2012 MINI Coupe arrives – in camouflage

MINI Coupe Reveal -ish

We were going to say that the 2012 MINi Coupe had been revealed. But as MINI has decided, for reasons we fail to fathom, they should reveal it with camouflage we thought it would be a bit of an oxymoron.

Still, MINI has revealed more about the MINI Coupe ahead of an official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

And camouflage or not, they obviously thought there was plenty to shout about visually. So they sent us almost 100 photos of the MINI Coupe which, with the best will in the world, seemed like overkill when all that’s on offer is the exterior with swirly disguise on the tail. So we compromised and stuck up a gallery of 50 MINI Coupe photos. Which is enough.

So what do we know about the MINI Coupe we didn’t know after MINI revealed the MINI Coupe on the 50th Anniversary of the original Mini? Actually, not a lot.

We always expected the MINI Coupe to be the properly sporty MINI, with a lowered suspension and more rigid setup. And it is.

We also expected that MINI would resist – at least initially – the temptation to put the less powerful of their engines in the Coupe, and would reserve the more powerful lumps for what should be a ‘Pocket Porsche’ (MINI’s words, not ours).

So we’re not surprised to learn that to start with all that will be on offer will be the MINI JCW Coupe, the MINI Cooper SD Coupe, the MINI Cooper S Coupe and MINI Cooper Coupe below that (and MINI Cooper Coupe could take over from Peter Piper and his peck of pickled peppers, especially if there’s a MINI Cooper Coupe Camden Limited Edition on the horizon – which there probably is).

Power outputs will kick off at 120bhp in the Cooper Coupe with a 0-62mph in 9 seconds, rising to 200bhp in the JCW Coupe which takes 6.4 seconds to 62mph.

No MINI Coupe price information yet – or even an on sale date – but with a reveal at Frankfurt we would expect the MINI Coupe to go on sale soon after.

And actually it looks like it could be a hoot, especially the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe.

Exterior dimensions:

Length: 3,728 millimetres (MINI Cooper S Coupé, MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: 3,734 millimetres) Width: 1,683 millimetres Height: 1,378 millimetres (MINI Cooper S Coupé, MINI John Cooper Works Coupé: 1,384 millimetres) Wheelbase: 2,467 millimetres

By Cars UK