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Mini shows of 2012 Cooper Coupe in photos, video

Mini pulls the wraps off of the upcoming Cooper Coupe.

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Expertise Reviewing cars and car technology since 2008 focusing on electrification, driver assistance and infotainment Credentials
  • North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
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Antuan Goodwin
2 min read
Mini

Mini Cooper Coupe
Mini gives us an undisguised look at the upcoming Cooper Coupe. Mini

Recently, we got a sneak peek at the upcoming Mini Cooper Coupe, the smallest--and possibly funkiest-looking--Mini of them all. However, the interesting bits of the new chopped roof were obscured by camouflage. This week, we've got photos and videos of the undisguised 2012 Cooper Coupe and it looks a bit like we expected it to.

Mini calls the new top a "helmet roof," but I think it looks more like the Coupe is wearing a backward baseball cap. Classy. The new top features an integrated roof spoiler that aids in channeling air over the rear window and over a motorized lower spoiler that raises automatically when the Coupe hits the 50mph mark. Overall, the Coupe sits 52mm lower than the standard Mini Cooper and is, surprisingly, a few millimeters longer as well.

Mini Cooper Coupe roof spoiler
Air flows over this integrated roof spoiler and down the rear glass. Mini

Mini Cooper Coupe motorized spoiler
At speeds above 50mph, channeled air hits this motorized lower spoiler for increased downforce. Mini

However, the Coupe's more aggressively raked roofline means that there's no room for backseat passengers. Even the front seats have oval shaped indentations in the roof liner to open up precious millimeters of headroom. So, Mini simply dropped the second row in favor of a parcel shelf with a small pass-through to the rear hatch. That's right, the Coupe has a rear hatch, not a trunk. However, the fixed parcel shelf appears to somewhat limit its hauling capabilities. We'll have to wait to get one in to judge for sure.

Other than the funky roof and the omission of a pair of seats, the Cooper Coupe is the same Cooper that we've come to know over the years. It features the same base 1.6-liter, 122-horsepower Cooper trim level, as well as Cooper S and John Cooper Works trims which offer 184 and 211 horsepower, respectively, from their twin-scroll turbocharged and direct injected 1.6-liter engines. European markets will also have access to a Mini Cooper Coupe SD, which is powered by a 143-horsepower turbodiesel engine that offers the lowest CO2 emissions and highest fuel economy of the range (about 54.7 U.S. mpg converted from the quoted imperial rate).

Check out the short video below to see the new Mini Cooper Coupe in action.