Historically, the MINI Cooper is up there with cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Fiat 500, when it comes to iconic tiny cars. The BMW-owned MINI Cooper and its many derivatives of the 2025 model year are a fair bit different than the quintessentially British Minis from decades ago (and Mr. Bean fame), but the feeling is still there, Union Jack taillights and all.
For me personally, I've always liked the look of modern MINI Coopers, Clubmans, Countrymans, and the like , but the entire brand was a blind spot for me when it comes to actually driving them. To rectify this, BMW Group flew me out to Spartanburg, South Carolina to check out and drive one of its newest offerings in the MINI lineup, the 2025 MINI Cooper (and subsequently Cooper S) Convertible. Since I drove the new convertible on BMW's test track at its Performance Center, and given the proximity of all manner of Bavarian skunk works projects, I was not allowed to take any pictures apart from the initial reveal.
MINI also didn't announce whether or not an EV version of the convertible was coming. MINI didn't reinvent the wheel when making the 2025 MINI Cooper Convertible: It really is just a drop-top Cooper. But that's not to diminish it at all.
The Cooper is equipped with a 161 horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, while the Cooper S comes with a positively punchy 201 horsepower 2.0-liter engine.
The Cooper S, according to MINI, will do the 0-60 sprint in 6.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of a (potentially .