New MINI ‘unveiled'

You'll have to look closely to pick the difference, but take it from us, MINI has unveiled its second generation car.

The 'next generation' of the in-vogue three-door hatch was shown to, and driven by, European media in Holland last week.

Set to be launched at September’s Paris Motor Show, the new car is very close to the existing in terms of styling. Indeed, though 60mm longer and sharing no panels, it takes more than a second glance to distinguish the new car from the current model – especially in the lightly camouflaged form as shown in pics hereabouts.

The marque has confirmed, however, that the new model has a substantially upgraded interior – with treatments drawing from the various MINI concepts unveiled at motor shows in New York, Detroit and Geneva over the last year or so (for more click here).

The dash is sportier, more technical or more elegant depending on which trim option is specified, says MINI. However, the biggest change is a central speedo -- even for Australian delivery cars.

At this stage the ‘next generation’ MINI will only be sold in hardtop form. The existing Cabrio models will be carried over – perhaps for as long as 12 months.

Powering the new car will be two all-new engines. The Cooper S will be turbocharged for the first time, while the Cooper gets a variable valve timed four. Both engines are 1.6-litre DOHC Euro IV compliant units and were co-developed with PSA – the Peugeot/Citroen group.

It’s the naturally-aspirated Cooper that will go on sale first, boasting 88kW at 6000 rpm and 160Nm of torque at 4250 rpm. BMW’s VALVETRONIC variable valve timing system is employed (on the inlet valves only) to boost torque.

For the first time the Cooper will also feature six-speed gearboxes: the choice of manual, or automatic with Sport Mode and steering wheel paddles.

Swapping its supercharger for a turbo, the new Cooper S gets direct injection, 128kW (at 5500rpm) and an ‘Overboost’ mode to boost torque.

According to MINI, the twin-scroll turbo provides useful boost from just 1400rpm. Peak torque of 240Nm is available from 1600-5000rpm. This is boosted to 260Nm under hard acceleration via the new set-up’s overboost function.

The new Cooper S has a six-speed manual transmission as standard and the option of a six-speed auto.

Though the new MINI will be offered with a diesel engine in Europe, according to MINI Australia there are no plans to bring the powerplant Down Under.