FIRST DRIVE MINI COOPER S WORKS COUPÉ:In the pursuit of ever-better handling and 'fun', Mini has created a cut-down two-seater version that begs one over-riding question: why? NEIL BRISCOEseeks out the answer
YOU WOULD have to question the wisdom of taking a Mini and making it less practical, but with the new Mini Coupé that’s exactly what BMW has done.
The rear seats are gone and the roofline has been chopped by about 52mm. The whole car appears to have been sucked, as if from an underfloor Dyson, down on to its wheels.
Distinctive and aggressive it most certainly is. Pretty or attractive? Hmmm. Not so sure there. The roofline, which is meant to ape the style of a baseball cap being worn backwards (honestly), is awkward, and moving the Mini away from its traditional two-box profile to a saloon-like three-box outline hasn’t been an especially successful operation.
So what is the point of the Mini Coupé? If coupés are purchased mostly because of their looks, then its role in life seems a little precarious. And considering the Mini hatch, with its tiny rear seats and small boot, is effectively a 2+2 coupé already, then the case for a bespoke two-seater seems ever more tenuous.
Perhaps this is Mini, and BMW, marking out its territory. After all, Mini admits that it’s not the first to produce a chopped-top version; the likes of Marcos and Broadspeed got there first in the 1960s. Maybe, then, Mini is producing a coupé largely because it doesn’t want any other independent coachbuilder to beat it to the punch.
The serious intent behind the Coupé is, of course, to take the Mini’s already engaging chassis and purify it so that its responses are even sharper and more enjoyable. And in this respect the Coupé succeeds, albeit to a level that will pass unnoticed by a majority of its drivers.
The dampers have been firmed up, the springs are a touch stiffer and the anti-roll bars are thicker.
The Coupé uses the same basic chassis as the Mini hatch but takes the underfloor panels from the Mini Convertible, which add greatly to the body’s stiffness but bring with them a 25kg weight penalty. That stubby rear boot deck incorporates an electrically powered rear wing that extends at speeds above 80km/h and can add, claims Mini, a useful 40kg of rear downforce.
Certainly, there’s no lack of stability – always a worry when you see carmakers adding in spoilers and wings. With the chance to give the speedometer a thorough exercise on the unrestricted German autobhans near Munich, we can report that the Coupé sits rock solid at speeds up to and above 170km/h. Not, perhaps, the most useful piece of news for Irish buyers, but still reassuring.
Find a slower, twisting stretch of road and the Coupé responds with the alacrity that we have come to expect of the Mini brand. The electric power steering, as on almost every other car fitted with such a system, robs the driver of pure road feel, but it’s weighted in a pleasingly hefty manner, and there’s no doubting the speed and accuracy with which the Coupé can be pointed into an apex. No doubting either that there are grip and poise aplenty when you do so, and proper enjoyment to be had. Far from being overly grippy and “on-rails”, it feels alive and adjustable. On the test track it can even be coaxed into a gentle four-wheel drift, if you disable the electronic safety systems, although we’d never advise doing such a thing on the public road.
And it’s that gap between on-track antics and road driving that shows up the biggest chink in the Mini Coupé’s armour. On a closed circuit, with the benefit of run-off and no oncoming traffic, you can really stretch the chassis’s ability and feel that extra stiffness and responsiveness. They are there, and it is quite brilliant.
On the road, though, restricted by speed limits and sanity, there’s just not enough of a difference between the driving experience of the Coupé and an equivalent Mini hatch to warrant the extra money and the reduction in practicality.
A Cooper S hatch, day to day, will be just as enjoyable to drive as a Cooper S Coupé, will be around €3,000 cheaper, and will still have back seats when you need them. True, the Coupé’s 280-litre boot trumps that of the Clubman estate, but personally we tend to fill our seats more than our boots.
The engine range is probably the true star of the show. In John Cooper Works form, the Mini’s 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine is putting out 211bhp. A 0-100km/h time of 6.4 seconds doesn’t sound all that exciting, but it’s the torque, and the way the Cooper S Works pulls hard in high gears, that make this not just the outstanding engine of the range but one of the most outstanding engines we’ve ever sat behind.
Most, of course, will buy a standard 122bhp Cooper Coupé, and with a sub-10 second 0-100km/h time, and 127g/km emissions, that’s probably not a bad performance compromise for Irish conditions.
Most surprising, especially on the track, was the Cooper SD diesel. Its 143bhp doesn’t sound like much, but with 305Nm of torque, the SD really flies.
For dedicated motoring fashionistas, who also fancy themselves as handy drivers, the Coupé might just make sense.
For the rest of us, the regular hatch is a far better prospect and, in real terms, every bit as invigorating to drive.
Factfile
Engine1,598cc putting out 211bhp at 6,000rpm and 280Nm of torque at 1,850rpm
L/100km (mpg)7.1 (39.7)
Emissions(motor tax) 165g/km (€447)
0-100km/h6.3 secs
Bootspace280-litres
Specificationstandard features include DTSC stability control; traction control; air conditioning; speed-sensitive power steering; rear parking sensors; height-adjustable sports seats; auxiliary-in and USB stereo connections. Optional extras include rain-sensing wipers; Xenon headlights; multifunction steering wheel; rear luggage rack; auto-dimming side and rearview mirrors; hearted seats; satnav including Google search; electronic John Cooper Works differential
Pricesstart at €23,410 for a Cooper Coupé; €27,790 for a Cooper S version; €28,410 for a Cooper SD version; and €36,440 for the range-topping John Cooper Works Coupé