Mini Speedster, Next-Gen Shown?

Say hello to an entire line of new MINI vehicles, if the slew of reports surrounding the brand is anything to go by. MINI has proven to be extremely successful for it's parent company BMW and the company wants to build on that. Especially important in this economy, it has enabled BMW to go downmarket without diluting it's extremely valuable brand image. BMW's CEO recently quoted a study that had valued the brand at over $24 billion.

Expect BMW to continue to rely on MINI for growth, and to push further for volume as it turns the brand into it's low-cost player.  A crossover, a speedster and now maybe a coupe? According to MotoringFile, a MINI coupe could be making it to production even before a Speedster. A concept MINI Speedster is expected to make a showing at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, giving us a very good look at the production model.

Sources at MotoringFile say the new coupe would be a "notchback-coupe version of the car" and that (we should) "Think of this model as the

Z4 Coupe of the MINI line-up." Wow, sounds interesting!

Both would be models completely performance-oriented. While the MINI Cooper models are sporty, having a dedicated bodystyle focused on performance is a big change in approach.

In addition to all these news and renderings on the Speedster, some pictures have surfaced in prestigious French auto magazine L'Automobile Magazine. They say that the images are actual leaked shots of the standard production MINI set to arrive or not. Whether you believe that, there is a good chance the production MINI will look quite similar to the images as they are similar in design to the Mini Crossover concept we saw not too long ago.

Remember that report on BMW's new 3 and 4-cylinder engines? Word is that those could also see duty in a new generation of MINIs.

If it's real, I like it a lot! I think it retains the MINI look but still manages to be different at the same time. Anyhow, some big things are going on that we'll soon find out about. I look foward to seeing what BMW has planned for MINI's future. Credit to AutoExpress, MotoringFile and L'Automobile Magazine for the images.