New petrol MINI Cooper can’t hide from us during testing

MINI’s retro supermini is returning with electric and petrol power

Alongside the newly-unveiled all-electric Cooper EV, MINI will also launch a petrol-powered version of the new car and although it’ll look the same, the ICE MINI will be on a different platform. 

We’ve spotted the new Cooper testing in hatchback and cabriolet guise and it’s clear the new car will be a heavy update of the F56-generation MINI launched in 2014 – so much will change that MINI has even given it a new ‘F66’ designation. 

The exterior redesign will see it borrow elements from the new-look Cooper EV, but given this is a facelift, core elements such as lighting and panels positioning won’t be able to change all that much. The larger front overhang and stubby rear bumper are traits taken from the all-electric model, however. 

We can also see holes punched into the upper and lower grilles for cooling the internal-combustion engine and horizontal strakes on the headlights. On the hatchback there are also visible side air intakes. To the side, the retro-styled wheel arches remain underneath the camouflage and there’s a new rear bumper, too. The rear light cluster will retain the Union Jack display but the signature will be more pixelated. 

The sporty Cooper S variant will still be offered and we’ve seen it testing with a single-exit central exhaust, as opposed the the central dual-tip previous Cooper S and JCW models have featured. 

The new Cooper won’t get the FAAR platform utilised on the EV model – despite that architecture’s being able to accommodate ICE powertrains. Instead, we expect a revised version of the current UKL1 platform. EV versions of the MINI Cooper will be built in China, petrol-engined three- and five-door MINI Coopers and the cabriolet will continue to be built in Oxford. 

We also expect to see the current range of engines carried over with a mix of turbocharged three- and four-cylinder units. We’ve seen JCW trim levels of the new EV and this range-topping variant is likely to be retained on the petrol model, potentially with the same 228bhp, 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder. 

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