I understand now. I thought you were talking about Cooper S's being one too many which is true. I'm pretty sure it's the best selling car MINI makes.

 

Does that mean the MX-5 is getting the ax? Or is it just getting up dated with different looks and power plant?
Sounds to me that it's the latter, still a Miata sports car with a new look.
All this about the Mini Cooper Coupe/Roadster getting the "ax" is nothing more than them getting a diferent look and power plant, something I view as a positve move to improve upon the Coupe/Roadsters place in Mini Coopers line-up.

 

Well it looks like it might be number 2 in July, but still number 1 overall.

 

usually, but not always. Twice the Countryman has bested it in monthly figures. I predict the CM will be the best seller 3 months out of the year by 2014.

 

btw, this is awesome!
Love the red rims and the gloss black fenders. Were those fenders painted or is it how it comes in on the JCW? I didn't think so but I could be wrong . . .

 

It was totally custom. I love this one and to be honest, have not been a fan of the coupe though.

 

Hi John,

The S2000 and Trinity both have their strengths and weaknesses. From my perspective, S2000 strong points were fun to drive, rear wheel drive with limited slip, high revving engine with good power and overall reliability. Its weaknesses include being noisy with the top up, lack of low end power making you want to drive the car like you stole it, so so gas mileage, a small cabin without much storage and a lack of creature comforts such as no heated seats, poor sound system, no iPhone integration, etc.

Trinity's strengths from my perspective include being nimble with an electronic limited slip, good gas mileage, good low end power, lots of creature comforts, and very good interior cabin room/storage. Its weaknesses include being less reliable, not as fun to track or autocross and torque steer.

I am disappointed that Mini will be discontinuing the Roadster. I hope that they keep making them for a couple more years and that they replace it with a better hard top convertible sports car.

 

As the former owner of one MGB and two MG Midgets, I believe the MINI Roadster fills a true niche. My first test drive of a Roadster brought back memories of the pure joy I experienced driving MGs. I can only hope BMW re-introduces a MINI sports car (including a rag top!) true to the MINI tradition if, in fact, the current Roadster and Coupe are cycled out.

 

I had no idea the countryman sold that well. Right now on my block there are 3 cooper S hard tops and 1 countryman. Lots of MINI cars in one small area.

 

Yup. And since mid-2011, really giving the hardtop a run for its money.

 

More news...





The new MINI sports car will replace slow-selling Roadster and Coupe


MINI is set to axe its slow-selling Coupe and Roadster and replace them with a more aggressive standalone sports car that will take on the popular Mazda MX-5.
• MINI news and reviews
MINI has plans for an onslaught of new models over the next six years, and sources say the new sports car – which will sit on the next MINI’s front-wheel-drive architecture – will be offered as a soft-top (shown in our images) and a hard-top.
Plus, unlike the current Roadster and Coupe, the new, sleeker sports cars will share virtually no body panels with the rest of the MINI line-up. However, the 2015 MINI will retain key styling cues from the rest of the new range, including round headlights with LED rings, larger tail-lamps and muscular curves along the sides.
The newcomers are believed to be codenamed the MINI F58 (hard-top) and Mini F59 (soft-top) and are due to go on sale in late 2015 or 2016.


Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mini/65...#ixzz2c4owiV65

 

Ugh! . . . If that's what comes out I'll pass big time . . . thanks. It won't be the most beautiful thing around, I tell you. I can actually say: If they don't revisit that styling it's going to be a flop, big time. So much for compensating for slow sales...

+ I might be the only one but I don't feel mini needs a "true" sport roadster. Its chassis works just fine as it is... BMW has one. That covers it... I don't want a rear wheel drive. It's plain stupid in the winter (for those living in the snow belt )

Now if they were doing some form of RWD/AWD hybrid I might be more interested... Than again I'm so happy we got ours when we did


Oh, and btw, I think considering Mini is currently recycling a tone of parts across all models I think they can easily afford a niche market with lower sales numbers here and there. I know they don't think that way but if you think of all the minis with close enough platform (same engine, chassis, door panel, hoods, etc, etc...) the few different parts are well with-in good return on investments. So they do participate to the overall mini sales with a slight sale margin increase on models like the roadster.
Put-it an other way, would mini/bmw be as happy if they didn't get all that money . . . I don't think so.

If they build a unique platform and it fails that will be more painful, mark my words...

 

I like the new design!

 

Amen! That will attract a lot of new buyers. Gets rid of some of the chubbiness in the current models.

 

I like it too. Clear progression from the current design, lower with better wheel gaps, and it looks like it has the chrome gas cap (I really miss that from my R56). Plus that one is in my colour!

 

Time will tell . . . I cannot replace the chubbiness of the current model with the squashed look of this rendering. I prefer to look at what speaks to the MINI brand and to me that's just off. . . granted I like the rear end. Though it needs some work around the lower section.

I find this vision dull and lacking true MINI personality but I guess mainstream always wins in the end . . . that's exactly why the countryman sales so well. It fits in this SUV time we are...

Car manufacturers are all very confused right now with angular forms. They don't know what to do with it anymore and they're mixing aggressive and contemporary look with sharp angles and honeycomb like shapes.
Sorry, I'm too close to the subject . . . design is my professional field

I'm not being judgmental here. Just conversation + opinion
I appreciate what you guys are saying. It changed my initial view a bit

 

I think the thing is, love or hate the current models, think they perpetuate what Mini stands for (I've yet to see that defined with anything that ties it to what Mini really stood for in the 60's), think anything new is killing the brand, etc., the current models simply are not selling well. A car company cannot survive on models that don't sell and/or don't make enough of a profit, no matter how dear their owners feel about the brand. See Saab.

Anything that makes the Mini brand more successful is good for owners. I don't think BMW is going to turn Mini into the next Geo or Saturn. They know there is a brand to maintain, and they've done exceptionally well with the BMW brand, and I'd say the MINI brand too. They won't ruin it, but they won't freeze current designs either. They will take risks.

Heck, the coupe/roadster was a risk! Show me the 1965 Mini Coupe or the 1972 Mini Roadster and how they compare to the current models. I'm sure if I looked hard enough (say, 30 seconds) I'd find old posts saying those models are "killing the brand!"

There is nothing classic nor sacred about the Roadster/Coupe. They just didn't work in their current incarnations. I think the rendering above will go a long way towards fixing it. People generally like long sleek cars when talking about roadsters. (Z3, Miata, S2000, Tesla, Cobra, etc.) If you google "roadster" you'll see an awful lot of cars following a similar theme. And in the mix, you'll see Mini's version, and it looks distinctly out of place. Mini owners may like it, but the general public hasn't.

BMW just needs to fix it, and that looks like what they are trying to do.

 

You are right and I stand correct . . .

btw, I get the feel you over read "classic" in my earlier statement when talking about staying close to the mini brand. Not what I was talking about. All car change and evolve. It is the natural progression of things. There are iconic perceptions however that makes it or brakes it. To me this doesn't quite do it but I totally understand what you all see.

I also agree with you. By the time it comes out it won't be what we see here anyway

And I don't feel ours needs a fix right now . . . heck, we have people giving us compliments everywhere we go like no tomorrow
Roadster are just a hard segment to commit to for most families. That's why they usually sale less anyway. We can't expect sales like the countryman out of a roadster. It won't happen any time soon...

 

Y'all know that's just some random artists idea of what a next-gen Roadster might kinda sorta look like, right?

Remember this?

Also, that article doesn't really describe an axing as much as it describes *any* generational changeover of a model.

 

Ha ha . . . yeah I know that. We can loose sight of that so quickly though

 

FROM MY MA:

In about 5 years we will probably be seeing the next roadster. Based on
the conversation I had with the factory rep, they have no plans before
the normal model update (7 years).

Sent from my iPhone using NAMotoring

 

+1
That's what I figured and whether they would kill the roadster or not is a "?"
I don't agree with the impression they're loosing money on it though. As I said a roadster cannot sale the way other mainstream models sales.

I read the sale chart as a great increase in sale for the current roadster which is typical of a niche segment. It needs momentum and cannot expect amazing sales the first year or two. Usually it's by yr 3 to 4 you start seeing if it is holding its position, doing better and better, or if sales sharply tappers off.

 

Yup... that has been the feedback I received from their factory reps. Basically, BMW doesn't make wholesale changes. There is concern with the Coupe meeting marketing targets, but the Roadster's performance is continuosly improving, for a nitch product. But what BMW really wants to do, is to put a product out that will directly target the Miata. Those decisions are being evaluated now, and they know the changes to the Roadster is coming. But as of right now, the Roadster is one of the last models that is going to go through any major changes. They are focusing on the F56 first, and then, one or two models every year after that. And it is a given that the new two seater convertible will be more of a "stand alone" model.

 

Could this be more info on MINI's new sports car that will be coming?

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/fr...016-65112.html

 

Yeah, Michael at bimmerfile has mentioned a couple of times that the future of the Roadster hinges on the Z2...which hinges on BMW and Toyota partnering to develop a FWD sports car platform.

There's an article in the current issue of...something....R&T maybe?...or Automobile...Motor Trend...but definitely not C&D...about the challenges facing that potential partnership.

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