Despite Volkswagen ’s recent success with its enlarged turbodiesel TDI range, fellow European small car manufacturer Mini says that there is just not enough North American demand to warrant incurring the expenses necessary to bring a diesel-powered Mini Cooper D across the Atlantic.
Motoring File says that its unnamed sources have revealed that Mini would have to increase the transaction price of the Cooper D between 40 and 50 percent to be profitable based on their sales estimates. The site says that Mini appears to have “given up hope to bring an oil burner to the U.S.”
The site does indicate that the next-generation Mini Cooper, codenamed R60 in Mini-speak, does include plans from the start to engineer a diesel model for the North American market.
