Just got done reading an article saying that Mini is cancelling production of the coupe and roadster.

"http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1502-mini-cancelling-slow-selling-roadster-and-coupe/"


Thoughts?

 

Not surprised. Too much segmentation of the brand, the slow sellers are hitting the chopping block.

 

Oddly though, I've seen more coupes and roasters than I have Pacemans (1 or 2 in the whole city), which are continuing to be produced. Strange.

 

I have seen 2 S coupes and 3 roadsters in seven months. Where are you living they are so common on the road?

 

They will be missed as the best performing Mini of all time. It is an awesome tight frame and body design far superior to all other Mini models. Amen.

 

Problem is, there's too many other cars in the "sports car" segment that people would prefer to buy.

I'm down in SW Florida. I drive quite a bit for my job (Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples). That being said I see WAY more Coupes than Paceman (Pacemen plural?). There's 2-3 Coupes within 1-2 miles of where I live. The Countryman is also quite popular, almost see as many as the regular Cooper. I own an MCS and almost feel in the minority of Mini models here.

 

I think it's funny how people think MINI is canceling the coupe and roadster early or for some low selling reason.

The main reason is that they are on the old platform they are phasing out. They have run their course. The superleggera is the future MINI roadster. It's not hard to tell when you look at it. Add a fixed roof then you have a MINI coupe.

They look different sure, but they are built on the F5X platform so it makes total sense. They also fit the same niche for a 2 door sports coupe and roadster.

In reality MINI isn't really killing them more like evolving them with possible different marketing. (Names etc)

Now if MInI doesn't produce a superleggera coupe and roadster then this type of vehicle in the MINI line up I would say is killed.

 

But here's the thing: the superleggera is said to have a 2018 release. That's a long wait. And it's supposed to be electric. Somehow I can't see this car be marketed at the same people the current Coupes are.

I'd be more inclined to think that if the Minor/Rocketman goes into production (which, if it were made, would be before 2018) that it would serve as the platform for the next Coupe.

 

Paceman is getting the axe too.

Best performing Mini of all time?

I drive one of those. It isn't a coupe.

Don't kid yourself. They're killing them.

The Superleggera will be a different animal entirely - if produced, it will get it's own bodywork, and won't be another bodystyle of the Cooper.

 

In that article I linked BMW is saying that the Paceman is sticking around. "On track for success" or something rather.

 

Well. That's a rather quick about-face. They've lost their mind.

Maybe they'll just call it a Countryman Coupe, and roll the sales into the Countryman sales numbers to make it look like it's performing better than it actually has.

 

If you are going to be a stickler and say it's not a two seat hardtop with a chopped roof and active spoiler then sure. But my point is manufacturers all the time change their offerings but still address the same market.

I still say design differences aside the superleggera will scratch the same itch. People also get hung up on drive trains in concepts. I doubt the car will be electric only. They get economies of scale when they throw the same engines from the other cars into the superleggera.

 

Regardless, different name = different offering ≠ same car.

 

The overall Mini product line is becoming chubby, bigger, wider and in many ways is loosing the appeal of a low and agile small car that could perform well.

The Peugeot engine is still struggling to provide reliability on par with the Japanese products and seems to have so many issues and I believe it is a serious concern.

I hope we will see something new soon with better engineering and keep the spirit of a fast little roadster that could be a template for a new Mini coupe.

 

Yet many reviewers say the F56, despite the very slight increase in size, hearkens back to the R53 in driving dynamics.

And the F56 doesn't have a Peugeot engine. You've got some reading to do.

 

I saw The Coupe is Dead thing on Motoringfile. In the US they only sold 1000 Coupes last year. That's just not enough to gunk up your plant schedule making them. I am biased of course, but the JCW Coupe may go down as the best racing Mini of all time. Stiffer frame, lower COG, slightly different suspension, a true go cart machine with a pretty nasty engine and brakes . On the same MF page they rave about the steering of the F56 over the R56. Well I drove my friend's F56 MCS recently and it's good but not that different from my R56 MCS and not close to my R58 JCW. It is REALLY quiet, you can't hear exhaust at all. And it is in 5th gear going 43 MPH in Sport mode. It's a nice car, just way different than our Coupes for sure. It's OK, by the time I want another car they'll have something great!

 

So for 2015, where are the engine designs coming from?

 

It's BMW's own design, shared across MINI and BMW lines.

 

They're 100% ground-up BMW designs.

See here: http://www.bmwblog.com/2014/05/21/bm...7-b38-b47-b48/

 

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Supposedly the F56 Justa is 1/2 of the 3L straight 6 and the MCS is 2/3 of it.

 

Not quite. Did you read the article I linked to?

The 3 and 4-cylinder engines are the first in a line of modular engines coming from BMW.

 

We can continue to split hairs here but the car was still a concept so there is nothing stopping mini from calling that "superleggera concept" a roadster or slapping a roof on it and calling it a coupe. Then would you be satisfied? If they make it my bet is they do that.

 

From my personal experience the steering on the F56 and the R58 felt very similar (very numb). The '07 R56 Cooper S with LSD I had to me had way more steering feel. I don't know whether it was the torque steer or the amount of heft mini dialed in. I always felt with that car I knew what the wheels were doing and I knew right where I was placing the car in turns. The R58 alternatively feels very numb to me.

The F56 I test drove was very removed. The engine is way too quiet and the steering was just blah. I think the feel motoring file is perceiving must be something that is achieved through the sport suspension and tire combo. All the cars at my local dealer (F56) had soft suspension and all seasons.

Overall so far I am not that happy with my JCW R58 I am taking it to the track next Friday so I guess I will see how it feels there.

 

I also went from a 2007 R56 MCS to my 2014 fJCW R58 (sport susp) and I think the Coupe steers better than the MCS. Not a ton, but less body roll, and the stiffer frame that it has from the convertable Roadster helps. I also drove a friend's F56 MCS and agree that car is almost too quiet (no exhaust sound at all) and softer suspension. It's OK, but different. Even in Sport mode it's in 5th gear going 45 MPH.

 

I think one of the biggest issues with the F56 is the active sound cancellation.

Apparently it can be overridden/removed, but it takes some work. I'm a person who likes to hear what the car is doing, I don't want that to be muted out.