A front wheel drive Triumph would be just about as big a sacrilege as a rear wheel drive Mini Cooper, and even with the name, would do little to attract the true roadster crowd that buys MX-5s. Would Jaguar produce a two seater convertible in FWD...or who would buy a FWD topless Corvette?
I kinda like the looks of it, kinda how I kinda like the looks of the current Roadster. This is just an updated version of it. Not enough difference to it for me..That could easlily be the next Gen Roadster with the slanted back headlights just like the newer Coopers coming out... If it is going to be a stand alone car make sure it STANDS alone... Once MINI came out with other models I see no reason to have to keep them to the Cooper heritage. They are so far from it now with the Cooper why bother worrying about it with the different models.. Make the new "sports car" RWD they have the technology of course so just do it.. Sure some will gripe about it in the beginning but if it is a good car that's all that matters, assuming it sells...if not it's back to the drawing board in 4-5 years, just like now..
It would be too expensive to make a one-off rear wheel drive niche car that would sell in relatively low volumes--not going to happen.
The second part of the statement, that some of us would complain about a new r53, is 100% wrong, so that gives me 50 %. The first part, that 50% of us would complain about any Mini other than an R53, is actually wrong too,; 97.6% of us would still complain , but I thought I'd be diplomatic and ignore that. So half of 97.6 is 48.8%, add that to 50%, and the reality is he was 98.8% wrong. So you are actually pretty close in your estimate. On the other hand, 157.6% of people on these boards don't give a rats' ass about these stats, and an even higher percentage have my account on their ignore list, so I guess none of it really matters.
Put it on the Z4 platform.. and don't us the MINI name plate like the special edition Genesis Coupe ( I think it is ) that doesn't have the Hyundai logo on it..
And then of course there is the super secret joint sportscar venture between MINI and Toyota.... Called the "Miataeater".......and itsa hybrid too....
I agree with you, but it would really fly as a marketing tool for $elling these things. Many folks have little idea of what a sports car really is or what Triumph was for that matter. They'd sell as Triumph's for $ure. Lots of folks would love them & some other's would birch like hell. :wink:
I love the idea. Is the current MINI, VW or Fiat like the original? Of course not, but close enough to remind you of one. Bringing back the Triumph name and coming close in looks, would sell well, just as Crash said. Sure, there would be some die hards out there complaining, but they don't have to buy one. We all know that the "complainers" are a large percentage of the members on forums, but not of the buying public.
Funny how often ignorant half baked ideas and slide rule engineered milspec hard data dovetails into information that makes perfect sense but rarely gets us anywhere.