MINI Coupé First Details
MINI has confirmed that the Coupé - its fifth model range, and the first with just two seats - will go on sale in the UK on October 1, priced from £16,640.
That money will buy you the entry-level Cooper. Other versions are the £19,775 Cooper S, the £20,510 Cooper SD diesel and the £23,795 John Cooper Works. The last of these is the fastest production MINI ever: with its 211bhp engine and the superior aerodynamics of the Coupé body shape (the windscreen, for example, is raked 13 degrees more steeply than that of the hatchback) it has a top speed of 149mph and a 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds.
The windscreen is by no means the only special aerodynamic feature. All Coupés also have a boot-mounted spoiler which rises when the car reaches 50mph and drops down again when the speed drops to 37mph.
Apart from the omission of two seats, the Coupé is also reasonably practical. Its luggage capacity is 280 litres, or 20 more than that of the MINI hatch.
All version come with brake energy regeneration and start/stop as standard. Options include Sport suspension, with firmer damping and stiffer anti-roll bars, and the John Cooper Works suspension kit (standard on the JCW car itself, of course) which lowers the ride height by 10mm as well as offering yet more purposeful damping and anti-roll. The Dynamic Control and Electronic Differential Lock Control offered on the JCW are also available for the less powerful cars at extra cost.
