Because you blog readers asked for it according to this quote from Director of MINI Design Gert Hildebrand:
New ideas never come from the board offices; they come from the floor of the design studio. BMW does trend analysis a lot and every three months we talk to Mini representatives from all over the world to discuss the needs of our clients. But we were never asked to do a coupé. We’re close followers of blogs and so forth, and we just felt that people would like the idea of a car like this.
The coupé will be launched as a Cooper S and a JCW initially and will have specifications to please the enthusiast. With over a 200 lbs. weight reduction over the MINI Cooper, mainly as a result of the all aluminium roof, this will be the fastest MINI ever produced by the factory. Production is expected to occur in 2011 or 2012 and the car will likely be priced about the same as a MCS Convertible. Add 8 to 10% more for the Speedster.
[Source: MotoringFile]
