MINI Speedster Approved for Production?

Sections: R59 (Roadster) Apr 6th, 2009 83 Comments

Our sources are telling us that BMW has quietly approved the much rumored MINI speedster that has been on the drawing boards since 2001. The exclusive sketch above (drawn in 2001 as a proposed concept) illustrates the path MINI will likely take with this car. The car will likely have a fabric top (with an optional removable hard top) with two roll bars behind the occupants giving the car a sleek sporty look.

The car will be based on the R56 but will have it’s own design look that will be decidedly more angular and aggressive than what we’ve seen so far from MINI’s production cars. Engines will include updated versions of the current 1.6L Petrol units currently found in the MINI range.

We’ll have more information on this new concept in the weeks ahead.

Written By: Gabe

BSUCardinalfan

Please be rear wheel drive….otherwise, I’m getting a Z2.

(and, really, what’s the point of a front wheel drive two seat roadster, anyway?)
Jack Grouell

Maybe it will be AWD?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1046757782 Peter Braun

That’s what I’m talking about! Next, a moke!
alpinamike

Cant wait to see a mule MINI sportster, speedster. This was one of my fav. drawings from 2001.
eager2own

Now we’re talking!! Great news!
viley

YES! YES! YES! For once MINI read my mind. Goodbye first gen(I was holding on to mine for the Z2), give me one of these in the non-S with a hardtop, heated seats and nothing else and im ready to go!
snid

@Jack Grouell: (and, really, whatâ€™s the point of an all wheel drive two seat roadster, anyway?)
JonPD

No chance that it will be rear wheel or AWD I would imagine. They are likely to end up using the R56 chassis. I also strongly doubt it will come with a hardtop as an option, I am betting on a cloth top only.

Still hands down one of the more exciting info to come from Mini in a while for me. Now only have to hope they leave the silly top down meter out of it.
BSUCardinalfan

Don’t forget they just announced the Z2, a BMW roadster that will use a version of the JCW engine. And you can be sure it will be rear wheel drive.

I think (hope) the MINI version will be a slightly detuned and restyled version of that car.

And yeah, I don’t want it all wheel drive, either. A small roadster should be rear wheel drive, light, and just enough power to steer it with the throttle.
viley

JonPD: yeah, definetly not awd, but mid engine maybe?

As for the hard top, I think a removable porsche boxter type one is totally viable, and great option for autoX
lavardera

Nice!

However I would guess they are still trapped by the dimensional rules that raised the height of the R56 nose. If I remember correctly it was pegged on the distance between the engine and the hood. Any chance they could rotate the top of the engine back into space gained by moving the seating rearwards, and end up with a lower front end?
lavardera

Cloth top does not interest me, but I wonder if there is any chance of a coupe. I’d love to see them do a Targa.
Ted

This is cool. I have planned to build this from an R52 or R57. I guess I will have to build mine before the official one comes out.
FactoryJCW

Fantastic news, but why do people keep wishing for rear-drive MINIs? the classic Mini popularised front drive for small cars, so front-drive is part of MINI’s brand identity. Rear drive is never going to happen, sorry.

But back to the Speedster – AT LAST! glad MINI is returning to small. fun cars instead of building bigger MINIs, and that it will have unique styling (when they could have just adapted the rear of the R57) Can’t wait to see it.
Doug

Great news.
Michael

Glorious Idea.
GregW

A Mini rear-wheel-drive? Are you nuts BSUCardinalfan? Whats the point of having a MINI then? FWD cars were made to save space and length of the car. You may as well go back to the fifties and have 20 foot long 2 door coupes. All you have to do is take the softop off the convertible and give it a tonneau cover.
veggivet

Excellent news!! If it’s mid-engine mounted, all the better!
http://www.lilcoopr.com lilcoopr

Niceeeeee – very niceee!!

I’m excited :) Can’t wait to hear more about this!!
Sideways

Awe…Crap…how much is this gonna cost me to insure???
greg

I vowed to keep my R52 cabrio until the next generation in 2012. I can’t believe this could be ready for the R56. If they do this right I’ll grab the first JCW version they make.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=837655213 Jay Hill

OMG that would be soooo sweet… then i wont buy an Elise!
Dr Obnxs

Just a guess, but economics would seem to drive this to be a different body on top of a lightly modified R56 chassis. So, FWD..

Remember the 1990s Elan? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elan#1990s_Elan

Matt
CraigE

I agree with Dr Obnxs. It would be prohibitively expensive to do anything other than modify the existing R56/R57 platform. So this means no RWD, no AWD and no mid engine. It would be cool if they made a 2 seat coupe out of it, like BMW did with the Z3 and Z4.

A very large proportion of R50, R52, R53 and R56 owners never use the back seat for human passengers. So the loss of back seat should not be a big problem.
therover413

This will be my next MINI for sure, not sure if I should let the wife to be know this, could cause problems planning the whole kid thing though.

I hope it is front drive, JCW motor, and lighter than the R56. That would be a recipe for success.

And I am with Peter braun, bring back the MOKE!!!!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1145335258 Bruce Nelson

I just looked and CraigE is right… my R53 does have a back seat! When did that happen?! The Speedster makes up for not making a R56 GP. Nice design.
http://www.AUSmotive.com Liam

Tres cool!

RWD or AWD would be fantastic, but unlikely for all the reasons already mentioned.

Thanks for the scoop Gabe.
Miniadventures

Please Please Please put the supercharger with AWD in this one! There is nothing that sounds like it or kicks you in the pants like it!
SFRedMCc

My previous car, a Honda del sol with FWD and a small removable hard top that fit it the trunk was the perfect solution for an relatively inexpensive roadster. It was only 2″ longer than a Miata, but had much more leg room and interior space, and 2-3 times as much trunk space. Plus, who really wants a canvas top when you live in an urban area?
that.guy

FWD will be a very hard sell outside of the poseur market segment.
Fred

And without the rear seats, it will cost $2K less than its brethren!
Wetworth

I would be very intrested in a roadster, provided it’s light and RWD. I know that’s not in line with the old Minis but I wouldn’t be interested in a FWD roadster. ::shrug::
Wetworth

…dosn’t BMW own the Triumph name?
Revhed

In last week’s UK magazine Autocar they interviewed Adrian van Hooydonk – when asked about the MINI Roadster he replied:

“Whether there’s room for two open cars in the range is debatable. It’s all very difficult because it’s all theoretical.”
http://minspeed.net Pete

Dear MINI: THIS is more like it! Forget bigger Clubmans!
JonPD

For an good example at the ability of a FWD car go watch this.

http://jalopnik.com/5200822/jason-platos-epic-btcc-sliding-save

A rear wheel drive car would have been a loss, there are bonuses to both build types. I also imagine that the same logic that has determined to never make a FWD BMW will go down the same path as deciding to not make a RWD Mini.
GregW

You are right JonPD, It is not in BMWs philosophy to make a FWD BMW. Closest to it is the XDrive. But VW changed from the old Beetle RWD to new FWD. Will there ever be a FWD Porsche? Bet not.
http://www.blokspeed.net Eelke

How come “everybody” “hates” the R60 cross-over, but loves the idea of a mid-engined, RWD speedster? That’s just as a-typical for Mini.
http://www.AUSmotive.com Liam

Because in their purest forms, the roadster concept is about classic motoring fun, the crossover is about maximising sales on the back of a current trend.
Robert

If BMW/MINI is looking and reading our comments, This post on MOTORINGFILE has had more positive comments than anything I’ve seen in the last couple of years!

Finally they listen to US!
http://www.motoringfile.com/ Gabe

@Jack Grouell: If it’s based on the R56 as our sources claim it’ll be FWD exclusively.
Jason

I am fine w/ FWD, just don’t make it too expensive, and this will be my next MINI; where do I sign up?
lavardera

I think if its a Mini (and not a Triumph) then it should be fwd. But I hope its more than reskinning the back of the R57. First, the R57 is heavier than the R56, and this car should move towards being lighter. Second, if its R57 from the seats forward its not going to really have a new profile. But it would be able to share a whole host of parts with the R55,56,57…

Heres hoping for a rotated engine position, and the drivers seat moved rearward.
Jon

I’m a fan of this car, no doubt. I have no problem with the idea of it being RWD. This should be MINI’s version of a true, two-seat sports car, (their Miata, their MGB, their Boxter).

I think it would actually attract more hardcore sports car enthusiasts if it were RWD. If it stays FWD, that crowd would write it off as a phony, and rightly so.
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cct1

I seriously doubt it’ll be RWD, it’d cost too much to develop, and wouldn’t make much sense with the Z2 in the pipeline. It’ll be substantially cheaper than the Z2, and not quite the performance beast as a Z2.

Mid engine? Don’t see it happening, again it would take too much RandD, more than I think BMW would be willing to put into it. And be very careful what you ask for. Ever tried to do any work on a midengine car? Something as easy as an oil change can be extremely painful. No thanks. It’s the major reason I don’t own an Elise–they’re just too damned hard to work on. That, and the nearest dealer being 2.5 hours away…
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BSUCardinalfan

simply put, a FWD two seat roadster might sell a few units, but not to very many enthusiasts. I’d buy a Miata, used Z3, or a Z2 WAY before I’d buy what would essentially be just a less practical MINI Cabrio.

If they want this car to be more than just a stylish Honda Del Sol/Mercury Capri, it NEEDS to be a rear wheel drive sports car. Base it off the Z2 but with a detuned engine and less expensive interior, and call it a Triumph TR3 or something.

Name one successful front wheel drive two seat roadster. I can’t think of any.
JonPD

Guys FWD isn’t the worse thing, I would take a light weight FWD anytime over a heavier RWD. On the track my R53 has abused a great many RWD cars. Go back to Gabe’s old track days videos in his and watch him play havoc with M3′s. In the autocross world more than one FWD has been competitive.

I think what we will see if a FWD Mini speedster and a RWD Z2, both going after similar markets. Although in ways I would like to see the Z2 and the Speedster share their chassis however I feel the Z2 is going to be a larger and heavier car. My greatest hope is they figure out something to do with the upright front-end (not one of my favorite looks on the R56). I know they say this is due to European pedestrian standards, however I have some questions about this rule…. Zonda, Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus all of which seem to sell plenty of cars that fly into the face of this. This is something I still fail to understand
greg

I liked the Del Sol. I like the concept of a coupe with a targa top. I’m no engineer but wouldn’t this type of car have the rigidity of a coupe and therefore not need the extra weight creating components of a cabrio.

Sound like question for Doc Ob.

Since my Mini is my “toy” car this would be perfect for me. I will be very interested in watch this develop as opposed to another Mini station wagon zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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