Complimenting the Mini Coupe Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show is another two-seater, this time minus a roof. A roadster version of the Mini has been rumored and rendered for quite some time (and teased in some bizarro videos), and now the Mini Roadster Concept has finally arrived in the flesh. Similar in character to the Coupe Concept, the Roadster focuses on fun behind the wheel with a sportier approach to the Mini way of motoring.
In the case of the Roadster Concept, ditching the standard Mini's rear seat not only focuses the vehicle as a sports car, it also provides a place for the manually folding canvas roof to stow. Due to the compact design of the top, luggage capacity remains unchanged whether the top is down or up, and a luggage pass-through door from passenger compartment to trunk allows occupants to reach stowed luggage from inside the car.
The 1.6L twin-scroll turbocharged engine from the Cooper S finds its way under the Roadster Concept's bonnet to provide 175 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque (192 lb-ft with the Overboost function that temporarily raises boost pressure during spirited driving). Visually, the shorter, more aggressively raked windscreen and higher waistline of the Mini Roadster Concept immediately distinguish it as being different from the four-seater Minis, while the car's reconfiguration also allows for even sportier road holding and driving qualities, according to Mini.
Could the Mini Roadster be coming soon to a road near you? That will largely depend on a positive reaction here in Frankfurt.