The MINI Superleggera Vision is a heart-achingly beautiful roadster with a huge dollop of Britishness and a touch of Italian flair.
MINI are continually evolving the brand, producing cars that garner huge praise from around the world and an equally large following. They have once again hit the mark with the Vision, a car that has been produced by two great names in the automotive world. The capabilities and reputation of the BMW Group will mean that you’re virtually guaranteed to have a product of quality. However, it’s not just cast iron quality that makes a design classic, you also need some flair. The other part of this collaboration comes in the form of Superleggerra, an iconic name in the Italian motoring industry with 90 years of coach building skill and design behind them. More often than not, combining two companies in the same industry usually results in more misses than hits, but this time it’s worked out perfectly and the end result is an automotive masterpiece.
The perfectly balanced proportions indicate at first glance what the electrically powered MINI Superleggera™ Vision has to offer in terms of a driving experience: the stretched bonnet, long wheelbase and cool, short overhangs convey pure driving fun. As in every MINI, the wheels are set widely on the body, promising a high degree of agility. The passenger cell is slightly set back, further underscoring the car’s dynamic impression. The overall effect of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision is sporty, elegant and dynamic.
The front of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision features the traditional MINI design icons: two circular headlights and a hexagonal grille define the unmistakable front section, providing a contemporary interpretation of features which have become firmly established over decades. There are also striking classic sports car elements such as a wide track and distinctively curved wheel arches that give the front a dynamic presence. 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.
Meanwhile the horizontal rib look of the radiator grille adds a classic sporty touch. The fact that it is closed is a discreet indication of the car’s electric motor. The two fog lights echo the circular contours of the headlamps, providing a smaller interpretation of them in the radiator grille. The air inlets are also circular, giving the front section a distinctive touch. A flat front splitter made of carbon fibre closes off the front to the road, thereby underscoring the car’s sporty statement down to the last detail.
In its styling and in the look and feel of its materials, the interior design celebrates the tradition and the essence of classic coachwork construction. It reflects how the automobile was created: the essential features are quoted – the untreated aluminium sheeting and the tube-shaped structural elements – and they are made visible in the interior by means of a high-quality interpretation. This is most striking in the dashboard. The latter is created from a single aluminium sheet and has been left in the state the automobile body would look like without a paint finish. The generously sized unpainted surfaces and the clearly visible hand craftsmanship of the dashboard go together to reflect the skilled artistry of the coach builders. The doors and the sporty 3-spoke steering wheel likewise reveal the traditional method of construction. The structural elements in the doors form a Union Jack, discreetly indicating the British origins of the MINI Superleggera™ Vision.
We absolutely love the looks of the MINI Superleggera Vision and thinks it’s one of the best styled cars we’ve seen in quite a while, in fact we would go as far as stating that that this is the most beautiful car unveiled in 2014 thus far.