BB1 (2009)

Fifty years of Mini: a vision of tomorrow marking an anniversary of today.

Fifty years after the launch of the classic Mini, the appeal of the brand is greater than ever before, with the model range exuding sheer fascination wherever you go. And now, in the anniversary year of the brand, Mini is bringing together this unique tradition and the successful model range offered today with even greater creativity and technical innovation for a truly promising future.

The Mini Coupe Concept is a further milestone in this ongoing development of the brand. The car takes up elementary strengths of the Mini and, through its modern technology and an innovative body concept, offers new standards and characteristics never seen before. So that the Mini Coupe Concept offers many new highlights in adding yet a further character to the existing model range.

Exterior design: the look typical of Mini but with individual character.

The body design of the Mini Coupe Concept also bridges the gap from the earliest days of the Mini's history all the way to the more distant future of the brand, emphasising the unique nature of the concept as well as its full membership in the Mini family. At the same time the individual and emotional design language arouses the expectation of a particularly thrilling experience on the road.

Especially at the front end of the car a number of icons typical of the brand, as well as the design style so characteristic of Mini, all come together to create a strong family resemblance. In addition, the individual look of the Mini Coupe Concept comes out also in the side view of the car as well as in the design of the rear end.

This unique new two-seater measures 3,714 millimetres (146.2") in length and 1,683 millimetres (66.3") in width. Height is 1,356 millimetres (53.4"). Through these dimensions and its athletic proportions alone, the Mini Coupe Concept stands out from the beginning as a compact and muscular sports machine.

The typical Mini look in particularly sporting style.

The new concept car carries over the unmistakable front end look from the four-seater Mini. Smoothly balanced contours on the engine lid characterised by wide and sweeping radii, the large headlights, the homogenous shape of the radiator grille and the wide lower air intake give each model that unique look, openness and charm so typical of the brand. Through the greater rake of the windscreen on the Mini Coupe Concept, the car looks even more striking and dynamic, the low and streamlined body proving clearly that the Mini Coupe Concept is a particularly outstanding performer.

The hexagon radiator grille and the large round headlights are unmistakable design features re-interpreting the front view of the classic Mini in particularly modern style. The direction indicators are integrated in the headlights, just above the innovative three-dimensional surrounds for the positioning lights and the foglamps. The entire front air dam has been adjusted to the sporting look of the car, standing out even wider and more striking than before.

The chrome radiator grille on the Mini Coupe Concept is the same as on the Mini Cooper S. The inner section in the grille is however finished with bars in body colour creating a clear sign of distinction at very first sight from the other members of the Mini family. The bonnet stripes also extend into the radiator grille to provide an even more sporting and dynamic touch.

With its very dynamic curvature and the stylised opening, bearing testimony to the power of the engine lurking within, the front lid likewise comes in the same look as on the particularly powerful versions of the Mini.

Individual roofline as a sign of sporting presence.

The side view of the Mini Coupe Concept also brings together features typical of the Mini family and new highlights in design to form a fascinating whole. The front side panels, for example, come straight from the Mini Convertible. The body joint forming the diagonal line characteristic of every Mini along the front lid and the surrounds on the front side indicators bearing out the style of the Mini Cooper S again provide an unmistakable sign of distinction with historic roots - here the classic Mini had a visible welding seam along the body.

The familiarity in design resulting from these features forms an attractive contrast to the far greater rake of the A-pillars leading into the brand-new, sweeping line of the roof.

Large wheels and a high waistline already give the Mini, the Mini Clubman and the Mini Convertible a particularly powerful and sporting look, with the black strip around the lower section of the body underlining this compact appearance and short body overhangs front and rear emphasising the athletic stature of the car and bearing testimony to that typical go-kart feeling at very first sight.

All this now comes out even more convincingly in the Mini Coupe Concept, also through the unique flow of the roofline. The glazed section of the passenger cell referred to as the greenhouse, for example, is much lower and even more dynamic than on the brand's "regular" models.

Another feature of the Mini Coupe Concept is the strongly inclined windscreen merging gently into the roof. At the rear the roofline initially moving straight back above the heads of the driver and front passenger flows on into the sturdy C-pillar. The entire roof with all its contours thus comes in a bridge shape quite unmistakable and featured for the first time on the Mini, made up of a strong rear cornerstone formed by the C-pillar and the almost filigree structure above the passenger cell.

The C-pillar is a strong visual expression of the particularly solid and torsionally rigid body structure providing not only superior occupant safety, but also the agility typical of Mini in fast manoeuvres. The C-pillar very powerful in design serves at the same time to guide your perspective towards the rear end of the car, while the side view of the Mini Coupè Concept forms a very strong and convincing wedge shape created by the roofline tapering out to the rear and the waistline rising up slightly in typical Mini style.

All this gives the Mini Coupe Concept a forward-moving impression right from the start, the car clearly expressing its power and muscle even at a standstill. Through its design alone, therefore, the Mini Coupe Concept authentically visualises sporting qualities of the highest standard.

Striking contours and smooth flow of air ensured by the roof spoiler and the rear spoiler edge.The Mini Coupe Concept is an expression of Mini design and the great ability of the brand's designers to fill the elementary values of the brand with new life, using the options of modern drivetrain and suspension technology, and developing fascinating perspectives for the future of the brand on this basis.

Presenting the concept of an uncompromisingly sporting two-seater to be seen for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show (17-27 September 2009), Mini is unveiling an unusually attractive vision of how the model family may well develop in future. The source of inspiration is once again the fundamental motive so characteristic of every Mini: driving pleasure. The Mini Coupe Concept therefore represents the ideal of a car destined in every respect to offer a thrilling experience and make every journey a truly unique thrill.

The Mini Coupe Concept brings together a wide range of features for a truly sporting and ambitious style of motoring. Limited to two seats and following a philosophy of consistent lightweight construction, the car clearly meets all the requirements made of a particularly active and dynamic coupé. Compact dimensions, perfect axle load distribution and a low centre of gravity offer ideal conditions for enhancing the agility typical of Mini to a level never seen before.

Through its design alone, the Mini Coupe Concept brings out all the thrill of individual mobility and the focus on pure driving pleasure. Powerful proportions and dynamic design language evoke a sense of desire and strong appeal, the Mini Coupe Concept offering a particularly undiluted expression of the brand through its sporting and unconventional stance on the road.