Mini Debuts The Cooper Coupe

We've known Mini was coming out with 2-seater derivatives of the Cooper for a while. We saw concept cars - the Coupe and Roadster - at the Frankfurt show in 2009, and we've been seeing spy photos of lightly disguised prototypes pretty constantly since then.  Mini debuted production images and technical details of the Cooper Coupe yesterday, and now we know what it'll look like and how fast it'll be.

The Cooper Coupe is the first car under the revived Mini brand with room for only two passengers - so Mini is expanding their lineup both ways, with the (relatively speaking) huge Countryman 5-door pseudo-SUV on the top, and the diminuitive Coupe (and presumably, the soon-to-come Roadster) on the other end of the spectrum.

The Cooper Coupe rides on the standard Cooper's 97.1" wheelbase, and it's overall length at 146.8" is almost identical to the normal Cooper's (146.6"), but height is down about an inch (54.6" for the coupe vs. 55.4" for the Cooper).  Other dimensions remain the same as well - kerb weight is within 100lbs for each model, the track widths are the same, overall width is the same - so it's basically a Cooper with a hat and two seats.

Inside, there are two seats with a false wall and a pass-through behind them.  It actually makes more sense than a regular Cooper for a commuter: the four-seater's rear seats are useless for humans, and the cargo area behind them is useless too.  If you fold the seats down you have a nice big cargo area, but then no rear seats - the coupe will just simply have a large, useful cargo space all the time.  I personally was expecting the Coupe to have a trunk (like the Convertible), but it's a full-length hatchback, with plenty of cargo space.

The roof itself is pretty interesting.  It's got a "floating C-pillar" - meaning no body colored pillar from the roof to the waist line, and there's a spoiler integrated into it on the back.

'

At launch, the Cooper Coupe will be available in three different trims: Cooper Coupe, Cooper S Coupe, and John Cooper Works Coupe, all using the standard engines from the Cooper lineup.  The standard Cooper will carry a 1.6L direct-injected 16v I4 with 121bhp and 118lb-ft torque - which will do 0-60 in 8.3 seconds and 127mph flat-out.  The two turbocharged Coupes both use a single twin-scroll turbocharger with different tunes - the standard S has 181bhp and 177lb-ft of torque (192lb-ft at WOT "overboost"), while the hotter JCW Coupe will put out 208bhp and 192lb-ft torque (207lb-ft with "overboost")  The S Coupe will do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds and 142mph flat-out, with the JCW doing the same in 6.1 and 149mph, making it the fastest Mini to ever come out of the factory.

Otherwise, it's standard Mini Cooper fair, as far as things like options and suspension go.  The Coupe will be available alongside regular Cooper models for the 2012 model year, and the convertible version shouldn't be far behind.  More info on pricing and availability should be available soon.