Fans of the Mini brand will soon get another vehicle to love, as Mini’s UK arm has confirmed that two new models, one of which is the Mini Coupe, will soon be headed to production. Both the Coupe and a yet-to-be-named model, both to be exhibited for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, will be built in the next few years.
“I think bringing these two new models to Oxford is a great sign to the Oxford area, to all the workers here at the plant, that the future for Mini and for this operation is very bright indeed,” Graham Biggs, corporate communications manager for BMW UK, told the BBC.
The news came along with plans to hire an additional 1 000 workers to help build the new models. Whether the second model will be the still-secretive Mini Roadster we got a peek at last week, or the nearly-finished Mini Crossover (or Crossman), is still not clear.
With its sleek looks and even smaller size, there’s no back seat in the Coupe concept, the new car certainly fits with the ‘Mini’ moniker.
Mini had previously said it would ultimately be the public and press reaction to the concept that would guide Mini’s plans on the matter, with its unveiling in Frankfurt and a possible U.S. showing at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December being the touchstones for that reaction. It seems the early reaction was so strong that Mini went ahead and made the decision to build it even before revealing it live.
Adding another pair of models to the Cooper/Convertible/Clubman range would move Mini closer to offering a full range of vehicles. Recent reports say the crossover won’t be coming until 2010 at the earliest, meaning both the Coupe and whichever model that comes with it, are still likely at least a year, and possibly as many as three years distant.
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