Well it’s January 1st 2004, and a new year is upon us. What will happen with the new MINI this year?

Only time will tell, however you can be fairly sure it will continue to sell like hot cakes, and the new Convertible will probably introduce a whole new type of buyer into the MINIfraternity, possibly reinforcing part of the MINIs appeal as a “fashionable” fun car?

Come summer ‘04 it will be three years since the MINIs launch (and three and a half since MINI2 was launched), and time for a little shake up of the MINI range. First we will see the convertible, then there will be a slightly revised new MINI design across the range, inside and out, to help keep the MINI fresh and new in appearance, not that it’s looking dated as it is!

We’ve seen a lot of spy shots of the new convertible MINI by now, but we felt we’ve never seen one that’s really “put you in the car”….. Until now that is!MINI2 has acquired this exclusive photograph of the rear seating area of the new open top MINI, due on sale summer this year. The photo reveals some interesting detail, including new speaker pods, seat belt anchorage points, and some details of the folding roof system. Also seen in the photo are the rear seat hoops that will offer protection in case of a roll-over, as well as looking very shiny if, and when, the sun comes out to play. To the best of our knowledge this is a “show spec” demonstrator with fully operational roof and with all the visual updates in place.

On the subject of interiors, there’s been a lot of hype, especially in the printed media, about what have often been rumoured to be drastic interior changes.Well, in another new year exclusive, the picture to the right shows you the new MINI cockpit that all the sleepless nights of prospective new MINI owners have been about.

As you can clearly see (click the image for an enlarged view) the “new” interior is not that different at all in appearance to the current car. This leaked photograph reveals
some of the changes we have already written about on MINI2, but a picture is worth a thousand words, and we do aim to please! The first thing we noticed is the new, three part dashboard. The Air Bag has been moved to above the hard plastic dash surfaces (you can just work out the text “Air Bag” above the left hand side vent). This means the dash is smoother, with no break required for the hinged panel in front of the passenger. It could also hopefully mean less of the dreaded creaks and rattles for new owners.

Another change that you may have to squint a little harder to see is the previously reported locking glove box. The hinge looks the same as before, save for the need for a key hole, of course! You can also see the new three spoke multi function steering wheel, which is already in production and being delivered to new MINI purchasers.

The sharp eyed among you may also have picked out the chrome rings around the dials. We understand that MINI will offer a chrome interior pack to new customers from the factory, as well as a dealer retrofit option. It is unclear whether you will be able to order selective rings for just the dials and vents you wish, or if you will have to order them as a set. We certainly hope these are competitively priced as the current aftermarket options often seem to be very expensive.

Mostly, we hope that picture will put to rest any fears that BMW will somehow be “messing up” the interior, as we’ve reported on MINI2 for some time, the changes we believe they have in store for us are minor, and should improve quality, as well as offering visual design tweaks, nips and tucks.But, what about the rumoured “Lexus Style” “Chronograph” new dials that MINI have been reported as introducing? Well, as we’ve maintained since these rumours first surfaced, these will be an optional extra, not standard fit, and they will not dramatically affect the car’s appearance. For our last New Year’s treat, this exclusive design drawing of the new dials should give you a good impression of how the finished article will appear. The speedo will be moved along side the rev counter if specified.

We’ve asked MINI to officially confirm anything about the new models, but at the moment they remain very tight lipped indeed. We will of course bring you any official news as soon as it becomes available to us!