Life must be hard for a high-visibility, successful, small-lineup automotive brand like Mini. Everyone loves your products, but there just aren't enough for people to buy! Our hearts bleed for you, Mini.
In any case, Mini's Teutonic overlords have been on an investment spree as of late, and the algal-bloom-like growth of Mini continues with the Mini Coupé.
Much as it may seem impractical to make a Mini with even less space, the brand has already gone to serve the potential buyers who consider Minis too small with the Clubman and Countryman. While classic Issigonis Minis may have billed themselves with space efficiency and low-cost practicality, the modern world looks to Minis for style first and size only plays into that appeal. Mini is betting that style-conscious buyers will pay a premium for even less space, and the new Mini Coupé looks like the product of such thinking.
Mini talks up the Coupé's bespoke suspension set-up, roof spoiler, and rigid body, presumably trying to keep the car's image as butch as possible. Only time will tell if Mini Coupés will live lives of autocrosses and Sunday drives, or if they're be just another high-style boulevardier. Either way, Mini is hedging its bets with its extensive customization program, "Mini Yours", which also debuts here at Frankfurt. Full of little accessories and limited-edition models, Mini Yours will cater to those who just want as much style as possible in as small a package as possible.
Some of us at Jalopnik find this look-at-me aggression a little frat boyish, but it is hard to fault a manufacturer for designing and building a sporty coupe with even a partially bespoke body. The world is a richer place when it's full of strange little Coupés that look like they've got they're flat-brim hats on backwards. It may be a silly car, but the world could use more silly cars, and if Mini's past success is anything to go buy, the buying public will support the brand's growth.