The 2014 Mini Cooper S has been spied completely undisguised during a photo shoot in California, revealing the exterior styling of the new compact sports car in full.
The images, captured by CarAdvice’s spy photographers, uncover the third-generation Mini Cooper a little over seven weeks before it is due to make its international debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November.
The front end of the 2014 Mini Cooper takes inspiration from Mini Rocketman concept of 2011, sporting attention-grabbing horseshoe-shaped LED daytime running light rings encircling the new headlamps and a prominent bumper beam in the lower half of the grille.
A more heavily raked windscreen and a more angled roofline create sportier lines and lead to a rear end that boasts characterful Paceman-style tail-lights.
The Cooper S variant in these images is defined by its bonnet intake, front sports bumper with unique fog lights and intakes, double-spoke alloy wheels, roof-mounted rear spoiler, and rear diffuser with twin central exhaust outlets.
Though not visible in these images, the 2014 Mini’s new interior has been uncovered in an earlier spy shot that confirmed the third-generation family will trade the current car’s centre-mounted speedometer for a more conventional instrument cluster layout behind the steering wheel.
The spy shots surface just hours after Mini announced details of the new car’s drivetrains and chassis. The 2014 Mini Cooper S will be powered by a turbocharged 141kW/280Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine – up 6kW/40Nm over the current 1.6-litre turbo.
The new generation will also debut BMW Group’s three-cylinder engine family, initially comprising two turbocharged 1.5-litre units: a 100kW/220Nm petrol and an 85kW/270Nm diesel.
All three engines will be available when the new Mini Cooper hatch goes on sale in Australia around March/April 2014.
