Fifty years ago today, the original MINI made its public debut to the world. To celebrate this milestone, MINI has just revealed their MINI Coupe Concept. Based on the same R56 platform as the regular MINI, the Coupe still differs in several important ways.Firstly, out go the back two seats, leaving just the two useful ones. Next up is the Citroen DS3-aping floating roof. Looks like the compact wars are heating up! And just in time too because more and more people want to reduce their emissions, or at least be seen to. Meaning that companies who can produce interesting cars that don’t consume a lot have the best chance for success going forward. At least in Western Europe where most of these will be sold.

As usual with “concepts” these days, don’t be fooled by the moniker. This design looks plenty production ready and it should be in showrooms in the next 18 months.

Engine will most likely be the same 1.6L units we already see in the MINI as well as some diesel options no one cares about.

Getting back to that floating roof bit, because it’s clearly the most interesting aspect of the Coupe Concept, it appears as if the B and C pillars have been blacked out and the image above gives a clear view of the tinted glass that separates them. I’m glad to see that it isn’t just a solid pillar because that would be an absolute nightmare for shoulder-checking.

So, would you buy a slightly less practical, slightly better-looking MINI? Chime off in the comments section.

[Autoblog]