We were invited to see the new Coupe today at MINI of the Main Line in Philadelphia. I spent last night configuring my imaginary MINI on the Italian build site that is mentioned in another thread.

I'm a sucker for two seaters but was hoping to not like the latest MINI (strictly for financial reasons). Oh well, that didn't happen. The coupe looks great in the flesh. The interior is spacious and sporty. Love the headliner with the two helmet bubbles. The boot has plenty of room. Overall it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. To those who have them on order endure the wait and enjoy the car! Can't wait to see it on the road.

 

I was following the (apparently) MINI USA president's coupe concept car still with some yellow camouflage last month when that car appeared at the minisontop.com rally. I still like mine though. The wail of a supercharger beats the spool of a turbo any day...

 

I also saw the Coupe at Main Line in Philly. Loved it. Roof lip doesnt bother me at all. Great interior also. My wife was luke warm about me trading in my 2006 S ragtop but not after she saw it in person. I priced out my S on Motoringfile and it came to $30 k with what I wanted. I didnt think that was too bad. Thats what my ragtop cost in 2006. Looking forward to placing the order.

 

My dealer said the supercharger can fail after 7-9 years and cost $5k to replace. He said that was one of the reasons they switched to the turbo. That kind of swayed me a bit to make the trade also. My S is a 2006 with 75k miles.

 

Nice. You have any pics to show.

 

Rich,

The Motoring Advisor at MotML was telling you that the superchargers fail to get you to buy a new car. That information is not accurate, and more likely the reverse is true. But rather than going down that path, you should go for the R58 if you like it. Definitely growing on me too!

Awesome license plate on your 'vert. Have you checked out your fellow local MINIacs at PhillyMINI dot org?

Mario - they are showing the same pre-production car which was recently making the rounds at other East coast dealers. Below is a pic. The R58 will be @ MINI of Mount Laurel (NJ) on Monday and Tuesday, and Ottos MINI in Westchester (PA) on Wednesday through Friday of this week.

Enjoy!

 

Will the boot handle a set of golf clubs?

 

Went to see the new coupe on Sat. at Mini of the Main Line too......even as my 2012 Cooper S sits on the dock at Southhampton. Wasn't expecting to like it anywhere near as much as I do. Contacted my MA this morning....cancelled the S hardtop and will be placing an order for an S Coupe.

 

Nice picture. Thanks for uploading it. I'm actually heading over to Mini Mt. Lauel in N.J.to talk to them later today. Mini Main Line gave me a pretty weak offer for my Cabrio trade in IMO. They don't have any orders for the coupe yet so I could be the first in line there. We'll see what kind of trade the give me. I was involved with the Philly Miniacs a few years ago. Maybe I'll get reinvigorated with the new coupe. Thanks for the license compliment. I'll keep it for the R58 even though I'll probably end up with a different color than BRG

 

How about 2 sets? And are there stereo speakers on the firewall unit behind the seats? Interesting that the post above switched his 2012 hatch order to a Coupe after seeing it. Sounds like what they said on Motoringfile is true: it looks better in person than in pix. Can't wait for the US configurator to show up.

 

Thanks for the info. Just need to think what color to get it in. I already have a chili red. So I don't know what other color.

 

Placed an order last night for Blue/ Silver. First in line at Mt. Laurel Mini in NJ! Looks much better in person. You forget about that roof lip in a nanosecond!

 

Saw a black with silver roof tonight at our dealer. It looked sweet. Sitting in it definitely gave me a cockpit type of feeling in a good way. It just felt like it was imploring me to go fast and corner hard. Definitely a different visual feel from the drivers seat than a normal Cooper due to the different roof line. Would love to have one!

 

I'm not sure that I like the Coupe-specific Twin Blade Spoke rims shown in the pic above of the Chili Red S Coupe. How does everyone else feel about them? Guess I'd need to see them in person before I made a final decision.

 

Personally like the Challenger spokes that come only with the JCW package. They come in black also

 

I really like the look of it, but I can't fathom ordering a car without a test drive first! I'll take one for a spin as soon as my dealership has a demo. Probably won't be able to justify the purchase for a few years though.

 

@richreef,

Yes, the Challenge Spokes are my favorite wheels as well. Unfortunately, they only appear to be available in black on the JCW Coupe model. When you order a justa Coupe or a S Coupe model with the JCW Pack, you aren't given the option of getting them in black.

 

@dannyhavok,

Indeed. It does seem a bit crazy to order a brand new model without being able to test drive it first. Although, it's a MINI and so I'm sure it will be great.

The deposit one puts down on the car when ordered is fully refundable (at least it is at our dealership here in CA), and so if you test drive one of the dealer's demo Coupes before yours arrives and you really don't like it, then you can always back out of the order and get your deposit back. Your MA probably won't be all that happy with you, but that's life I suppose.

 

BTW, the only thing I'm a tad bit worried about on the Coupe is the limited view out of the back and the blind spots. We had a loaner convertible for a while and really didn't like it because of that. Hopefully, the Coupe won't be as bad (it didn't appear to be in the one we sat in on the show room, but you never know).

 

I like the JCW Challenge Spoke wheels OK, but they will be on a lot of JCW Coupes. Too bad you weren't closer, I could have ordered the JCW Challenge Spoke wheels and swapped you for Black Star Bullets available on the MCS Coupe.

 

I've been driving a 2006 MCS convertible for 5 years and I agree with you that the rear visibility is terrible. Having said that you get used to looking through that tiny porthole between the rear seats and really don't think twice about it after driving for awhile. I actually think the visibility will be an improvement for me.!

 

I saw the same car at MINI of Sterling today and this display model was exactly the same as your picture. I was not impressed with this particular display model. Weak rims, blah color combination, sport seats were lacking in comfort and any padding, and for what it's worth the hatch back interior area was soaked so either they have an interior leak already or some dip-**** left the trunk open when driving it from the last stop which was Alexandria MINI. Anyhow, I was all excited when I saw the You Tube video of the Black/Silver top NON -S video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptcW-WgELPo since it looked way better than the display model I saw today. What I cant figure out is why would mini use this mediocre model to be the first impression we get to see. Let's just say I am in no rush to place my order since seeing this Meh, wet display model.

No offense to anyone who likes the car. I just didn't connect like you did. Maybe that will change when I see some better looking versions of this model car, in person.

 

Looks like I am going to get to see a Coupe in person before mine arrives as our dealer is going to have one next week. Event is planned for Wednesday night. Four hours of driving just to look at a car? Sure why not.

 

Please take notes so that you can give us all the lowdown. I would make the drive as well and don't forget your camera!

 

The dealership show room has lots of space so I should be able to get some good shots with my DSLR and I háček a GoPro that may take some interesting video.