RICHBOY

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The man behind the MINI's launch in 2001, Jack Pitney, is heading up the marketing effort for BMW's new 1-series in the U.S., and he's hoping that the same warm reception granted to the MINI will be duplicated with the new 1.

A first run of anything, whether it's a comic or a car, seems to carry a certain amount of cachet. So BMW is planning on adding special badging, a certificate of authenticity and a special book outlining the coupe's development to all 1-series models sold in the States during its first year.

Enthusiasts have already made their voice heard on the 'Net, with over 100,000 people signing up for updates on the 1-series through BMW's website. The automaker is hoping that interest will turn into preorders, and is expecting that a high percentage of 1-series coupes will already be sold before they hit dealers this spring.

They mine as well stop selling mini's when this thing hits the US market!

EMpower

Does that mean it will star in some Italian job kind of movie?

atuv

I don't get this,BMW owns MINI so why wanna kill it? they can offer the 1er but away from MINI's segment.

Beemer B773ER

Just curious guys, does the 1er Coupe actually come in a non-M kit variant?

The only pics I've seen of this car are with that sporty look, so will there be a 'normal' version that shares design cues to the normal 1er?

As for BMW's aim of creating a sales frenzy for this car... BMW is definately a very innovative company in terms of marketing, so you can be sure they'll create the required buzz and in the end get the waiting list pretty lengthy!

When exactly will the 1er Coupe be on sale in the US?

Centurion

Don't worry about it. Some people got it twisted. The Mini only has two competitors and those are the Fiat 500 and the dated VW Beetle.

Beemer B773ER

The thread title is very misleading. BMW isn't trying to kill off the Mini with the 1er Coupe, they are just aiming to get the same amount of buzz and sales success for the new 1er Coupe that they did when the Mini was introduced. They've got the same guy who promoted the Mini to now work on marketing the new 1er Coupe.

So in simple, they want the 1er Coupe to be as successful as the Mini was for the BMW Group. Nothing about killing the Mini brand as the thread title implies.

Tycoon

atuv

^i knew it,MINI is just too successful for BMW to kill it,i just thought that it wanted their very own 1er to compete with MINI,the 1er will be significantly more expensive than the MINI i guess.135i will be twice as expensive as the 1.6l MINI S.

SCOTT27

The 123d Coupe which made it's debut on the first day of the IAA is without M aerodynamic package . The Coupe is designed to be a Sports Coupe that is why the non 135i models still appear to have a performance look in it's status.

although the Sedona Red 123d Coupe joined other "VIP" cars behind the scenes at the IAA along with another upcoming 1er variant . The Black Sapphire car represented was a standard 123d Coupe.

The US launch for the 1er Coupe will be in 2008 at the NAIS in January.
Because both models of the 1er will debut here.
Although the Asian premiere will be Tokyo next month. And there will be exclusive events to support the launch at the Tokyo motor show around the City.

cawimmer430

It's like on Autolies. The title of the thread gets edited to induce flame wars!

Just kidding, Richboy!