Spy Shots: Mini Cooper S And Clubman S On The Road

Right on schedule, Mini is preparing a mid-cycle refresh for both its Cooper and Clubman models. Both models have been in service for a few years, and as is usually the case, are getting light refreshes, mainly consisting of revised front and rear bumpers, headlights, and taillights.

The test mules observed here look to be the Cooper S and Clubman S variants. The most notable change happens with the front fascia. Look closely and you can see an additional set of intakes to the right and left of the lower grill. These intakes appear to be brake cooling ducts, or something of a similar function. In production form, the ducts should lend a healthy bit of aggression to these mid-range models.

Out back, changes to the rear bumper are difficult to identify due to BMW’s swirly camouflage, but it’s safe to assume a more aggressive design is in order to complement the changes to the front bumper.

Our spy photographer mentions that parts of the interior were also covered, so hopefully BMW will be responding to the criticism aimed at the quality of the Mini’s interior materials.

LED taillights and redesigned bi-xenon headlights complete what looks to be a surprisingly thorough refresh for BMW’s Oxford-built cars.

Scroll down for comments from our intrepid spy photographer.
 

Mini is preparing a smaller facelift for the Clubman and hatch versions showed here by a Clubman S and a Cooper S. The front bumper, especially the air intakes, will change to look more like the newly presented Mini Countryman and the rear bumper will also get a new look. If you look closely you will see that the rear lights have a different graphic and will get LEDs. We also noticed that on some of the Mini facelift prototypes the interior was covered up meaning there will also be some smaller changes to the dash board. Hopefully they will upgrade the interior with better material since the interior often has been the subject of criticism for its cheap looking materials.

Expect the 2011 Minis to be official in Paris later this year.