Oxford Rolls Out the First MINI Coupe

We already knew that MINI’s latest model will be produced at the company’s plant in Cowley, so we were eagerly waiting to lay our eyes on the first MINI Coupe produced there. The Coupe has recently joined the Hatchback, Clubman and Convertible on the plant’s assembly lines, as the first unit rolled off on July 9.

The unit in question is a lightening blue MINI Coupe, designed to be shipped for a dealership in the UK, where it will be used for training dealers and mechanics in advance of customers taking delivery of their cars.

Customers who order the Coupe will have to wait until October 1st to sit behind the wheel, when the first deliveries are scheduled to begin.

“The car has a unique and strong design but still retains MINI’s exciting and distinctive go-kart fee,” stated plant managing director Jurgen Hedrich. “The aim with the MINI Coupe is to give its new owners the most thrilling MINI driving experience possible. Every aspect of the car – from the engines and chassis set up to the weight distribution and aerodynamics – is focused on delivering the optimum dynamic performance.”

The MINI Roadster is set to join the Coupe on the assembly lines in Oxford from 2012. The company invested hundreds of millions in the UK production of its next generation models, as the country is BMW Group’s fourth-largest single market in the world for sales.

“This is a great day for the Oxford plant. To see yet another model join the line-up shows just how strong demand is for MINI in the 90 markets around the world where MINIs are sold,” added Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East. “This new model, along with BMW Group’s recently-announced £500m investment into UK manufacturing, demonstrates the company’s commitment to a long-term future for Plant Oxford.”