New Mini Cooper S Spied On Nurburgring With Massive Center Exhaust

Mini is expected to launch its fully revamped model family this summer. The traditional hatchback now known as the Cooper will consist of electric and combustion models, both available with different power outputs. Today we can show you the Cooper S, which is the more powerful version of the hatchback with a gasoline engine under the hood.

This prototype was caught by our photographers lapping the Nurburgring with a yellow camouflage foil covering its entire body. There don’t seem to be big visual changes at the front compared to the regular Cooper model aside from the two larger air intakes that are visible at the two corners of the bumper. The wheels are a giveaway this is indeed the sportier model and there are a few interesting touches worth talking about at the back.

For starters, you might think this is the actual shape of the taillights but we’ve already seen official photos of the new Mini (see the related articles below) and they revealed the clusters will receive a new triangular shape. Also, there’s a small static spoiler attached to the rear hatch as well as a round center exhaust pipe in the middle of the bumper. We don’t know whether this would be the final layout of the exhaust system but to us, it still looks a little rough and unfinished on this prototype.

We don’t know what is under the hood of this prototype but we do know its predecessor had a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It had a peak power of 189 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque, delivered to the front wheels through either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic following the model’s 2018 facelift. For the new generation, the Cooper S will almost certainly receive some sort of electric support, which should boost those numbers a little higher. 

We’ve been catching prototypes of the next-generation Mini models for over a year now and we believe we are just a few weeks away from the official debut of the three-door hardtop model. The Cooper S could follow shortly and arrive on the market as a 2024 model.