure of the coupe, though. Hildebrand says, "Every new car at BMW has to undergo structural tests, where they put a certain amount of weight on the roof. A leaned-back A-pillar is inherently weaker than a pillar that stands up more."

Beneath the skin, this concept is still a Mini John Cooper Works, so the turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-4 will make 211 horsepower. This will help reinforce the coupe's mission, which is, as Hildebrand says, "to emphasize Mini's masculine side."

Nice Hat
Surprisingly enough, there was no big design competition for the 2009 Mini Coupe Concept within Hildebrand's studio. "We are actually quite a small team, so designer Marcus Syring made six sketches from which I picked one," he says. "They were simple sketches made with a pencil. All of the design work was done on the computer, though — virtual design."

To differentiate all the different forms of the Mini, the designers have focused on the roof, Hildebrand tells us: "Have a look at the different Mini models, like the Cooper, Clubman, and the crossover that is due for next year. They all have different roof shapes."

For the coupe, Hildebrand says his teenage son provided an unexpected inspiration. "The car has a baseball cap on its head, with the front backward, just like my son," he says. And in the same way, Hildebrand sees the coupe as the ideal car for a young couple: "It is simple, logical, but still erotic."

The baseball cap is functional, however, as the design director points out. "The roof spoiler has an opening in it. We need that to deliver air on the back of the car, for downforce. And it also keeps the rear window clean, as we don't have a wiper back there." The C-pillars also feature a little aero piece to minimize turbulence in the car's wake, which reduces drag.

Style Quotient
Designer Annette Baumeister chose this car's color palette, and the selection hasn't been made by coincidence, as in the same year the original Mini was born, the Cooper T51-Climax driven by Australian Jack Brabham won the Formula 1 constructors championship for the Cooper Car Company. "Jack Brabham always wore light-blue Dunlop overalls and a helmet painted gold," Hildebrand says.

There's no crazy stuff for the 2009 Mini Coupe Concept's interior, since the dash design and the seats come straight from the regular Mini. Designing a completely new interior would have been impossible anyway, because of the short period in which the showcar had to be designed and built. The fabrics, however, are new. Hildebrand notes, "The interior is done by Oliver Leghart, and we also worked with Poltrona Frau, an Italian furniture company that works a lot with leather. They also do seats for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari."

The coupe has a big hatch, although it doesn't work on this showcar. There will be a small opening in the wall between the passenger space and the cargo area so you can conveniently grab stuff from the luggage compartment. The cargo space itself measures about 8.8 cubic feet, about the same as a regular Mini three-door. "Eventually maybe we can move the seats down even a bit more, but you must not forget that Mini already is one of the cars with the lowest seating position. Maybe we can develop a special seat together with Sparco, since we already do some stuff with them."

Coupe, Roadster or Both?
Aside from being a birthday present, the 2009 Mini Coupe Concept is a serious design proposal. In fact, it will be shown at Frankfurt in the company of a roadster concept. "This roadster showcar has not been finished yet," Hildebrand tells us. He's about to go on, when one of the BMW executives present warns him against continuing. But someone else in the studio tells us that eventually, they will decide to build either the coupe or the roadster. Or both. Or neither.

As Hildebrand says, "Everything you see is doable for production. It might not be cheap, but it's doable. Hopefully we can get the OK before the end of the year. We will need another two to three years to develop the car. For sure we have to do a thorough aerodynamic study, because we've only done a rough one on the computer."

There's no word yet about what such a production version of the 2009 Mini Coupe Concept car might be called. "This is always something that's done last," the designer says. "It's always one of the more difficult parts of bringing a car to the market. We have thought about lots of names, from Speedwell to Broadspeed, two traditional English tuning companies. Personally I like Downton, a company that made Minis for celebrities in its time."

[TinmanMS6]

[Dermen]

I'm not fond of the roof swooping down where it meets the B pillars. If the roof was black I might not mind so much as it would blend in better with the small rear windows.

[seanmcsean]

weird little bugger, but I wouldn't mind flogging one down some twisties.

[Kymerik]

uhm...i dont know what to think yet...however, that is one tiny lil thing.

[Hughes412]

The car just don't look good. Maybe it they extended the roof farther back.

[TinmanMS6]

We certainly didn't think the Mini Coupe Concept was a sure bet for production. But BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer essentially confirmed that the coupe is a go for production in a Financial Times article published this afternoon.

"I am pleased to announce the Mini coupe concept car and another new Mini model will both be built at Oxford," he said.

This is good news for UK autoworkers, as BMW cut 850 temporary workers at the plant in February. Although today's announcement should lead to new jobs and investment, Reithofer wouldn't get specific about numbers or timetables.

The Mini Coupe Concept will debut later this month at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The production version of the Mini Crossover is also expected to debut here, so most likely, that's the other half of the deal.

[TinmanMS6]

I'm not real big on the styling, but I can certainly get behind something that is more or less a CRX turbo. Should be a whole lot of fun, especially in Cooper Works trim.

[TinmanMS6]

Fans of the Mini brand will soon get another vehicle to love, as today MINI's UK arm has confirmed that two new models, one of which is the MINI Coupe, will soon be headed to production. Both the Coupe and a yet-to-be-named model, both to be exhibited for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, will be built in the next few years.

"I think bringing these two new models to Oxford is a great sign to the Oxford area, to all the workers here at the plant, that the future for Mini and for this operation is very bright indeed," Graham Biggs, corporate communications manager for BMW UK, told the BBC.

The news came along with plans to hire an additional 1,000 workers to help build the new models. Whether the second model will be the still-secretive MINI Roadster we got a peek at last week, or the nearly-finished MINI Crossover (nee Crossman), is still not clear.

With its sleek looks and even smaller size - there is no back seat in the Coupe concept - the new car certainly fits with the 'MINI' moniker.

MINI had previously said it would ultimately be the public and press reaction to the concept that would guide Mini's plans on the matter, with its unveiling in Frankfurt and a possible U.S. showing at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December being the touchstones for that reaction. It seems the early reaction was so strong that MINI went ahead and made the decision to build it even before revealing it live.

Adding another pair of models to the Cooper/Convertible/Clubman range would move Mini closer to offering a full range of vehicles. Recent reports say the crossover won't be coming until 2010 at the earliest, meaning both the Coupe and whichever model that comes with it are still likely at least a year, and possibly as many as three years distant.

[Saskatchewan17]

Maybe if they played with the roof to make it not look like it's wearing a fruity bowler hat and messed around with the square ass section...