The MINI Coupe Makes it to the US
Our friends at Jalopnik have visual evidence of a MINI Coupe on US soil. More specifically the 405 in California.
The Coupe will make it’s internet debut in late spring or early summer and will go on-sale this September around the world.
<p>Now if they would only offer the 3 cylinder BMW engine in it, life would be good!</p>
<p>Droool**I will take mine in Astro Black or Cosmic Blue please.</p>
<p>some how this one looks better !!!???!!!</p>
<p>Not liking this angle. Looks cobbled together. Either the camoflage really works or this is not gonna be a winner. Too bad, I really want to like what comes out because it’s a great concept.</p>
<p>Love it. But, um, what’s up with the wheels?</p>
<p>best angle so far.</p>
<p>That’s definitely 405! See, the car is not moving :)</p>
<p>This looks much better compared to other spy shots.</p>
<p>Love it for sure, can’t wait to see the final form.</p>
<p>Btw Volkan, your comment is the best one I’ve seen in a long term heh.</p>
<p>If I was looking for this form factor I would but a TT coupe. My guess is the JCW version of this with comparable options will be very close in price. And it would still be FWD…</p>
<p>Love it! Why can’t the Roadster spy shots look like this?</p>
<p>What that.guy said… And it would still be FWD.</p>
<p>I am fine with FWD on the Hard Top, but the Coupe? Eh, I dunno.</p>
<p>@Benzz: I bet the spy shot was taken with an iPhone – the distortion on the wheels is because they were moving while the “virtual shutter” was closing. Some further explanation and examples here:
<a href="http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Take_Distorted_and_Psychedelic_iPhone_Photos" rel="nofollow ugc">http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Take_Distorted_and_Psychedelic_iPhone_Photos</a></p>
<p>the wheels look like scan-line distortion. Is this a still from a video?</p>
<p>The more I look at the Coupé, the more I see a combination of Mazda RX-8, Audi TT and Porsche design influences, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.</p>
<p>Of course it looks cobbled together… That’s because it IS.</p>
<p>It’s a black car with silver JCW kit and swirly camo all over it… and distorted Bullet wheels.</p>
<p>The overall shape/proportions of it look better here than I think they have before. The JCW kit and the bad lighting around the wheel wells help make it look lower than it has in previous pictures, which is something this car needs. Plus, it doesn’t have those ugly Winter-specific wheels like one of the other mules had.</p>
<p>Totally agree with Blainestang.</p>
<p>I don’t get why so many people say that it doesn’t look like the concept or the concept was better… etc.</p>
<p>Pull up a picture of a concept coupe and compare it with spyshots side by side. To me the overall design looks the “same”. It’s obvious that ride height, wheels, body kit are different because it’s a testmule. And that BMW camouflage does its job well. cob</p>
<p>Looks like the backwards ballcap hook of the roofline is missing. They try and make it look like it with the swirlies on the window though.</p>
<p>Looks like they GP’ it.</p>
<p>Don’t like the rear treatment – Get rid of the “backward facing baseball cap”, get rid of the square fenders – It would look better if it looked like a Karman Ghia in the rear. The car is too short. Ugly!!</p>
<p>The front two-thirds looks promising. The rest looks hopelessly out of whack and disconcerting. Of course, even ugly can become acceptable over time. Hopefully the final production version will not require a l-o-n-g gestation period to grow on us and become truly acceptable.</p>
<p>Way to keep up the suspense MINI. The only parts of the car camouflaged are the parts significantly different than the hatchback. I can’t wait to see a JCW version in the showroom.</p>
<p>Much better with the JCW kit, as we always knew (should be mandatory on any higher-priced R56). REALLY like those wheels as well.</p>
<p>How about a removable (carbon or aluminum) hardtop for the roadster. Better roof line and attractive “dual personality” — not to mention greater adaptability to weather and more fun-in-the-sun motoring than the coupe could provide.</p>
<p>Wheels are same as those usually stock on the current R56 convertible….</p>
<p>Nice spy shot ! :)</p>
<p>2nd that, I too hope there is no Pugeot Engine in it….BMW baby !</p>
<blockquote>
<p>2nd that, I too hope there is no Pugeot Engine in it….BMW baby !</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It always amazes me that there are people that still don’t think the ‘Prince’ family of engines aren’t BMW powerplants. They were designed by BMW engineers in Munich and are assembled in the UK at a BMW engine plant. The only thing French about them is that PSA agreed to use hundreds of thousands which in turn allowed BMW to afford to design a family four cylinder engines for a small volume car. Oh and the aluminum block is cast in northern France.</p>
<p>re: Prince being a “French engine”… I agree it is sheer ignorance at this point to claim this… but I strongly suspect it is the anti-French bias of many Americans that leads them to make such statements. People believe what they wish to believe… ;)</p>