2012 Mini Coupe Spy Video

By Edmunds Video Productions | Published June 08, 2011

1:22 min

IL's spy shooters caught up with the "worst kept secret" Mini Coupe in Detroit, MI.

By Edmunds Video Productions | Published June 08, 2011

1:22 min

Today we have footage of one of the worst kept secrets around: the Mini Coupe. We first saw the Coupe in concept form back at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, where it was essentially a Mini Cooper with the back seats removed and a lower, racier roof . Just this week, Mini confirmed details on the production Coupe and sure enough it shares nearly all of its mechanical specs with the current Cooper. The Mini Coupe will be offered with the same 1.6-liter engines and six-speed transmissions as the Cooper, including a John Cooper Works version as seen here. The steering and suspension are similar to the regular hatchback as well. However, the Coupe's more rakish roof creates a lower center of gravity, decreases aerodynamic drag, increases structural integrity and shifts weight distribution. According to MIni, the Coupe is its quickest and most driver-oriented yet. Despite its roof, the Coupe still has a hatchback and it covers a cargo area that features a pass-through loading system instead of the regular Cooper's tiny back seat. With sales slated to begin this fall, expect to see the final production version of the Mini Coupe sometime this summer.

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autoscribesman says:

09:51 AM, 06/12/2011

Love the idea of a sexy more masculine coupe on Mini architecture. Always admired the Mini but found its styling just a bit too cute and that put me off from signing the dotted line a few times. But seriously, what the heck is this abomination? What is BMW doing with its design these days??? Please don't bring up the overstyled Z4 or Lexus look-a-like 5 and 7 series. The X6 is probably the only interesting shape they've come out with in a while but good lawd is it enormous!

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phontsolo says:

11:22 AM, 06/09/2011

@cromagnum_man says:

Your screen name describes your comment perfectly. Moronic.

"Why would anyone choose this over the standard Mini Cooper?"

Why? Why not. Maybe someone out there wants a Mini Cooper with only 2 seats and as a coupe. How is that hard to imagine? If the normal Mini is great for track days then is it really that hard to imagine this car being better?

You are not the only person in the world.

cromagnum_man says:

09:13 AM, 06/09/2011

This has to be the most pointless model ever! Why would anyone choose this over the standard Mini Cooper?

noburgers says:

04:52 AM, 06/09/2011

Looks a lot more like a vintage sports car than the box-shaped mini, more like a guy's car. I wonder if it will be lighter by very much compared to the regular mini?

The angle of the picture on the home page made it look like the new Beetle, but once you see the video I no longer think so. Outward visibility probably suffers--so you can't see out and you're so small no one can see you--not a good combination!