2012 MINI Coupe officially revealed!
Everybody should know and have heard of the car MINI. People who are not into cars will clearly remember a MINI as a cute little car with two doors and iconic round headlights. To people like us however, we now recognize MINI as an impractical but great handling cars with increasing number in terms of models and size. Remember the huge four-door MINI Countryman? Not so “MINI” I would say.
There’s the MINI Cooper, Convertible, Clubman, and the Countryman. And as we thought the MINI family could not get any bigger, MINI proved us wrong with the release of their latest model, the MINI Coupe. Basically an even more unpractical MINI Cooper with no more rear seats with a very bold exterior.
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I say bold because it is not really all that attractive to look at. The term”cute” and “cheerful” can be applied for the Cooper but not so for the Coupe. The front end with it’s blacked-out headlights and a 52mm lower ride height means that it has a more aggressive stance compared to the Cooper. That weird looking roof was actually inspired by the way teenagers wear their baseball cap backwards. I seriously did not make that up, MINI actually told us so.
The MINI Coupe is also the very first MINI to have a boot. The iconic MINI design had always been a fitting design for the Cooper and even it’s larger counterparts like the Countryman. However, adding an extended boot for the first time to a MINI just makes the overall look a bit misaligned and definitely needs time for some getting used to. Those rear lights that resembles an evil old man’s wrinkled eyes does not help either.
The presence of a boot obviously means more trunk space and the Coupe will have more boot space compared to the Cooper. The Coupe has no rear seats and it’s now filled with speakers and a shelf door which gives access to the rear boot. The interior is typical MINI, with a very fancy interior with that huge speedometer in the middle.
Four versions of the MINI Cooper Coupe will be offered. The standard Cooper Coupe, Cooper S Coupe, Cooper SD Coupe (diesel), and the top-of-the-line model John Cooper Works Coupe. Details of each car’s engine is right below:
MINI Cooper Coupé: 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol engine, 122 hp, 0–100 kmh/62 mph time of 9.0 seconds, and a top speed of 204 kmh/127 mph.
MINI Cooper S Coupé: 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with a twin-scroll turbocharger, 184 hp, 0–100 kmh/62 mph time of 6.9 seconds, and a top speed of 230 kmh/143 mph.
MINI Cooper SD Coupé: 2.0 liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, 143 hp, 0–100 kmh/62 mph time of 7.9 seconds, and a top speed of 216 kmh/134 mph.
MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: 1.6 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with a twin-scroll turbocharger, 211 hp, 0–100 kmh/62 mph time of 6.4 seconds, and a top speed of 240 kmh/149 mph.
As you can see from the technical info above, the Cooper Coupe has the least power here from it’s naturally aspirated 1.6 engine while the Cooper S Coupe and the JCW Coupe uses the same 1.6 liter but with an added turbocharger. However, the JCW produces 27 more horsepower thanks to numerous performance upgrades.
The JCW Coupe also comes as standard with an aerodynamic kit with sportier bumpers, side skirts, special 17 inch rims, and an integrated rear spoiler which extends out at speeds of over 80 kmh/50 mph. Other models only features this spoiler but not the bodykit. Also, every photos you see here is the JCW Coupe.
Prices starts at $22,000 for the Cooper Coupe, $25,300 for the Cooper S Coupe, and the JCW Coupe at $31,900. A roofless roadster will also be coming in the future. What do you think? Is MINI stretching it’s model range a bit too far with this new offering? Do give us your opinion in the comments section! In the meantime, enjoy a huge gallery below and a short clip on the all-new MINI Cooper Coupe!
