AutoGuide.com

After a long list of successful new product launches, MINI is admitting a rare defeat on two of its current models.

“The Coupe and the Roadster will actually go out of production next year,” said MINI USA product boss Patrick McKenna speaking to AutoGuide at the LA Auto Show last week. “They’ve run their life cycle,” he said.

The car was critiqued for being too similar to existing MINI models. With the hard-top and convertible versions already available, the Coupe and Roadster attempted to distinguish themselves with unique design. Sharing the platform, interior and engine options with the existing models and costing a premium, consumers never warmed to the new offerings.

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With their demise rumored for a year now, McKenna says the move is part of a larger “superhero strategy,” that MINI USA is enacting. The plan will be to put the focus on higher volume models rather than mining niche products like its parent company BMW.

Included in this strategy is the launch of the new 4-door model that’s designed to appeal to those who find the 2-door model too constricting.

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