The compact open-top two-seater was introduced as part of MINI’s second-generation small-car family and reached showrooms for the 2012 model year. It was developed alongside the fixed-roof coupé, with both cars aimed at drivers who wanted a more focused, more style-led alternative to the standard MINI hatchback and convertible. In MINI’s own positioning, it was the brand’s first open-top two-seat model, giving the nameplate a distinct place in the lineup rather than functioning as a simple trim variation.
Built at MINI Plant Oxford, the car carried the familiar MINI design language into a lower, more compact roadster format with a soft top and a stronger emphasis on two-seat packaging and luggage practicality than many small sports cars of its era. It was offered in the familiar Cooper-badged family structure, including the standard version, Cooper S, Cooper SD in some markets, and John Cooper Works, which tied the model to MINI’s longstanding performance and motorsport identity.
The roadster’s life was relatively brief. MINI confirmed in 2015 that production of the two-seater coupé and roadster models was ending as the brand moved through a generational change in its lineup. That gives the car a clear and finite production window: a niche, enthusiast-focused MINI that arrived in the early 2010s and departed just a few years later, remembered for combining the brand’s character with a more specialized open-air sports-car format.