LeftLane says the Superleggera is greenlighted for 2019 while
Car Throttle discusses the strategy and says, in part:
Speaking to Autocar, Mini boss Peter Schwarzenbauer said: "We are now working hard to get it on the street. It’s an economically challenging project and there is no firm decision, but we have a lot of people here that are fighting for it.”
So it’s not definite, but it’s certainly sounding very promising. It will be a very different kettle of fish to the MX-5, though. It’s anticipated that the lower-powered models - which will almost certainly feature BMW’s 1.5-litre turbocharged three-pot - are going to be front-wheel drive. It won’t be the first front-driving car to take on the RWD MX-5; Fiat’s pretty Barchetta did that during its two production runs between 1995 and 2005.
