Roadster set for production

The Mini Superleggera roadster has reportedly been given the green light for production. It follows the successful debut of the Superleggera Vision concept at last year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy. BMW Group design senior vice-president, Adrian van Hooydonk, describes the concept as “an elegant automobile that interprets a British roadster under the influence of Italian style and hand craftsmanship” He adds: “The Vision perpetuates what the classic Mini started 55 years ago – reduction to the essentials. Its energetic, minimalistic design embodies the dynamic essence of an automobile.” Mini is in the midst of a shake-up, dumping the Paceman, Roadster and Coupe models to focus on five core “superhero” cars. They include the new Cooper and five-door and convertible variants, the upcoming new Clubman wagon and the next-generation Countryman crossover. All new Minis will be based on the modular front-wheel-drive architecture that underpins the current three and five-door models, and will share the brand’s new family of three and four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol and diesel engines.