Car news: Mini Coupe

Came across this report on yesterday's Straits Times (ST). Seems like Mini are coming out with a few quirky looking models after the Clubman and Countryman.



See story here at BMWblog

I'm surprised the latest isn't called Coupeman but just Coupe. So we're gonna have Mini Cooper and now, Mini Coupe. I'd say it sounds confusing to many Singaporeans.

Rumours are the engine will be a turbo-charged 1.6 with a manual gearbox. This car basically means a Cooper S with a caved-in backside sans the back bench. So now you can't even squeeze two midgets in as passengers. The roof is made of lightweight material and racing strips are optional.

The incoming model will bump up Mini's stable to 4 models, that is not including the various spec differences among each model. News of the Paceman (not to be confused with PacMan) will almost certainly expand the model range to 5 or more in the near future.

Despite all the new models and concepts, I can't see beyond the original Mini (Mr Bean Mini) and the modern Mini.

BMW can come up with the Limoman (a stretch Mini) or Sevenman (MPV Mini) for all I care. Fact remains you can't usurp the place of an icon in the hearts of people.