There was once a time when Mini dabbled in a Cooper-esque-looking Superleggera Roadster. That model has now turned 10 years old but still looks as fresh as when it was unveiled at the 2014 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
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Throughout its history, Mini has produced an array of notable concept vehicles. Few, however, are as awe-inspiring as the roadster design study that wowed the crowds at the 2014 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Designed in collaboration with Milan-based coachbuilder Touring Superleggera, the Mini Superleggera Vision embodied both the marque’s British heritage and Italian design flair.
“The original idea was to create a car of utmost beauty but, at the same time, look far into the future,” said Anders Warming, the then-head of Mini’s design department. “It creates unique emotional beauty in combining the past and future of the automotive industry, i.e. traditional coachwork craftsmanship and modern design styling.”
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Staying true to traditional Mini design cues, the Superleggera Vision sported a duo of round headlamps, replete with circular LED daytime-running lights, flanking a familiar, yet smaller, hexagonal front grille. The latter, closed-off item (indeed, without internal combustion propulsion, the all-electric concept didn’t require a traditional front grille) was fitted with similarly styled foglamps. Round air inlets, incorporated into the front bumper, were, however, present to lend the concept a “distinctive” touch.
A neat design element, paying homage to historic British roadsters of the past, the classic racing stripes originally applied to the bonnets of production Minis were ditched. Instead, the concept’s bonnet featured inlaid, three-dimensionally embossed racing stripes, which were finished in the same, liquid-like Como Blue hue as the hand-built aluminium bodywork. The same lightweight metal, along with carbon-fibre-reinforced elements, were also applied to the exterior. Another noteworthy design item, an elongated fin, which was crafted into the exterior, spanned the middle of the boot section sited behind the cockpit.
Although the Superleggera Vision would remain concept of what a Mini speedster could be, the one-of-a-kind open-top did usher in an item that would later become a signature design element of modern production Minis — the split-Union Jack motif.
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The Superleggera Vision’s two-seater cockpit echoed the exterior’s minimalistic design. A single, unpainted aluminium sheet, housing a central infotainment setup comprising a circular display sited between touch-enabled control panels, stretched across the dashboard. An analogue clock incorporated to the panel to the right, and the thin-rimmed, three-spoke steering wheel, sited aft the digital speedometer, added a traditional touch to the interior. An integrated camera sited between the driver and front passenger allowed occupants to capture worthwhile moments when on the road. A decade later, the latter feature can now be found in Mini’s latest products.
Find the full feature in the October 2024 issue of CAR Magazine.
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