Mini roadster concept a new take

BMW has followed up its the coupe concept by rolling out a two-seater Mini roadster. Like the coupe, the roadster provides a new take on the Mini brand, which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.

Although they are only concepts at this stage both the coupe and roadster are expected to go into production around 2011. The roadster is a sliced and diced version of the Cooper four-seater. It is 15mm shorter to give it compact front and rear overhangs and the roof is 51mm lower to emphasis its compact look.

The windscreen is lower and more steeply raked while a snug-fitting manually operated soft top and distinctive rear-end to distinguish the car from the Cooper, Clubman and convertible.

Like the other Minis, the roadster is expected to share a range of four cylinder engines in Europe. That means the hot 128kW/240Nm 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbocharged engine from the Mini Cooper S could make an appearance, along with a turbo-diesel.

Apart from engines, the concept shares much with the production cars, including suspensions. Visually the front is similar to the convertible, right up to the A-pillar but the windscreen is more steeply raked and lower.

The distance between the windscreen frame and the rear end of the roof behind the seats has been deliberately kept to a minimum to give the car its low, lean look. When the roof is up the Roadster has a notchback look with the low-angle A-pillars merging gently into the roofline. The glass area is much smaller than the Cooper and when stowed behind the seats, the roof forms a short luggage compartment lid.

The indicators are integrated in the headlights with the new three-dimensional surrounds for the lights and the integrated foglights in the bumper. It also shares its chrome radiator grille with the Cooper S. A high waistline accentuates the car's powerful character.

The Roadster can hold 250 litres of luggage with the roof open or closed and there is a load-through porthole to increase luggage space.

Like the hardtop, the roadster is exceptionally strong with sturdy A-pillars and side-sills as well as twin full-size rollover bars that deploy from behind the headrests like the Mini convertible. Inside the cabin will be familiar to Mini fans. The rev counter on the concept is directly behind the steering wheel, with the oversize speedo part of the upper section of the centre console. Like the convertible the roadster has an "always open timer" device that lets owners know how long they have been driving with the roof down.