MINI MK II has gone soft. Soft top that is. Come the North American International Auto Show in January 2009 (also known as Detroit), MINI Convertible will be shown to the public for the first time. Live. For now we have to make do with what we have, which is these pictures right here.
The main feature of this car is that it is a convertible, as the name suggests. It features an electrohydraulically-operating canvass roof with an option of having its opening/ closing mechanism operate at up to 30km/h. Even cooler is that you can open and close the roof remotely from a short distance using the key. MINI Convertible comes in 12 exterior and three roof colours.
Mechanically the Convertible is exactly the same as the other two MINI body types. The engine, a 1.6-litre engine developed by BMW and produced by Peugeot- Citroen, is mapped to make two power figures. Naturally aspirated it makes 88kW and maximum torque of 160Nm. BMW says it will accelerate from 0 – 100km/h in 9.8 seconds and top off at 198km/h.
The spunkier version, Cooper S Convertible, is the same 128kW and 240Nm animal which features an overboost function that takes torque to 260Nm for a short period of time during overtaking. Its 0 – 100km/h time is 7.4 seconds and top speed is 222km/h.
Fuel consumption has obviously become an issue these days and MINI claims an average of 5.7 litres/100km for Cooper and 6.4 litres/ 100km for Cooper S Convertible.
We can expect MINI Convertible to hit Mzansi topless during the spring of 2009 at prices of over R300 000.
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