Given that BMW Group officials recently confirmed that MINI’s new coupe model will arrive in the market before the end of the year, it shouldn’t come to much of a surprise that the company is gradually stripping away the camouflage from its test cars. Spotted here by our scoop photographers in Germany, is the most potent version of the MINI Coupe lineup, the John Cooper Works model that’s easily distinguished by the aggressive body kit with the flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.
MINI first showed the Coupe and Roadster models through a pair of concept cars at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. As predicted, the production version of the Coupe has stayed remarkably faithful to that show car’s design. In fact, with the exception of some very minor details such as the grille and the tail lamp crystals, nothing else has changed, including the shape of the top that’s supposed to resemble a baseball hat worn backwards.
The JCW version seen here, also keeps the concept’s sporty aero kit with the modified front and rear bumpers, beefy side skirts and extended wheel arches that house larger alloy wheels.
The same appears to be true for the interior (at least from what we can see through the window), which ditches the hatchback model’s rear seat bench for a larger boot area that in the concept, was said to be around 250 liters (8.8 cu ft) compared the 160 liters of the three-door variant.
Aside from the JCW model that will make use of MINI’s latest 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbocharged engine with 211HP, the Coupe will also be offered in Cooper S form with a 184HP version of the 1.6L unit. A base Cooper version equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with 122HP and possibly a diesel-powered model may also be in the cards.
The new MINI Coupe is expected to receive its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall.
PHOTO GALLERY
