Good news for all the MINI Cooper fans out there. The word is out that the 2009 MINI Cooper and Cooper S convertible will be hitting the markets real soon, maybe somewhere around March nect year. In fact, they will make their debut at the Detroit Auto Show early January.

The MINI Cooper ragtop comes at a very affordable $ 22,500 and if you want a little more attitude, then go for the Cooper S version which costs $ 4,000 more. The cute little toy cars that have earned themselves a whole generation of loyalists, promise a new concept of a four-cyclinder gasoline engine with Twin-Scroll turbochargers or fuly variable valve management. The engine capacity is expected to be 1,598 cc with the regular convertible giving a maximum output of 118 hp whilst that of the S version will be 172 hp.

You will still find the front-wheel drive, that has allowed us MINI users to enjoy a go-cart-like handling, pretty much like it has always been. But it too has been refines a teeny-weeny bit to suit the specific MINI convertible models.

Via likecool