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The Mini Cooper hatch being unveiled this week will be followed in short course by a cabriolet and other versions, so design guru Theophilus Chin has put his styling brain to work on what the droptop Mini will look like.
Singapore-based Chin has had experience in designing a couple of cars himself, and his informed renderings are usually a good pointer to the direction a car might take. In the case of the Mini, there's a blueprint to be adhered to, and he's respected that.
The new Mini arrives here early in 2014 with new efficient engines, a bigger body and some styling tweaks -- on the outside it's largely confined to a slightly squarer nose and new headlights and LED taillights. But on the inside, the speedo and tacho have been kicked out of the plate-sized gauge in the middle of the dash and are now in a more normal position in the instrument binnacle. The massive circular qauge remains in place, but houses audio, aircon and an optional reversing camera and satnav.
The Mini debuts the new UKL platform, and will be powered in the base model by a turbo 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine with outputs of 100kW of power between 4500-600rpm and 220Nm of torque at a low 1250rpm, with Mini claiming a 0-100kmh time of 7.56 seconds (auto) and 7.66 (manual) and fuel economy of 4.5L/100km.
The Cooper S gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder, developing 141kW of power between 4700-6000rpm and 300Nm of torque at 1250rpm, with 0-100kmh times of 6.62 (auto) and 6.73 (manual) and fuel economy of 5.7L/100km. The diesel Cooper D's 1.6-litre is gone in favour of a new 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbodiesel delivering 84kW and 270Nm, with claimed fuel economy of a frugal 3.5L/100km -- a saving of 0.3L. Transmissions for all variants are a standard six-speed manual transmission or optional six-speed auto.
To see more renderings of the cabriolet, visit http://www.theophiluschin.com/?p=5694
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