Smile for the camera: New Mini Cooper spied minus any disguise

With current focus being on the New York International Auto Show that kicks off soon, United States time, Mini has chosen Los Angeles as the city for the photoshoot of the all-new Cooper.

While only due to go on sale in May next year, the latest images to emerge online are in fact spy pictures of the first all-new Mini in almost a decade during what appears to be a television commercial shoot in the City of Angels.

Same at the front…

Depicted in Cooper S E guise being tailed by a heavily blacked-out first generation Porsche Cayenne camera vehicle, the undisguised images shows the Mini being very much an evolution of the current model at first glance.

Besides the retention of the familiar Mini silhouette, the still rounded headlights have been subtly revised internally and the grille made noticeably bigger with a distinct squared-off design.

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As reported earlier this year, the Cooper, a nameplate that now becomes part of the official designation as opposed to past generations being called the Mini Hatch, will again be offered as a five-door or the pictured three-door, in addition to a convertible.

.. a new sight at the rear

The similarities with the current F55 stops here though as at the rear, and in accordance with spy images uncovered last year, Mini has completely restyled the facia where a X-motif has been applied to the light clusters.

Connected by a central bar minus any illumination, the production model also sports a prominent Cooper S badging, which, as a result of being yellow, identifies the model used in the shoot as the all-electric versions, a trait further illustrated by the lack of exhaust outlets.

Two factories

As widely known by now, the electric model won’t be made alongside the regular internal combustion engine model as the Mini plant in Oxford, but rather in a China and on an electrically optimised platform co-developed by parent company BMW and Great Wall Motors (GWM).

EV takes prominence

A configuration Munich itself will adopt for the next generation 3 Series, the combustion Cooper will reportedly come standard with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system across the entire range, while the EV will have a choice of two batteries; a 40-kWh option and the bigger 54-kWh that will power the Cooper S E.

For the first time, an electric John Cooper Works model will exist, allegedly with as much as 184 kW in preparation for Mini moving towards an all-electric future by 2030.

Arrival

Initially, only the electric will be offered, followed in July by the combustion model as reported by Britain’s Autocar last month.

For South Africa, expect a date-of-reveal either next year or even in 2025 if seen fit by BMW. Until then though, don’t be surprises if more images and possibly official details emerge either as teasers or as further spy shots.

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