I was undecided at first what to think of this. My first instict was to exclaim “what’s wrong with them?” but then I had another look and thought, hey, this isn’t really that bad. What came to mind is a German take on the Suzuki Cappucino or Daihatsu Copen with a British badge. Maybe MINI got pissed off that Daihatsu ripped off the MINI with the Mira Gino, so it did the same with the Copen :P For some reason it also looks like its top is supposed to come off like a targa top or something but it’s actually a normal coupe with a fixed roof.
Don’t be fooled by the name MINI Coupe Concept – this baby is definitely going into production, looking at how ‘ready’ it is, as with every other concept car BMW has unveiled in the past year. You’ll struggle to point out any major difference between the production 5-Series GT and its concept.
The MINI Coupe Concept is a two-seater – with that sloping rear roof, both legroom and headroom for the area behind the front seats are compromised so MINI cannot pretend its a 2+2 anymore, like with the MINI Cooper. Other than rear wheel drive, like any other car that BMW makes, they claim the Coupe Concept has perfect axle load distribution and a low gentre of gravity, but BMW boldly claims the Coupe Concept will take the agility typical of a MINI to a level never seen before.
The concept measures 3,715mm long, 1,683mm wide, and 1,356mm tall. The rear tailgate opens upwards to unveil a 250 litre boot space. Under the hood is a 1.6 litre turbocharged Prince engine carried over straight from the MINI John Cooper Works, and this means 211hpand 260Nm of torque, with a 280Nm overboost.
I think the MINI’s design team has got one of the toughest jobs in the BMW Group now. BMW’s designers have always followed this simple rule: revolution, then evolution, and repeat. The original New MINI was clearly a revolution of the old school MINI and then the second generation R56 MINI Cooper was an evolution of the first new MINI. Soon it will be time for another revolution, and how do you do that with a car that has so much of its identity ingrained in its looks?
Look after the jump for a hi-res photo gallery.
[zenphotopress number=99 album=451]
Hmmm…. I thought it's Theo's photoshop work at first. Looks cool yet weird. Needs time to get used to the design. Hehe….
i just can't get myself to buy such a small car at such a huge price….
nice looking car…
ha..1st..wow!..what a car..
only in Malaysia we got a huge price..hehe
nice wat?
Though it looks very weird at first sight, it's quite attractive as an overall package. That's what a MINI supposed to be – eye capturing!
eeekkk… what a concept… but love the leather seat though…
Wah,damn nice!
Weird looking, but then not sure if tall people can fit in it
for a moment i thought it was a remote control toy car…..
the roof line, looks weird…
Nice, I can see a really sharp looking and handling rally car in the making!
I think the car is wearing a cap. Stripe one.
Better not judge b4 seeing the real thing. Hope it turns out good. Mini, a class of its own is crossing the line into coupe territory. Good luck
One word to describe, BEAUTIFUL!
tis is d results after "think outside d BOX"
looks awesome…!!
Looks great in certain angle.
so, it's basically a mini with the roof chopped off..
Not bad… Kind of weird at first but the longer u look…. Not bad… :o
its a peugeot 207 cc.
it's modification/adaptation from cooper, like mitsubishi lancer applied to other Mit cars.
Do i want a jet plane or a MINI? LOL!
it's cool because it's weird..and i dun think it looks like a Copen,though..but really nice..a real head turner!!
that topi not nice ah, should mould it into the body of the car, probably look better. but not bad eh.
same with the beetle. how to change a car that is so iconic with its look.
WOOOOOOOW !!!!!!!!
damn nice….. i want one!!!
looks out of proportion to me, huge fat body with a tiny, no, puny head.
its ugly!
damn nice!
but it's not for a poor people btw. :D
tats one brutal mods
indeed! a good car!
one word, sexy
i love the super weird but sexy roof~yeah!
Woow….cantik…Aku suka warnanya…warna apa tu? Kalau cat kat Honda Accord aku mesti lawa. AccordBuruk.com (SA6Y)
Copy Kelisa, just like the new mini
Hmmm..indecisive..cool..wtf..great..ugly..
i want this cutie….!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to mat jambu go n buy… add more chicks…but no passion on driving….yaks
looks so weird
Nice. Although the essence of the mini's have gone.
Bella italia said,August 27, 2009 @ 9:25 am "to mat jambu go n buy… add more chicks…but no passion on driving….yaks"
What do you mean no passion on driving??..this car is all about passion…have you driven a european hothatch before?? europeans know more about passionate driving…sorry to say but you have no idea man..peace
Much as I love the Mini… why don't we stop all these forever lasting evergreen nostalgic crap and move on… the Mini need a new face!
it's kinda boring to see the same Mini over and over again… time to work BMW!
As for this car, dont like it. Too ah beng for my taste… so a credit too all ah bengs.
wak rempit,
so now we all know that all ah bengs' design are too advance for its (our) time, but in a few years, all mainstream designer will copy our ah bengs' design… hehheheh… so to quote you again, credits to all ah bengs…… looks like the next Mini may be such a design…
freakin' ugly!
wak rempit. with such a clasic interior design and out standing exterior.. i dont think ah beng will like it. i would say they did a very good job either to face lifting it or a new model.. just awsome..
weird.. need time to get use to the roof..
Wak Rempit said,
August 27, 2009 @ 10:15 am
Much as I love the Mini… why don’t we stop all these forever lasting evergreen nostalgic crap and move on… the Mini need a new face!
—-
LOL.
Right. If it doens't look like a mini, why call it the mini then, better yet, how to continue to milk the mini brand that BMW spent millions for.
Its no longer small and compact, nor cheap for that matter. The looks is all the mini has left for it.
If you take out the face, and ignore the funky roof lines, this reminds me of 2 small 2+2 Japanese cars. The Nissan NX2000 and the Isuzu Impulse Turbo AWD.
it looks like a mini, it doesn't look odd . that is brilliant !
btw guys , do search on the mini broadspeed coupe , this isn't a new breed that bmw have created .
anyway turning something into it is such a success . becasue the DNA of mini is still there.
looks like kemek roof MINI
Cool…
mini porsche
the roofline sgt pelik..
this mini dah macam di pijak oleh ultraman gaia yg sedang berlawan dgn makhluk dr planet zorgon..
looks nice, easy and cool, but the roofline should be more clean or blend in with the body panels
cool n sexy…i like it!!!
lowered roof + high price + weird color scheme = oh s–t.
kinda like it..nice!!