[JME]

The following article is from www.drive.com.au:


Mini goes topless
By Chris Gable
Wednesday February 11 2004

These are the first official photographs of the new Mini Cabrio, due for a Geneva Motor Show unveiling in March and here later this year.
The Cabrio goes on sale here in January, next year in Mini Cooper and supercharged 120kW Mini Cooper S guises.
Mini here says prices and Australian specifications will be announced closer to the car's Sydney Motor Show local debut.
With the photographs come plenty of specifics about the Cabrio, especially its powered drop-top roof, which folds in just 15 seconds and at the press of a single button. The front section of the roof slides back like a conventional sunroof, and can be opened at speeds of up to 120kmh.
To completely drop the top, the Z-fold roof moves back in three pieces and stacks flat above the boot lid.
The front portion of the roof acts as a tonneau, removing the need for a separate cover or clasps, catches or press-studs.

The roof can be fully opened via a button on the key fob from outside the car.
The roof supports fold away with the panels, and the rear side windows lower automatically.
Roof fabric comes in a choice of three colours: black, blue or green, matching or contrasting with exterior paint colours, including new Hot Orange and Cool Blue.
Inside, there are various trim materials and options, from wood to aluminium.
The boot lid is hinged at the base, and drops down a la the original Mini.
The rear seats fold forward, and together with the Easy Load system -- which allows the hood stowage bin to be folded out of the way when empty -- the Mini Cabrio delivers useful luggage capacity of 605-litres. With the hood down and four adults aboard, the boot holds 120 litres.
Mini owner BMW says the Cabrio has been thoroughly reengineered to cope with the removal of its metal roof. The windscreen pillars have been reinforced with a high strength steel tubular structure, while the rear headrests are bolstered by aluminium roll-over hoops.
The Cabrio's 85kW 1.6-litre engine produces 150Nm of torque at 4500 rpm and claimed top speed is 193kmh. Claimed 0-100kmh acceleration is 9.8 seconds and fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 7.3 litres/100km.
Thanks to what Mini says is high torsional stiffness, the Cabrio's handling and ride are said to be right up there with the hard-top Mini.
Larger head/thorax side airbags are inserted in the front seats, there are "intelligent" dual front airbags, pyrotechnic belt latch tensioners and belt force limiters, while anti-lock brakes backed by Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Cornering Brake Control are all standard.
Standard kit also includes a Tyre Defect Indicator (TDI), power windows and mirrors, Park Distance Control (PDC), height adjustment on both driver's seat and steering column, as well as remote central locking. The roof can be fully opened via a button on the key fob from outside the car.
Optional equipment includes xenon headlights, TV navigation with a 16:9 colour display, high-quality HiFi and a wind deflector.
The Cabrio debuts a minor change to the Mini's lower bumper and front apron style, with a new lower air intake grille and fog lamp housings. New clear lens headlamps are also adopted.
Last year 1633 Minis were sold in Australia, with 176,000 cars sold world-wide.

[Paul]

See www.mini2.com/news for as many as 21 high res images and more information on the MINI Convertible.

[swamos]

Good spot

Unfortunately Neeshil beat you to it. Have a look here .

For more developments on the new convertible, check the convertible forum that has been set up just for that car.

I will lock this thread since it has been covered

[swamos]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul Mullett

See www.mini2.com/news for as many as 21 high res images and more information on the MINI Convertible.

Doh, beat me by 3 minutes