Lifting the lid on the Mini

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), May 23, 2003

An open-top Mini is to be produced with sales starting in the UK next year.

Confirmation of a Mini convertible came from Helmut Panke, chief executive of German car giant BMW which now builds the car.

A BMW spokeswoman said: "There has been a lot of interest in a Mini convertible and now it is going ahead."

Produced at Cowley in Oxford, the Mini has proved a big success since BMW launched a new look for the old marque in summer 2001.

Cowley turned out 160,000 Minis last year and UK sales hit 35,000. Around 200,000 have been sold since summer 2001.

There are currently three 1.6 litre versions of the Mini, the start-of-the-range Mini One, the Mini Cooper and the Mini Cooper S. A fourth Mini, a diesel-powered 1.4 litre Mini One D, goes on sale next month.

It is not yet known which versions will also be offered as convertibles.

But an open-top Mini will be more expensive than the Mini One which is around pounds 10,400.