New MINI Cooper Convertible previewed at Motor Show

At the BMW Group Pavilion at this year's Motor Show, the newest member of the MINI family was previewed ahead of its official market introduction later this year - the new MINI Cooper Convertible. 

Of course, the MINI Cooper Convertible shares a lot of the same design updates as the rest of the contemporary MINI family. These include the bolder front fascia with an octagonal grille and new trapezoidal taillights, as well as an overhauled cabin headlined by the round central instrument/infotainment screen. 

But the big news with the new Cooper Convertible is a soft-top roof with improved functionality and flexibility. It offers two choices - either opening like a sunroof, or fully retracted. And when fully retracted, there are two additional options - it can either be tucked behind the rear seats, or also been fully stowed in the luggage compartment. The soft-top can also be operated in 18 seconds, at at driving speeds of up to 30km/h.

The soft-top roof takes 18 seconds to operate, and can be done so while driving at up to 30km/h

This new MINI Cooper Convertible will offer a total of 160 litres of space in its boot, although this can be expanded to 215 litres with the top deployed. The car also comes with a wind deflector behind the driver and passenger seats to reduce wind noise and turbulence when on the go.

The new MINI Cooper Convertible is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with a power output of 201bhp and 300Nm of torque. This allows the car to complete the century sprint in 6.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 237km/h.

While previewing the new MINI Cooper Convertible, Daren Ching, Head of MINI Asia, also teased the imminent arrival of new MINI John Cooper Works models, so MINI fans should definitely keep a lookout. The new MINI Cooper Convertible is slated to be official launched in Singapore in Q4.