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MINI is apparently starting work on a two-door variation of the Countryman SUV, with a vehicle that would be similar in concept to the just announced Range Rover Evoque.
BMW managers have reportedly been inspired by the success of the BMW X6, and have faith that the desire for a couple-like crossover is strong in various demographics. With the Countryman facing competition from the Nissan Juke and upcoming offerings from Ford, the small, premium 4-door crossover segment could give way to a 2-door category as well. A suicide door with 4 doors may also be used for practicality reasons, but company insiders appear to be pushing for only 2 doors.
While the Countryman Coupe hasn't been greenlight, the car is expected to arrive in 2013.
MINI has plenty of expansion plans for its range of fun-to-drive cars, with the latest rumor suggesting an up-market model. Inspired by the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet, luxury versions of the original Mini built from 1961 to 1969, this new car could run under the Riley name.
And while current MINI products are "premium," this new model would be pure luxury with higher-grade leather and real wood trim.
At this point its pretty much rumors and speculation, with the possibility that the car could take two different directions. The first would be to use the third-generation platform due out in 2013, which would appeal to affluent urbanites in large cities (particularly in Europe). The second option is that the car could take a coupe (rather than a hatchback) form in order to appeal to the U.S. audience that generally sees hatchbacks as low-dollar cars.
At this point, we wouldn't be on either – not for a few years anyway.
Diesel and performance don't really go hand-in-hand – at least not on this side of the Atlantic. But over in Europe there's a strong believe that you can have fuel economy and plenty of torque. With two diesel offerings in MINI's lineup since 2007 (the One D and Cooper D), we've heard several rumors of a Cooper S D model, mixing high-performance with diesel technology the way VW does with the GTD.
According to a new report by BigBlogg, the Cooper S D will get a BMW 2.0-liter turbodiesel, rather than the Peugeot engine that powers the other diesel MINIs. Similar to the engine found in the 1 Series and 3 Series, power will be rated at 141-hp, a jump of 31-hp over the Cooper D, wile torque will be an impressive 221 ft-lbs, a jump of 44 ft-lbs over the Cooper D.
The car is set to hit Europe next year with no plans to ever make it to the U.S.
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