Written by: Jan Tuček
Bored waiting for spring? The Mini Cabrio, a little four-seat covertible, might lift your spirits. It may look like a toy, but it’s no joke on the road.
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THIS CUTE LITTLE (just 3.6 meter-long) car, with its up-front, transversely mounted engine and front-wheel-drive, is a successor to the renowned line of hardtop Minis from Oxford, Britain. Although most competitors are betting on metal and glass combinations, the Mini Cabrio remains true to the classic fabric folding roof. Its automated mechanism folds the roof back in just 15 seconds, and it takes the same amount of time to open it up. The folding part of the roof over the front seats is 40 cm long and can be folded back separately – you can drive up to 120 km/h with it folded back. But with the roof closed or completely open, the Mini Cabrio can tear along a lot faster – it just depends on how much you want to invest in your little “toy”.
The Mini One Cabrio, with a 1.6 l, 90 hp (66 kW) engine, lists for CZK 585,000 and reaches 175 km/h, giving the driver and three passengers all the joys of a convertible. The middle of the line is the Mini Cooper Cabrio for CZK 645,000, whose four-cylinder, 1.6 l engine, tuned to 115 hp (85 kW), reaches a top speed of 193 km/h. For lovers of really sporty performance, there is the top-of-the-line Mini Cooper S Cabrio, with a 170 hp (125 kW) engine and a sticker price of CZK 789,000. This model sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds and flirts with 215 km/h. The many optional accessories include leather seats for CZK 42,680, a state-of-the-art navigation system for CZK 79,440, and many other beautiful and mainly useful features. So the price of the best-equipped Mini Cooper S Cabrio can easily exceed a million crowns.
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