The First Production MINI Coupe Rolls Off the Line
While the official debut date isn’t until October 1st, MINI has started producing customer and dealer Coupes. Look for more on the road in official MINI and BMW capacities leading up to the final press launch in late September. Also of note in the pic above are the unique 17″ wheels standard on the MCS Coupe.
Official Release: Celebrations were under way today at Plant Oxford as the first MINI Coupé rolled off the production line. Andrew Smith MP and Oxford City and County councillors joined plant managing director, Jürgen Hedrich, and members of the plant’s project team to welcome the new model.
The Coupé is the fourth member of the five-strong MINI family to be manufactured at Plant Oxford and will be built on the same production lines as the Hatchback, Clubman and Convertible. A two-seater Roadster will complete the line-up early next year.
Jürgen Hedrich said: “The car has a unique and strong design but still retains MINI’s exciting and distinctive go-kart feel.
“The aim with the MINI Coupé is to give its new owners the most thrilling MINI driving experience possible. Every aspect of the car – from the engines and chassis set up to the weight distribution and aerodynamics – is focused on delivering the optimum dynamic performanceâ€
The Coupé is MINI’s first two-seater, since BMW Group developed the new MINI at Oxford, and has already seen strong interest and a healthy order bank developing.
Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East, said: “This is a great day for the Oxford plant. To see yet another model join the line-up shows just how strong demand is for MINI in the 90 markets around the world where MINIs are sold.
“This new model, along with BMW Group’s recently-announced £500m investment into UK manufacturing, demonstrates the company’s commitment to a long-term future for Plant Oxford.â€
The Coupé will see a range of new features, including the sport stripes on the body work, and the increased boot space – the biggest in the MINI range. The unique spoiler is housed in the bootlid and reduces lift at the rear axle to improve aerodynamic balance and road grip. As with all MINIs, a wide range of accessories and personalisation choices will be available.
The MINI John Cooper Works Coupé has the fastest acceleration and top speed of any Oxford-produced MINI to date.
And while the orders for Coupé are stacking up, customers will have to wait until 1 October to take delivery of their cars.
The lightening blue Coupé coming off the line today is destined for a dealership in the UK where it will be used for training dealers and mechanics in advance of customers taking delivery of their cars.
<p>Looks like I’ll be the 1st one to make a comment here re the 1st production line MC Coupe. Sure do like that black roof. Would like to see it with the spicy orange body color & black Challange Spoke wheels. Am waiting to hear from MINIUSA and/or my dealer when I can place an order to include specific options…then wait the 6+ weeks for delivery toward late Sep/early Oct….</p>
<p>+1 Black on Black JCW</p>
<p>So the first one was “Justa” Coupe. Nothing derogatory about “Justa” I had “Justa” Cooper and I still loved it none the less.</p>
<p>No, looks like an S. Gabe says it has the 17″ wheels that are standard on the MCS, and there is clearly an S on the side marker.</p>
<p>Nice color combo…</p>
<p>So I missed it: are they bringing back Lightning Blue for the whole line (in place of Horizon Blue), or just for the coupe?</p>
<p>Yes, it’s back.</p>
<p>This model would have looked fabulous in Mello Yello, with a black roof, and black sport stripes. Â (Just in case they are thinking about bringing back anymore colors, hint hint…)</p>
<p>Is it just me or does the headroom look tight? </p>
<p>I sat in one yesterday at Hassel MINI on Long Island, I’m 6’2″ and have plenty of room. It is a very intimate feel, though. Very nice. </p>
<p>Headroom is good but seems like sides of the roof are pretty low. I didn’t have any headroom issues (5ft11in) when I sat in a Coupe.</p>
<p>I saw it at Hassel today, looks great!</p>
<p>Laser blue would of looked a million times better…</p>
<p>Nah, Electric Blue FTW! :)</p>
<p>I wasn’t crazy about the “helmet” in some of the other pictures I’ve seen, but I quite like it in black as seen here.</p>
<p>really anxious waiting to find out the price on the roadster (convertible) when it comes to Canada in the spring, and how much it’s gonna cost to get into one, as there are so many options around that 30k mark,if thats what it is. Miata,for example. slightly used audi tt. wish they would hurry up and announce the price so i can figure out whether to wait and save,or go for something now instead. </p>
<p>You don’t need to wait for the price. No doubt it will be exorbitant. Miata would be a great choice.</p>
<p>So you’ve gone from pimping VW’s on here to pimping Mazdas?</p>
<p>Anyway — as usual — your math doesn’t add up. Â A comparably-equipped Miata (with retractable hardtop, which is the only version that is anything like the MINI coupe) is about $32,000. Â Only the JCW version of this car (at $31,900) is going to be as expensive as that, while the Cooper and Cooper S versions at 22k and 25.3k are much, much cheaper. Â Even a completely stripped soft-top, entry-level Miata, at almost $24,000, is significantly more expensive than the Cooper version of the MINI coupe.</p>
<p>I pimp good cars that deliver a lot of driving value for the $$. And l personally think buying a new car is just bonkers. A very sweet, slightly used Miata will be under $20k. </p>
<p>Typical of you when your numbers don’t add up to switch to comparing new MINI prices to used prices of other brands. Â MINIs are also available used, and when the coupe and roadster have been out long enough, they too will be available used, and if the Miatas are any less expensive then, it will only be because they don’t hold their value as well as MINIs.</p>
<p>So typical of me… I was recommending a new Miata as a better alternative assuming same price. And just saying that going used makes it that much more compelling. No used MINI Coupsters will be available for quite a while and there will never be any with RWD or shift feel as sweet as the MX5. </p>
<p>By the way, if you think it’s “bonkers” to buy a new car, why were you pimping the 2012 Golf R32 a couple of days ago as a better choice than the JCW Countryman? Â Clearly the 2012 R32 is not available as a used car nor will it be anytime soon.</p>
<p>Thanks for paying so much attention to my comments, but I think you misread them. The Golf R32 (AWD V6) was brought to the US in batches of 5000 in 2004 (MkIV) and 2008 (MkV) only. There will not be one produced or imported to the US in 2012, or likely ever again. I did not recommend it as an alternative to the JCW Countryman. </p>
<p>I did suggest that, if one were bonkers enough to buy a new JCW Countryman, they should consider the 2012 Golf R, as it will be functonally very similar (AWD, 5-door hatch, turbo 4, etc.) but cheaper and arguably better in many ways. I stand by that, sir. And I would say look at the 2011 WRX hatch as well. It is a rocking good drive and dirt cheap relative to where the MINI and VW will be priced.</p>
<p>@ minipuma, you should actually be comparing the MINI roadster to the miata, not the MINI coupe to the miata. Â Also, the OP is canadian, and our MINI prices (and miata prices) are quite a bit higher here (shockingly so, in fact!). Â </p>
<p>But here are the numbers (MSRP):
Miata = $29K (base) – $40K (GT with power folding hardtop). </p>
<p>MINI Convertible (only one you can compare legitimately since miata is a roadster) =  $34K (S) – $43K (JCW). </p>
<p>Let’s assume MINI roadster will be $2K more than the current convertible, so $36K (S) – $45K (JCW). </p>
<p>An approximate $5K price delta. And while we are all MINI fans here, as a miata owner and ex-JCW owner the miata wins DECISIVELY on several criteria that an enthusiast driver interested in tearing up a back road will surely be keen on: RWD, lower curb weight, 50/50 weight distribution, steering feel, LSD (most models). In fact, even in day-to-day zipping in and out of traffic the miata has a lightness-on-its-feet that even the MINI cannot touch. I know it’s popular on these sites to shill only for MINI and denigrate all other cars, but I stand by my statements… I have been driving MINIs for years and miatas for years, both stock and modded, and the miata is a very pure and very proper sports car… its design and RWD architecture (with accompanying 50/50 weight balance) pays dividends EVERYWHERE – acceleration from a dig, cornering, braking, direction changes. The MINI wins on straight-line stability, long distance comfort, cargo space, and in S and JCW cars, acceleration times (especially at highway speeds where miatas just don’t have enough stock HP to impress).</p>
<p>Miata hasn’t been a great choice since gen 2. And even then I could never take the chance of someone actually seeing me in one.</p>
<p>Let’s see–a perfectly balanced 50/50 weight distribution, almost perfect ergonomic cabin, a race series that us MINI owners can only watch and envy…</p>
<p>Granted, I’m a MINI guy through and through, but to say you wouldn’t want to be seen in one is similar to the same set of folks who call the MINI a clown car. Sorry Gabe, but you’re coming up a bit as a car snob here…</p>
<p>Let’s see–a perfectly balanced 50/50 weight distribution, almost perfect ergonomic cabin, a race series that us MINI owners can only watch and envy…</p>
<p>Granted, I’m a MINI guy through and through, but to say you wouldn’t want to be seen in one is similar to the same set of folks who call the MINI a clown car. Sorry Gabe, but you’re coming up a bit as a car snob here…</p>
<p>Gabe, with no disrespect implied, hearing MINI enthusiasts question the “image” of being seen in a Miata is incongruous to the extreme. And vice versa (miata enthusiasts mocking the image of a MINI). I spend time on both forums and with owners of both cars so have heard it from both sides. And now we see the same attitude towards Fiat 500s. Â It is rather ridiculous given how drivers of nearly all other cars on the road look at the “image” of both MINIs and Miatas. Â 🙂 Â Perhaps you simply meant aesthetics rather than “image”, which are of course purely subjective. If so, I agree with you: the MINI in R53 form is a far better executed and interesting design than NC miata. R56 MINI? No thanks.</p>
<p>Either way, I’m pretty amazed when I see driving enthusiasts – especially those with track experience, and RWD experience – show antipathy towards the Miata. </p>
<p>woo. hoo. </p>
<p>Shwwweeeeeet ! I’ll take one with a set of black wheels, old style slotted grille and center sports stripes all the way with the “Works” please :)</p>
<p>this color combo with the black rook in the profile shot above is not doing this car any favors. I saw one in the flesh the other day too and the proportions seem “off” somehow.</p>
<p>Meh</p>
<p>I am inclined to reserve final judgement until I actually see the car on the road on in a showroom, but based on the one photographed, it looks very disappointing. The roof continues to be the thorn in an otherwise pleasing package. The look could be improved by extending the rear a few inches to enable the roof profile to exhibit better proportional flow. Even with the awkward looking “helmet,” the roof proportions are off and immediately draw the eye. Based on what I have seen, the Roadster may be the better of the two, and even with canvas, the roof looks much more suitably integrated.</p>
<p>From certain angles the car resembles the Audi TT with a very disconcerting “bloated” profile. The design arguably needs refinement beginning with radical cranial surgery. A “green” alternative would be to put solar energy to work using chia seeds to camouflage the incongruous top. It would coordinate beautifully with BRG coachwork.</p>
<p>They picked the right color for the first one!</p>
<p>… also the thick black plastic fender lips look hideous. An esthetician may suggest either of two remedies:
1. liposuction
2. monochromatic paint/”makeup” including rocker sills</p>
<p>Better yet get rid of the plastic entirely. Volvo, as one example, does a beautiful job on its fender lips without resorting to cheap, and cheap looking plastic. Perhaps augment the rear lips with some muscular looking fender bulge.</p>
<p>It’s a function first design that allows for:</p>
<ul>
<li>cheap replacements has they are worn</li>
<li>greater emphasis in the “wheels at the corner” design philosophy if the MINI</li>
<li>a lowering of the regulation required high belt-line.</li>
</ul>
<p>Without all those things a MINI with painted arches tends to look a bit short and squat with miniature even with 17″ tires and wheels.</p>
<p>via mobile</p>
<p>I still think they look better colour coded. I can’t think of any other car in it’s class that has so much cheap black plastic on it. I love my MINI but it is a pain to keep looking fresh. The coupe looks so much better with the body kit.</p>
<p>The black roof helps to diminish the “helmet” look, which is a plus for me.</p>
<p>Also not a fan of the low head clearance, which makes getting in-and-out somewhat of a challenge for someone like me. Â It’s similar to the Audi-TT, and I really had to pay attention or I would hit my head. Â Plus I like to wear hats which is not a problem in my Clubman</p>
<p>After owning a Honda del sol with a similar profile & seating position, my favorite feature of the MINI Hatchbacks, etc. is the higher seating position & expansive viewing areas of both the windshield and side windows.</p>
<p>I too am reserving my opinion until I see it in the “flesh”. That being said the roofline design doesn’t flow with the body lines IMO. The body has a straight angular flow. The top doe not at all pick up those design cues. I see a top more like a MGB GT or the Triumph 1500 hardtop. In relation to the MINI hardtop, the coupe top should be chopped with a steeply raked windshield. That would fit the body lines.</p>
<p>Love the black roof. Â But those wheels aren’t doing the car any favors. Â Yowza.</p>
<p>I’ve made it a point to revisit the image while doing other work. After several re-visits, I regret to say my perception remains unchanged — regrettably unfavorable.</p>
<p>Just not a fan of the looks of this car.</p>