New Mini Coupé Concept Misses the Mark

Filed in archive Concepts , Design , Nissan on September 2, 2009

I'm going to come right out and say it, even at the risk of antagonising Mini fans everywhere: this new Mini Coupé concept misses the mark on styling. In fact, I wonder why we need it at all since the normal Mini offers the same thing with the useful addition of a back seat. Nevertheless I am in favor of a new breed of affordable sports cars, especially as the only car that comes close is the Miata and it gets more expensive every year. Interestingly we had a bunch of low-price front-drive sports coupes back in the 80s and 90s that included the Nissan Pulsar, Toyota Celica, Honda CRX, and Mazda Precidia (MX-3). The latter was even available with a 1.8 liter DOHC 24-valve V-6. Hopefully, in this new era when people are showing fiscal caution the manufacturers may seem fit to repeat history by offering us more such products instead of pointless supercars that only the rich can own. I just don't think the Mini Coupé is the answer, though I understand the manufacturer's desire to expand the range. And besides, who says this car will be inexpensive? See and read more in the CAR magazine Web site.