We’ve been hearing about Mini’s plans to discontinue the Coupé and Roadster for a couple of years now, but it’s finally official. Mini has announced that production of the two models is about to come to an end at its Oxford plant in the United Kingdom.
Mini said it will stop production of the two models simultaneously, but didn’t provide a timeframe. However, since the release also says the automaker wants to free up capacity at the plant in order to produce more 3-door and 5-door Hatches, it’s probably going to happen rather soon.
Based on the previous-generation Mini Hatch, the Coupé and Roadster were aimed at more individual buyers, but for some reason the two models didn’t catch on. If I were to speculate, I would say the two models had too many shortcomings and too few advantages compared to the Hatch and the Convertible.
For example, many questioned the Coupé’s styling and lack of practicality, with the latter aspect also being a problem of the Roadster. Although both offered slightly superior driving characteristics to Mini’s core models, it was not enough to justify the lack of practicality and similar pricing. In the end, Mini admitted defeat, which is probably the wisest thing it could have done.
Let’s just hope the bosses in Munich will give the green light to the Mini Superleggera concept, it would make a great flagship model for the brand.
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