Already a classic: The last MINI Convertible of the current generation comes off the production line.

Global success story with around 164,000 units produced.


Munich. Style icon, global player, "value master" and now already a classic.
Now that around 164,000 units have been produced, the MINI Convertible of the
current generation has reached the end of its production period. As planned,
the MINI plant in Oxford ceased production of the open-top four-seater. The
final specimen - a MINI Cooper S Convertible Sidewalk painted in metallic White
Silver has been sold to a MINI fan in the USA. In the land of limousines, the
nimble little automobile with the electrically folding soft top has won over a
very loyal group of fans. Only on its domestic market of Great Britain and
Ireland were more units of the MINI Convertible sold in the past four years
than in the USA.

Similar to the MINI and MINI Clubman, the MINI Convertible has long since
established itself as a globally successful model. Although around 77 percent
of the total sales in the production period are attributable to the five major
automobile markets - in addition to Great Britain and Ireland plus the USA,
these are Germany, Italy and Japan - there are only a few untapped areas on the
map of the distribution network. Australia and Canada also rank among the top
ten of the MINI Convertible bastions and particularly high growth rates were
recently recorded in China and Russia. The fascination of the open-top two-door
automobile enchants people everywhere - irrespective of cultural differences
and weather conditions. In chilly Scandinavia, almost twice as many people
drive the MINI Convertible than in fair-weathered Greece; in Austria, there are
at least five-times as many MINI Convertible drivers than in sunny Portugal.

At the Oxford plant, employees said a rather emotional farewell to the MINI
Convertible. "For us, this is the end of an era", said Plant Director Oliver
Zipse. "It is a great joy to build a car and know exactly how much fun
customers will have with it". Due to the constant rise in demand, the British
plant has until further notice reserved its manufacturing capacities for the
models MINI and MINI Clubman.

Since spring 2004, the MINI Convertible has been built with three engine
variants in Oxford. With more than 79,500 units, the bestselling edition was
the 85 kW/115 bhp MINI Cooper Convertible, followed by the MINI Cooper S
Convertible (125 kW/170 bhp), with around 56,500 units, and the MINI One
Convertible (66 kW/90 bhp), with around 28,000 vehicles.

The MINI Convertible inspires fashion designers and Hollywood stars.
Right from the outset, the MINI Convertible established itself as a guarantor
for driving enjoyment that evokes desire and inspires imagination. At the
market launch of the new MINI in 2001, many fans were already longing for an
open-top model, which at this time was already being very carefully developed
under the aegis of the BMW Group, to be launched just three years later. The
new body variant added a further facet to the unique MINI feeling. The brand's
typical sporty handling was now successfully combined with stylish open-air
driving enjoyment. The aura of the MINI Convertible also inspired the fashion
industry. At the sales launch, designers of the Italian lifestyle label Bisazza
had the idea to enrobe the MINI Convertible in a dress of tesserae. More than
30,000 glass stones were used for this purpose. The result was radiant and
unique design specimens. In the following years, further lifestyle and fashion
labels created special designs as a result of the inspiration of the MINI
Convertible.
Just one year ago, the MINI Convertible even became a Hollywood star. In the
comedy "The Heartbreak Kid", the leading roles, played by Malin Akerman and Ben
Stiller, went on honeymoon with it. The open-top MINI Cooper became a stage for
lively dialogues and amusing disputes between the two newlyweds.

A very special MINI, an extraordinary Convertible.
The two-door vehicle secures its position as a very special MINI and an
extraordinary Convertible with numerous unique features. Thanks to an
integrated sliding roof function, the soft top can be opened 40 cm wide, even
while driving up to a speed of 75 mph. In just 15 seconds, the soft top can be
completely folded up behind the back seat.

Under the tailgate of the MINI Convertible, when the roof is closed, there is a
boot that is 165 litres in volume. Its load capacity is an impressive 400
kilograms. And with the Easy-Load-System, even bulky luggage can be
effortlessly stored by folding up the back part of the top and using the large
opening to the luggage compartment to pass through the luggage. In conjunction
with the fold-down back seats, the storage space can even be expanded to up to
605 litres.

The mixture of driving enjoyment, cleverly devised details, premium quality and
expressive design have given the MINI Convertible a lead in the popularity
stakes, which remained constant up until the end of its production period and
will not wane even afterwards. The assessments of independent market experts,
which give the MINI Convertible an unusually stable value rating, already
indicate this. Back in 2007, the MINI Convertible was already dubbed the "value
master" of all classes by the industry magazine "Auto Bild". This was based on
the pre-calculated residual value of 70 percent of the new price after three
years. In the current ranking for 2008, the value stability of the MINI
Convertible is only surpassed by one "competitor" from its own brand: the
current MINI Cooper.