Could Mini be getting its first-ever sports car?

By John LeBlanc As you may already know — and previewed by the new Mini Vision Concept seen above— BMW’s Mini brand is gearing up for the launch of an all-new third generation family vehicles. The first is the next Mini Cooper two-door hatchback, set to go on sale in 2014. It's a mere appetizer to a full menu of new Mini models. And a new report suggests the brand’s first-ever true sports car may eventually emerge as one of those body styles. An article from Australia’s CarSales.com says we can expect up to 18 Mini new-generation models to be unveiled over the next five years. It starts  with the new, base model Cooper, expected to debut at this September’s Frankfurt auto show, followed by the eventual Cooper Convertible, Clubman and John Cooper Works models. The bonus is an all-new Mini sports car, set to replace the existing Mini Coupe and Roadster (seen belo) to arrive by late 2015 or early 2016. The article further speculates that the new Mini sports car will not share any body panels with any other model. And that instead of using the expected naturally aspirated and turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder gas engines that the new Coopers will employ, the sports car is expected to be powered by a larger, 2.0-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine to be shared with the forthcoming family of small BMWs. The speculated connection of the Mini sports car to the new range of small Bimmers is also another reason to think it will become a reality. All future Minis are using the same front- or all-wheel-rive platform that is also the foundation for a slew of future small BMWs. We already know a BMW 1 Series Gran Turismo four-door compact is on the way. But a so-called BMW Z2 compact roadster (a smaller option to the larger, more upmarket Z4) is also expected for 2015, of which, a Mini branded version may be spun from. Sharing the costs of what will be expected to be a low-volume, image car over the two brands makes sound financial sense for parent BMW. And while you could argue that the current Mini Roadster is a “sports car” of sorts, it really can’t compete against the likes of a the Mazda MX-5 in the eyes of hardcore driving enthusiasts. The question is: Would a Mini “sports car” sell? Although the original, British Mini brand never offered up a real “sports car”, do you think the current, BMW-backed range can lure in buyers who may be looking at an MX-5? Or is this just another case of Mini stretching its brand ethos too far? Source: CarSales.com

Comments