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Adam Davis29 May 2015
NEWS

MINI turns Italian

Lightweight MINI Superleggera roadster concept green-lighted for production

The MINI Superleggera wowed onlookers with its open-air ambience when it was first shown on the shores of Lake Como at the incomparable Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance in 2014.

Now, European sources are saying the MINI Superleggera (Italian for ‘superlight’, a term famously used to describe Italian coach-builder Touring’s tube-frame body construction technique on iconic cars such as the Aston Martin DB4) has been given the production go-ahead, with a 2018 debut likely.

BMW/MINI board member in charge Peter Schwarzenbauer wants to refocus the MINI brand, reducing the number of variants for the third-generation vehicle and emphasising quality. It is believed none of the outlandish previous variants – including the Paceman, Coupe and even the Roadster – will be replaced.

According to sources the MINI Superleggera has had to be modified to achieve type approval, however, the production vehicle should retain the concept’s essential character and could look like this rendering.

The two-seat soft-top concept’s complex driveline, which incorporates an electric motor up front and a combustion engine to drive the rear wheels, would likely be changed to adopt the modular front/all-wheel drive third-gen production MINI platform.

As a result, expect a range of turbocharged three- and four-cylinder petrol engines for the Superleggera upon debut.

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Written byAdam Davis
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