F66 MINI Cooper Debut is Coming, Here’s what We Know and When We’ll See it

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The last ever combustion MINI is Coming and we have Details on the Car, It’s Debut Timing and When We’ll see it at Dealers

The MINI brand is going electric. But not quite yet. MINI has one more generation of internal combustion MINI Cooper’s planned and its debut is imminent. The F66 MINI Cooper will be heavily based on the F56 generation while taking on the design language and technology found in the new electric J01 MINI Cooper. In short it will look and feel completely new to 99% of the buying public.

This move by MINI isn’t an easy one. The J01 electric MINI Cooper is on an entirely new platform while the F66 will still technically be based on BMW’s FAAR platform. The result will be a car that, deep underneath has the F56 mechanicals while have a look and feel that is almost all new.

Almost because there will be some tell-tale signs of the F56 underneath. Based on the spy photography the clamshell bonnet and the plastic wheel arches that have become iconic will still be there along with the overall shape and more upright windshield.

Our latest photos show the F66 without the heavy camouflage we’ve seen on its front and year lights. For the first time this allows us to see some of the final details of the design including the controversial rear taillights.

As you can see below MINI will offer the same lineup that we see in the F56 generation. That means three distinct MINI Cooper models ranging from the iconic two door hatch to the four door hatch and finally the convertible.

F66 MINI Cooper (three door)	F65 MINI Cooper (five door)	F67 MINI Cooper Convertible
Cooper 2-door hardtop (ICE)	Cooper 4-door hardtop (ICE)	Cooper Convertible (F67)
Cooper S 2-door hardtop (ICE)	Cooper S 4-door hardtop (ICE)	Cooper S Convertible (F67)
Cooper JCW 2-door hardtop (ICE)		Cooper JCW Convertible (ICE)

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine / EV = Electric Vehicle

MINI’s goal will be to make the ICE (internal combustion engine) F66 Cooper and electric J01 Cooper to look identical to the casual observer. That would mean a potential buyer would be choosing ICE versus EV without styling differences to muddy the waters. This will extend to almost every aspect of the cars. That means we’ll see (almost) identical wheels, mirrors and of course lighting. However these are substantially different cars underneath and that means we’d expect most if not all of these parts will not be interchangeable.

There will be plenty of changes to get used to. The manual is gone from the option book as is an exposed exhaust, unless you opt for the JCW model. And even then it will get a single large pipe vs the double it’s had since the R53. The automatic gear lever moves to the dash and next to it will be a start/stop switch shaped like a key. Leather is also gone replaced with a rich synthetic leather called Vescin. And in the middle of it all will be MINI’s new circular screen and MINIOS9.

For much more on the F66 read our entire section already devoted to the car with articles and videos detailing the it and its five door and convertible siblings.

The F66 MINI Cooper Debut and Production Dates

The F66 will debut next week with orders starting almost immediately afterwards. A few weeks later production will begin in March at Oxford with European deliveries scheduled for late March while US customers will have to wait until late April.

Despite MINI’s talk of going electric with the all new J01 Cooper, the F66 is expected to have a full production run currently scheduled to end on 12/30.

Model	Production Location	Power	Year	Prod. Month	On-Sale Date
MINI Cooper S 2-door hardtop (F66)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Mar, 2024	May, 2024
MINI Cooper 2-door hardtop (F66)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Jul, 2024	Sep, 2024
MINI Cooper S 4-door hardtop (F65)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Jul, 2024	Sep, 2024
MINI Cooper 4-door hardtop (F65)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Nov, 2024	Jan, 2025
MINI Cooper Convertible (F67)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Nov, 2024	Jan, 2025
MINI Cooper S Convertible (F67)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Nov, 2024	Jan, 2025
MINI Cooper JCW Convertible (F67)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Nov, 2024	Jan, 2025
MINI JCW 2-door hardtop (F66)	Oxford, England	Internal Combustion	2025	Nov, 2024	Jan, 2025

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