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Preview: 2005 MINI Cooper Convertible
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| Open-air driving, go-kart fun |
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| Updated |
Mar 17, 2005 19:41:50 |
| Rating |
0 | | Author | Brian Chee |
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Description:
2005 MINI Cooper Convertible
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The 2005 MINI Cooper Convertible. Changes to the convertible version of MINI include structural reinforcements to the chassis and a pair of roll bars for better safety, and a slightly changed front end.
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2005 MINI Cooper Convertible. The convertible version also ushers in two new colors -- Hot Orange and Cool Blue. Anti-lock brakes and electronic brake distribution are standard, and stability control/traction control will be available as options.
2005 MINI Cooper Convertible. By pressing the roof-opening button, the driver first opens the sliding roof, then the complete soft roof.
Jack Pitney stood there, hands at his sides, sweltering in the suit-cloaked April heat with a wry smile. The MINI Cooper was barreling down on him, top down, tires smoking and still, Pitney did not budge - even when the MINI hit a hard 180 and slid to a stop mere feet from the US MINI boss.
Then he laughed.
"Introducing the first-ever street-legal go-kart," said Pitney, and the assembled entourage of wilting journalists at the 2004 New York International Auto Show laughed aloud with him, though chances are good that it wasn't his joke that made them laugh - they were surely thinking about the joy to be had on a sunny Spring day spent driving a MINI Cooper Convertible.
Yeah. MINI, perhaps the most fun and exciting new vehicle to come stateside for at least a year or two, now gets sunshine for about a $5,000 option premium. The MINI convertible is a four-seat soft top that features a steeply raked front windshield, and a fully automatic "sliding" top. By pressing the roof-opening button, the driver first opens the sliding roof, then the complete soft roof. While opening, the sliding roof moves back horizontally, and may be set to any desired position. Since the sliding roof opens completely from one side of the car to the other, the new open-air model provides a taste of convertible motoring right from the start in this initial position. This enables the driver to operate the top while driving at a speed of up to 75 mph. Changes to the convertible version of MINI include structural reinforcements to the chassis and a pair of roll bars for better safety, and a slightly changed front end. First up will be the Cooper, at 115 horsepower, and later MINI will introduce the convertible into the S model. The convertible version also ushers in two new colors -- Hot Orange and Cool Blue. Anti-lock brakes and electronic brake distribution are standard, and stability control/traction control will be available as options.
Mmmmm -- hot orange. In America, that color would probably only sell on a MINI. Then again, there are many things about MINI that defy common American maxims, such as Bigger is Always Better and SUVs are the Kings of All Things. MINI, after all, was expected to sell one or two cars stateside when it debuted two years ago. They sold 36,000 and are closing in on 70,000 since introduction, and now this - a uniquely American MINI, complete with sun and wind, built for the American market with inspiration from what Pitney cites as the British convertibles of the 50s and 60s - that "passion for the open air cars of the UK."
Here's hoping the MINI Cooper convertible reliability takes its inspiration from BMW, and it's desire for fun from those classic British convertibles of yesterday.
---Story by Brian Chee
---Photos courtesy of BMW North America |
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