Rather than discreetly...
Rather than discreetly snapping the newcomer ahead of its launch, bosses decided official photography should take place somewhere spectacular. So this undisguised Cooper S Cabrio charged into the centre of London complete with a police escort as part of a photoshoot for a new sales brochure.
Unsurprisingly, the convoy turned heads and caught the eye of an Auto Express reader, who wasted no time in grabbing these shots - and hung around until after dark to get some more - much to the surprise and annoyance of the car"s minders. "They asked me to hand over the film. I told them I was within my rights as we were in a public place," said our reader - who asked to remain anonymous - quite correctly.
These pictures are the first to clearly reveal the showroom-ready Cabriolet, roof down and with the 2004 facelift. The convertible, as well as the revisions to the rest of the range, will debut at March"s Geneva Motor Show. Thankfully, engineers have opted to keep the sliding roof panel, revealed in our issue 726 scoop shots. This will be fitted to all Cabriolets, which come in One, Cooper and Cooper S trim. After its debut, the car will go on sale in the summer, probably with a premium of nearly í‚á£2,500 over the standard MINI - so the flagship Cooper S will cost nearly í‚á£17,000.