Mini Coupe concept photos: Tiny, faster

The 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show is nearly upon us, and we're beginning to see leaked images of hot new cars. The latest to sear through the Intertubes is the Mini Coupe concept.

This bad boy ditches the rounded look of Minis gone by in favour of a more aggressive, muscular build. Like all the best sports cars, it also ditches a couple of seats, adds a new, lightweight aluminium roof, fat 18-inch alloy wheels and, most importantly, go-faster stripes.

Tech is yet to be finalised, but we can tell you the Mini Coupe packs a multi-function steering wheel that gives easy access to audio controls, plus two Chronoswiss clocks to the right and left of the rev counter. One acts as a stopwatch for recording lap times, and the other as a standard timepiece.

The Mini Coupe is set to receive the most powerful engine in the Mini range -- the 211hp, 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbocharged block that's currently being employed in the John Cooper Works model. As a result, it should propel the Mini Coupe from 0-60mph in around 6 seconds, and on to a top speed of roughly 150mph. CO2 emissions are a not-particularly-Earth-friendly 165g/km, but fuel economy of 40.9mpg on the combined cycle makes for good reading.

We're pretty excited by this thing. It's been almost exactly 50 years since the first classic Mini hit the streets, and the Mini Coupe concept looks set to be a worthy successor.

Click through the pictures in our photo gallery for a closer look, and stick close by for more in-depth coverage as we head over to the Frankfurt Motor Show on 17 September.