The MINI Superleggera was an excellent concept car. It could’ve even been an excellent production car, considering it supposedly drives like a Porsche. That’s thanks to a lot of weight on the rear axle. Incredibly, we still have some morsels to share with you about the car’s engineering and design.
MINI Superleggera: the Beginning
As we’ve previously reported, the MINI Superleggera began as a lower-tier version of the BMW i8 dubbed the BMW i4. No relation, of course, to the electrified 4 Series Gran Coupe we see on sale today. Either way, the early stages of Superleggera were not quite as elegant as the car’s sheet metal might suggest. Based on conversations with Jürgen Greil, an engineer familiar with the early stages, he was “in the supermarket getting food” when he got a call to “be in Herbert Diess’ office in ten minutes.” The idea was cobbled together, despite the short notice and a deadline just three weeks away. The concept — sans any concrete design — got in front of the execs, including Diess and Ulrich Kranz. “Usually, Diess didn’t believe me,” our Greil said. “I’d prove him wrong by making it.” What ended up happening? A couple of days later, “he came back and said we would do a MINI out of it.” After that, the car took on a new life.
Anders WarmingMINI’s Chief Designer at the time, has insights into how the car evolved. As Villa d’Este 2014 approached, the MINI Superleggera became an official project. He recalls how the designers were shocked to be working on a MINI, rather than some extravagant coupe, a more obvious choice for an event like Villa. “They were thinking BMW 6 series, big stuff, la dolce vita…and here we come wanting a small MINI.” On the other hand, the MINI was, in its own way, a great fit for Villa d’Este. “The Minarri has British chic, Italian style — The Italian JobMINI driving through Rome.” After a while — and after at least one designer struggling to come to grips with the fact — the team saw the light and “got it.”
Making the Mid-Engine MINI
Warming continued to detail how the MINI Superleggera became the mid-engine marvel we know it as today. Execs wanted electric, which led the team to opt for mid-engine proportions. Minor changes from initial sketches included tweaks to the front fascia — to make it more MINI — and a rear fin a la the Jaguar D Type. The Union Jack taillights came about in this later round of tweaks, too. Which is kind of surprising when you consider it’s such an iconic part of MINI design. But then, the design originated as a BMW! “The world has told us 10 million times we should have done it,” our source said. We’re gonna tell you one more time. Of course, it wasn’t entirely for lack of trying. As you may already know, Diess took a run at KTM to help with production, but it simply was never meant to be.
As always, we encourage checking out the excellent books by Steve Saxty, available in a collection called BMW: Behind the Scenes. You can learn more about the car itself and the decisions and people that made it a reality. Well, “reality,” in the sense that at least two cars were actually built.
