MINI Speedster Approved for Production?

the illustration at the top of the page looks like a mid-engine car because its like an R57 with the rear decked over. This configuration does not make sense. There will be plenty of storage back there, but too much the same old Mini up front. They have to move the cabin back, lower the top of the engine by rotating it, and lower the front end, and lower the whole look of the car. The rotation will put the cg of the engine a little further back, and lower. With that and the driver further back it should be easier to tune the car to hang its tail out. In the end I think they can tune the car to handle better than the proceeding coupes. And frankly satisfying the enthusiasts won’t sell enough cars to make this worthwhile. They have to strike a balance between working with existing drivetrain bits, and stacking the physics towards better performance than the other Minis.

Jon, apparently the target weight of the Z2 is 2200. That’s pretty darned good, and I doubt the Mini roadster will be that much lighter.

Geez, for the first time in recorded history I actually agree with Lava. I don’t think this car will be marketed with the enthusiast in mind; I think that’s going to be the Z2′s niche. But BMW still has the opportunity to make an iconic type car that will have appeal to a small (but big enough to be worth it IMHO) niche of people who want a quirky, fun car but aren’t necessarily going to track it (and lets face it, most of those folks driving Miata’s aren’t driving them that hard). I could see this being a success IF the price is right, and if it’s marketed correctly.

I suspect it’s going to be a relatively limited number of vehicles produced; given that it would make more sense for it to follow the R56 platform as close as possible to make it economically viable.

I guess it’s how you look at it. If BMW follows the R56 platform closely, I really don’t think they’ll need to sell too many to offset the RandD. It’s really a low risk proposition provided they keep it as similar to the R56 as possible–it’s not so much a new development, which IS very expensive to develop, as an evolution of a current development, which really isn’t that difficult to do (relatively speaking).

I suspect it’ll be more like a model variant of the R56 rather than something brand spanking new. And, if they were smart, this was in the back of their minds to begin with (like the R56 convertible), and will be a seamlees transition to production, rather than an afterthought (like the R53 convertible) with all the inherent difficulties and compromises that ensued…

Gabe I think you need to post more about this. You have hit MINI gold here :)

I will stick my neck out here in the hope it makes sense and gets you guys thinking. Has anyone else thought about this (possibly) being based on a two seater Mini already in testing. A premium product that with the right interest and performance could get you to part with your cash.

We may not be talking an engine behind those seats but batteries!!! Perhaps this is the ideal product to put all that Mini E research and feedback into a sellable product. The Speedster could be made lighter than the Mini E and benefit from the weight distribution of batteries, the motor on each wheel (AWD) or just two motors for front or rear drive depending on the market.

You all love the design so would possibly pay more to get it. It is looking towards the future being electric. The drive as we have seen from Tesla and Jay Leno’s video review of the Mini E would be amazing. The timing is right. You don’t need practicality from sports cars and the 2/3 year time gap is spot on as the Mini E evaluation ends.

Just a thought really to spark your thoughts.

I think they could use a great deal of the existing drive train if they plopped it in the middle to make a mid engine out of it, but frankly I just can’t see them doing that – the overall changes to the platform would be too great.

But I do hope that its not just the same old nose with a two seat cabin and a big trunk – although you have to admit – that is the Mini tradition. I think a roadster would look so much better with a slightly longer and lower nose.

Thanks Gabe, that’s what I was kind of hoping for; a Z2 along the lines of what you guys posted over at Bimmerfile would be one heckuva car…

I would buy this. Build it.

I don’t like it, it’s just not what I want to see from MINI. First that damn crossover, and now a neo Del Sol? How about an awd, balls to the wall R56 JCW two seats like the GP, and 250hp. I want to see BMW build the world’s best hot hatch, something that would take on the R32.

For us single guys with kids two cars is the answer! This will make a fine second car. Make mine a JCW cabrio version.