Mini lifts the lid on new Roadster 09 | 01 | 2012

MINI HAS REVEALED its all-new Roadster at the Detroit Motor Show today. A sister car to the recent Mini Coupé, the Roadster is set to go head-to-head with the iconic Mazda MX-5 and upcoming Citroën DS3 cabriolet.

Set to enter Mini's Scottish showroom network this Spring, the new Roadster, which will be built at Mini's plant in Oxford, will cost from £18,015 for the entry-level Cooper model.

Based largely on Mini’s existing open-top model, the Cabriolet, the Roadster is 3mm shorter, 47mm narrower and 25mm lower than the cabrio: it's 3728mm long, 1638mm wide and 1390mm tall.

But while the cabrio is a four-seater, the Roadster is most definitely a strict two-seater, with the space behind the seats is dedicated to extending luggage capacity, as in the Coupé.

As you would expect, the interior of the Roadster continues the marque's retro-inspired look, and the new car’s fabric hood features weight-saving manual operation.

See more official photos of the new Mini Roadster

The Roadster will be available with a number of power outputs, all coming from the familiar 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. In naturally aspirated guise, it kicks out 121bhp in the Cooper. That's upped to 181bhp in the Cooper S and 208bhp in the range-topping John Cooper Works models.

Scotland will also get a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Cooper SD diesel unit, delivering 141bhp. Insiders say it's capable of 0-62mph in 8.1sec, a top speed of 131mph, a combined 62.8mpg and CO2 of just 118g/km.

While a six-speed manual gearbox is standard, there's also an optional six-speed auto on all models, apart from the John Cooper Works.

Read our roadtest of the Mini Cabriolet

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars

Jim McGill