MINI Previews New Coupé, Publishes Information on Lineup and 131 Photos

We’re still more than three months away from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but the BMW Group has already begun dropping information and photos of the models it plans to introduce at the show. Following the presentation of the all-new 2012 BMW 1-Series hatchback during the weekend, today the Bavarian group unleashed specifications and a large gallery of photos of the MINI Coupé.

While the model seen in the official pictures is partially covered in the firm’s characteristic swirly camouflage, it’s clear that the production version has barely changed from the 2009 concept car. Pictured here in John Cooper Works (JCW) form, the top-end Coupé hangs on to the concept’s sportier aero package that includes modified front and rear bumpers, side skirts and extended wheel arches that leave room for larger alloy wheels. The Coupé is also the first MINI to get an active rear spoiler that extends automatically at 80 km/h (50 mph).

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SCOOP: 2012 MINI Coupe JCW Remains Remarkably Faithful to Concept Model

Given that BMW Group officials recently confirmed that MINI’s new coupe model will arrive in the market before the end of the year, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that the company is gradually stripping away the camouflage from its test cars. Spotted here by our scoop photographers in Germany, is the most potent version of the MINI Coupe lineup, the John Cooper Works model that’s easily distinguished by the aggressive body kit with the flared wheel arches and muscular bumpers.

MINI first showed the Coupe and Roadster models through a pair of concept cars at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. As predicted, the production version of the Coupe has stayed remarkably faithful to that show car’s design. In fact, with the exception of some very minor details such as the grille and the tail lamp crystals, nothing else has changed, including the shape of the top that’s supposed to resemble a baseball hat worn backwards.

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