2012 Mini Cooper Coupe officially revealed

Mini has officially revealed the upcoming version of its iconic small car – the 2012 Mini Cooper Coupe. It is Mini’s first two-passenger variant of the car and is touted to be the fastest stock Mini ever. The car features a familiar face, but from its side, the familiar hatchback rear end of the vehicle is instantly noticeable, and in its place is a protruding boot with a retractable spoiler (it deploys at 50mph and retracts when below 37mph).

The 2012 Cooper Coupe will be available in three variants: base Cooper Coupe, Cooper S Coupe and the John Cooper Works Coupe. The all feature a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine, and six-speed manual transmission (automatic available for Coupe and S Coupe). The S Coupe and JCW Coupe have an additional twin-scroll turbocharger and direct-injection.  The S Coupe runs from 0-60 in 6.5 seconds with its engine that outputs 181hp at 5,500 rpm, while the JCW Coupe only takes 6.1 seconds (208 hp at 6,000 rpm).

While it might be the best performing Cooper to come out of Mini’s workshops, the car’s radical new design might have long-time fans of the car’s tiny form factor disappointed, though it will undoubtedly draw in new fans as well. Check out more pictures from Autoblog.com or from the official press release. What do you think of the 2012 Mini Cooper Coupe?

George Wong
Categories: Transportation
Tags: bmw, mini, official, release