MINI Coupe Concept Revealed

The BMW group shows the first photos of the MINI Concept Coupe to be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.

50 years to the day

It was May 8th of 1959 when the first of the original Minis rolled off the assembly lines of Plant Oxford of the British Motor Corporation. The first official public presentation, however, occurred on the 26th of August of that same year. So it is hardly a coincidence that BMW chose that same date 50 years later to reveal images of a new MINI Coupe Concept that will have its official public preview at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show to be held next month, from September 17th through the 27th.

MINI Coupe Concept

According to BMW, the new concept is “designed to be the most dynamic and agile MINI ever built.” Designed as a 2-seater, the latest MINI iteration features a lower roofline than the sedan with A-pillars more steeply raked in order to accommodate this difference.

Design cues carried over from its four-door brethren include the large, round headlamp openings, hexagonal radiator grill with horizontal slats, low front spoiler and  black fender flares all ‘round.

Unique to the coupe is a spoiler, painted and striped to match the roof, that extends rearward from the trailing edge of the roof, hood stripes that extend forward to include the radiator grille, as well as a uniquely designed front air dam reminiscent of the John Cooper Works hardtop.

At 146.2 inches in length and 66.3 inches in width, the coupe exactly matches all current MINIs in width and the S, S convertible and John Cooper Works sedans in length, but its 53.4 inch height is exactly 2 inches shorter than all other contemporary models. Luggage capacity is greatly enhanced by the lack of rear seats and stands at 8.8 cubic feet (versus 5.7 for the MINI sedan and 6.0 for the convertible) and can be accessed through the rear tailgate that is hinged just above the rear spoiler.

The concept is equipped with the 211hp (208 in U.S. spec guise), 1.6-litre twin scroll turbocharged power unit found in current John Cooper Works models, and features sport seats, two Chronoswiss clocks to the right and left of the centrally-mounted tachometer, as well as 18” alloy wheels.