miniPaul Mullet from MINI2 has now confirmed some of what we reported last week on the rumored Limited Edition Lightweight Cooper S. First off it would appear that MINI will indeed be potentially partnering with the Bertone Group in Italy for much of the final production. While the car was a no show at Frankfurt this week, it seems poised to be shown off at MINI United event scheduled for late October in Misano Italy (as we had originally expected). Here’s an excerpt from the MINI2 article:

Behind the dramatic unveiling of the Frankfurt Concept car, MINI have officially told MINI2 that they are indeed in talks with Bertone in Italy about producing just such a vehicle. The project, if it should happen, will be limited in numbers, but is expected to be available to major global MINI markets.

While the somewhat cagey official comments could go no further than confirming talks were underway, a MINI representative did confirm that the BMW “CSL” name would not be carried over the MINI, as has always been the case the MINI brand would very much being treated on it’s own merits. The car would carry special branding, but there’s no official comment on what name(s) the car could carry. It also seems MINI have learnt from BMWs experience with light weight vehicles, and are keen to strike a reasonable balance between cutting weight, and increasing costs.

You can read the entire MINI2 article here:

[ Could the Cat Almost be Out of the Bag? ] MINI2

You can also re-read our previous MCS Lightweight articles below:

[ The Rumored Lightweight MCS: Part 2 ] MotoringFIle

[ The Rumored Lightweight MCS: Part 1 ] MotoringFIle