Mini's Coupe Concept is a new take on the Cooper hatchback it currently sells in the U.S., and the automaker says it offers a glimpse of what future Minis may look like.
The Coupe Concept is instantly recognizable as a Mini from the front, as its hood, headlights and grille are similar to those on a Cooper S. It isn't until you get to the roof where the Coupe Concept starts to differ from a Cooper; as its name suggests, the concept has the profile of a traditional coupe with its slanted rear window and short rear deck.
Unlike many coupes, though, the Coupe Concept doesn't have a traditional trunk. You open a liftgate to access the cargo area — just like in the Cooper. The concept has an 8.8-cubic-foot cargo area. That's larger than the 5.7-cubic-foot space the Cooper has behind its rear seats, but the concept benefits from not having a backseat.
The Coupe Concept is powered by the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder from the John Cooper Works edition of the Mini. In the concept, it's rated at 211 horsepower and 192 pounds-feet of torque.
The Mini Cooper has carved out a niche for itself in the U.S. as a premium hatchback, and a car like the Coupe Concept, if produced, is a smart way for the brand to branch out. It gives shoppers who don't like the look of a hatchback a reason to consider Mini.
Individual roofline as a sign of sporting presence.
The side view of the MINI Coupé 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 Coupé 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 Coupé 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 Coupé 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 Coupé Concept authentically visualises sporting qualities of the highest standard.
No comments:
Post a Comment