MF Analysis: The MINI Speedster Concept

With the Speedster, BMW has been successful in creating something that re-imagines the MINI. The new MINI has been as much about lifestyle as versatility at many moments over the last 8 years and nowhere is this more evident than the Speedster. With this car MINI is producing a product that is created to be nothing more than a style and performance statement.
Where the coupe has a surprising amount of interior cargo volume, the Speedster has a fraction of what you’d expect in a MINI. But does that matter? In a word, no. With all of MINI’s current other products we feel it’s an easy move to get away with. And what it does is create a halo product for the MINI brand that stops people in their tracks with it’s design execution.
Would we buy one at the MF HQ? Probably not. We’re coupe or hatch people for more reasons than one. But in our mind there is no question the Speedster will find its intended audience. As a 2nd or 3rd car, the Speedster is an emotional answer to an emotional question. It will move people through it’s shape and the lifestyle it promotes. Will that be enough to offset it’s price increase? We would hope MINI prices it aggressively enough that that wouldn’t be an issue.
Based on our information we’re hearing we expect the speedster (in S trim) to come in around $1500 – $2000 more than $27,850 of the standard MINI Cooper S convertible. We’d hope to see it in the US for a hair under $30,000 to be specific. That’s still quite a bit less than a Audi TT or BMW 1 Series convertible and in line with VW’s EOS. Still it will be interesting to see if BMW’s position of the MINI brand as premium make the case strong enough.
The Speedster and the Coupé will come to market sometime during the 2011 calendar year and will represent the last iterations of the R56 platform before it is replaced in 2013. Both cars should remain in production until at least 2015. At that time MINI will look at sales and how each have positively affected the brand before making any decisions to replace them. While there’s a chance this is just the start of many coupés and speedsters, there’s also the possibility that we are seeing a couple very unique products they may be rarer than we think.
Related:
MF Analysis: MINI Coupé Concept / MotoringFile
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29 Comments
<p>Cars have become ridiculously expensive.</p>
<blockquote>Cars have become ridiculously expensive.
</blockquote>
<p>As the mandate continues for ever safer, more efficient, more powerful and less poluting cars continues, they will get more expensive. Someone has to pay for these developments and that would be you and me.</p>
<p>How about compared to the Miata?</p>
<p><em>How about compared to the Miata?</em></p>
<p>I’m certainly not a Miata expert, but isn’t the Miata on only its third body since being introduced in what, 1990?</p>
<p>The cost to tool up all of these various MINI variants has to be quite expensive…so I don’t think a direct comparison to the Miata is appropriate, even though the Speedster will likely compete for the some of the same audience that is attracted to the Miata.</p>
<p>30K would be nice if it has all the features “S” (JCW) tire size that we have seen so far.</p>
<p>Welcome back Gabe; been waiting for personal insights after the Frankfurt show. I think this perspective is accurate. It appears “premium” is MINI’S market strategy for these two cars especially. There continues to be a shift, world wide, to a growing upper middle class, that’s where the money is, so how can that be ignored? And yeah, the speedster is not my cup of tea either, too mission specialized for my practical Scottish ancestry. Must not be dedicated to fun only. Coupe? Aye laddie!</p>
<p>Yes, the Miata is on its third revision (NC chassis code) since 1990. What is nice is that the weight has gone up over 2 decades but not unreasonably so relative to nearly every other car around since 1990. The Miata has but one trump card – but it can be a significant one depending on how much of a driving enthusiast an intending purchaser is – RWD coupled with light weight and mechanical simplicity.</p>
<p>But it is not a perfect machine. Just last weekend I took a 2009 folding hardtop model with sport suspension out for a little shakedown with a buddy. Was glad it has not turned into a big heavy wide GT type roadster but consequently also disappointed in the modest power and fairly lackluster engine note and also in the overly soft suspension. It is nowhere as focused as my modded NB and my R53 JCW would run away from it in the twisties. Interior does not have the materials quality the R53 had either. But with a few mods (mazdaspeed springs and larger diameter sway bars) the Miata becomes a divine handler, and for the non-sporting set it’s more than good enough.</p>
<p>A long way of saying that if MINI gets a proper jcw suspension on the speedster it will show strongly against the current sport suspension miatas. And the motor is already much stronger and smoother than mazda’s “prickly little pear” 2.0L. Looks? The latest miatas do have a great road presence but the speedster concept is just dynamite. Let’s just hope most of this makes it to production in 2011!</p>
<p>Like all Minis, the coupay and speedster will appeal to people who think the styling is cute and to people who like the “personality” of Minis. They almost certainly will fail to live up to any kind of objective scrutiny, save resale value.</p>
<p>But even with resale value in the equation, tell me how a JCW R56 is worth $10,000 more than a Mazdaspeed3 that gets rave reviews from car magazines. Those prices are based on similar options, though I couldn’t find an option to give the JCW 50 more horsepower.</p>
<p>I know we’re talking about the Speedster here, but look what you need to do to justify its cost: It’s “quite a bit less than an Audi TT or BMW 1 Series convertible.” Well it better be! But once you put options on a Speedster I bet it will be very close to a 370Z.</p>
<p>So far MINI has always had a better resale value than most other brands which seems to take some of the pain away from their relatively higher initial costs. Actually that’s one of the main reasons I bought new instead of used. The other was being able to select the exact options I wanted.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the MINI dealers are still adding on their $1500+ mark-ups? Luckily we have 5 MINI dealers in the SF/Bay Area and I ordered mine from East Bay MINI, the only one with no mark-ups.</p>
<p>Only on the West Coast for you guys. We in the East would never think of doing such a thing. We would never get away with it.</p>
<p>But even with resale value in the equation, tell me how a JCW R56 is worth $10,000 more than a Mazdaspeed3 that gets rave reviews from car magazines. </p>
<p>I don’t think the JCW R56 objectively <em>needs</em> to be worth $10k more than a Mazdaspeed3 in order to justify people to buy the JCW. I don’t follow Mazda, but do Mazdaspeed 3 owners do the whole club thing, have Mazdaspeed 3 United conventions etc etc?</p>
<p>BMW prices its products towards the premium end of the market, and people are buying into it. Kind of apples and oranges, but is the M-B CLS ‘coupe’ worth thousands of dollars more than the VW Passat CC? Probably, to most M-B buyers…</p>
<p>Really, JCW and prolly all MINI pricing is what the market will bear.</p>
<p>hi bee – Sure, I’ll tell you how the JCW R56 is worth $10K more than the mazdaspeed3: the mazda has flavour-of-the-month styling, is gigantic, weighs nearly 500lb more, has poor interior materials (not that the R56 centre stack is anything to write home about, but let’s overlook that here as the refresh will be in effect before the Speedster arrives), and generally offers a flimsy feel from door closing to button feel. Going by the durability record of the Protege as well as the first-gen mazda3, it is very likely to rust TERRIBLY in just a few short years of service. Note this is coming from a (more or less) mazda fan (i.e., long-time miata owner and modder, rotary advocate) and non-R56 fan (i.e., R53 JCW owner). :)</p>
<p>Your second comparison, however, is a very good one: the 370Z may be bigger and heavier but it is also exceedingly fast and exceedingly focused on speed and handling with RWD and even has styling that, atypically for japanese cars, should look good a decade from now. That would be a much tougher sell. The S2000 would be another tough car to pass up but since Honda has terminated production it is no longer a roadster contender as a new car.</p>
<p>What a well-tuned great handling JCW can do on a back road or autocross is generally lost on the boy racer crowd anyway, as they are more into dyno pull throwdowns and dragracing than corner carving, at least in Canada and US, sadly. Besides, the MINI (and the miata, and most well-executed cars that are remembered fondly years after the reviews by the monthly car magazines) has never been about “sheer stats”… always cars with more of this and more of that for less cost… but almost never is there a true automotive “foil” – despite what magazine reviews say (people need to learn to trust their own seat of pants more and the magazine reviews less, IMO). Maybe top versions of the Fiat 500 will prove to be so, interesting times ahead!</p>
<p>The Mini really comes down to being a huge marketing success. The R53 had the beans to back it up, but it’s really the marketing that made the Mini what is today.</p>
<p>Even in the UK, where there are natural rivals like the Civic Type R, Focus ST, Renault Clio, etc. the Mini still is priced at the top of the market and people still buy them (though they also get the One and the D to offer a wider range).</p>
<p>I just wish the Mini stood for something different, something sportier and less expensive – a sports coupe for the few – a $22,000 Exige or something. Not a reasonable expectation, not a good way to make money, I know.</p>
<p>The days of saying there aren’t any comparable cars t the Mini are gone. Mini has brought the price up to a new level and now is stuck just below real premium sports cars. It is up there with the EVO. It is a great driving car but it can’t keep up the success with new competition coming into the market and price increases. Back in 2004 there wasn’t another car I was even interested in. Now there are 5 cars I would consider.</p>
<p>Which five cars? I don’t disagree that there are compelling cars in the Minis price ranges (anything from a Fit at the bottom end to a Miata and WRX in the middle to any number of cars at the $40K end), but I’m wondering which 5 are on your list.</p>
<p>Hey bee – I agree for sure. I’d buy the decontented hardcore model especially if it cost less. But perhaps the problem is with S pricing. In Canada you are already just past $30k. Miatas in comparison start at $27k, even the vw gti is cheaper by nearly $3k and that is quite a premium hatch in its own right. So when you spec JCW you have nowhere to go but up, right to $40k and with options or a convertible jcw you are at $45k before taxes of course. A 135i in Canada, with M sport pack? About $46k.</p>
<p>I think it is why you are seeing so many CPO cars being sold here – new well-specced examples are really up there and there are some serious contenders at those price points. But as we all seem to agree, the mini pushes a lot of driving feel and aesthetic appearance buttons so the “value” is not as askew as it seems to some.</p>
<p>I for one, don’t get it. I do like the grill however… and metallic stripes. :)</p>
<p>When MINI first showed up in the US landscape 8-9 years ago, there was nothing out there that could even come close to it. Those days are gone. Now MINI has immediate competition but it is also competing against itself (and its past).</p>
<p>The problem is that these cars are no longer the excellent value propositions they used to be. Their current MSRP’s approach the territory of vastly superior cars, including BMW’s own entry level products like the 1 series.</p>
<p>Before people start jumping into the “club” and “camaderie” thing about MINIs, I have a newsflash for you: A lot of people don’t give a rat’s A$$ about the “lovy=lovy” social aspect of MINI ownership. I have met many people that own MINIs but flat out refuse to show up to a casual meet, much less join a MINI club. Fine if you like this aspect of the car, but the vast majority of people out there don’t give a hoot about it.</p>
<p>I agree with C4 that a car needs to compete on its own merits – hardware, driving feel – and the club aspect is a bonus FOR SOME.</p>
p>@C4</p
<p>C4 – just curious what you drive, what in fact shapes your perspective. Would that be a 4th-gen Corvette?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>RJ, I drive 2 MINIs:</p>
<p>2005 R53 S hardtop 6-speed
2008 R55 Clubman S turbo 6-speed automatic.</p>
<p>Surprised?</p>
<p>There’s nothing “vastly superior” about the BMW 1 series to the MINI Cooper S. But if you think so, please go buy one (and hang out on their forums).</p>
<p>MINIpuma, sorry but you can’t argue with a perfectly balanced 50/50, RWD, 6 cyl (and turbo I might add) 1 series that will run circles around a MINI. Please!</p>
<p>No I don’t plan to buy one.</p>
<p>Not only “can I”, I just did.</p>
<p>In fact I just happened to watch the re-run of Top Gear where they shot the BMW 1-series out against the Volkwagen GTI. They preferred the GTI hands down. I’d say those guys have a little better idea what will run circles around what since they spend most of their waking hours doing just that.</p>
<p>The only thing that’s “vastly superior” about the the 1 series is its value as a status symbol… which obviously is what you’re looking for in a car since you constantly bring up the ‘fact’ that MINIs are so outrageously expensive that there’s no reason not to buy a BMW these days. So why don’t you get you one and leave the MINI brand to people who don’t value a car based on its luxury badge.</p>
<p>(And by the way, a comparably-equipped BMW 1-series with the turbo-charged engine that you’re crowing about is about $12,000 more than the MINI Coooper S. In other words, your math is a JOKE. You price out a completely loaded Cooper S and say that it’s “almost as expensive as a BMW!”, then start pretending that the BMW you are comparing it to is the loaded, turbocharged version that tops 40 grand with the addition of everyday options.)</p>
<p>Ay MINIPuma, lay down on the caffeine. Top Gear? haha I like the shows for the entertainment value my friend, but is just that, entertainment mix with “facts” and personal “biases”. I enjoy the irreverent nature of Jeremy Clarkson but the man HATES anything BMW. MINIs are the only exception to his comtempt towards the propeller badge. It was rumored at some point that BMW was not going to allow Clarkson near a BMW for him to test.</p>
<p>The VW GTI is a very good car and in many respects, much better than the R56 Cooper S. Its got a better interior, hands down, better space utilization, cheaper to boot. I can’t get over its Toyota Corolla inspired looks but I would say this right off the bat… I would not mind a GTI 5 door in my driveway.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, you are not hurting my feelings about the Bimmers, have never owned one to begin with. I have a very thick skin and a huge irreverent mouth that would send you running for cover, so it takes quite a bit of work to arouse my ire, LMAO.</p>
<p>Relax, relax my friend. High blood pressure is never a good thing.</p>
<p>Actually it was me, not c4, that made the price comparison between r56 and 135i. And I was very clear on JCW with options versus 135i with the all-important sport pack (itself an exceedingly well-equipped car). And in Canada. USA mini pricing is more competitive than they let us have up here.</p>
<p>And llet’s not sell the 135i short as a driver’s car relative to even a top JCW ok? I too think the 1 is too heavy, has a bland interior, and is a bit “off” on exterior styling (why didn’t they let canucks get the 3 and 5 door hatch version like Mexico gets? We love hatches up here and buy them in droves relative to sedans and coupes!). BUT to dismiss the 1 as a hard core driver car – anyone with any appreciable seat time in powerful, relatively small RWD cars would cry foul here. And why the “hangup” about the BMW badge? Yes, a lot of shallow urban types buy bmw’s – same as a lot of trendy types buy minis. But the machinery should be judged on its own merits.</p>
<p>C4 – in a word, yes!! :)</p>
<p>Minor detail, but worth noting: Top Gear compared a five-door 130i to an R32, not a GTI. The episode just aired, but it was made in 2005 or 2006. The Stig’s R32 lap time was 1:30.4 compared to 1:31.9 for the 130i. So while Clarkson’s opinion of the 2 cars wasn’t exactly objective, the stopwatch certainly came down in favor of the R32.</p>