MINI Superleggera Vision – a blend of the Traditional with the Modern

The BMW Group celebrates the meeting of the time-honoured and the contemporary at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 with a very special concept: the MINI Superleggera™ Vision.

The open-top two-seater was created by MINI and Touring Superleggera, the tradition-steeped design and coach building house based in Milan. Fusing the tradition with the modern, the MINI Superleggera™ Vision brings together modern British design with Italian flair.

“The MINI Superleggera™ Vision elegantly perpetuates what the Classic Mini started 55 years ago: reduction to the essentials. Its energetic, minimalistic design embodies the dynamic essence of an automobile. At the same time it creates unique emotional beauty in combining the past and future of the automotive industry, i.e. traditional coachwork craftsmanship and modern design styling. It was a pleasure for me to design a concept like this.” says Anders Warming, Head of MINI Design.

The balanced proportions of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision indicate at first glance what the electrically powered roadster has to offer in terms of a driving experience: the stretched bonnet, long wheelbase and cool, short overhangs convey pure driving fun. The passenger cell is slightly set back, further underscoring the car’s dynamic impression.

The front of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision features the traditional MINI design icons: two circular headlights and a hexagonal grille provide a contemporary interpretation of features which have become firmly established over decades. The classic MINI bonnet stripes are three-dimensionally embossed and run on into high-quality polished aluminum accents. The inlaid bonnet harks back to classic British roadsters of bygone days.

The exterior and interior design of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision merge seamlessly. Only a surrounding shoulder line in polished aluminium visually separates the exterior and interior from each other.

The Center Instrument in the middle of the instrument panel draws on MINI design styling and has been extended for the MINI Superleggera™ Vision to include a touch-sensitive control element and two circular instruments with metal surrounds on the right.

In addition to the analog clock on the far right, the second framed instrument activates the camera which is integrated between the driver and front passenger seat. It has the function of capturing those particularly worthwhile moments on the road.

The sporty bucket seats are reminiscent of bygone MINI motor racing achievements and are covered in high-quality black leather.

The MINI Superleggera™ will remain as a design study at this stage with no plans for production.