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MINI's new ultra premium luxury sedan will rival the BMW 750i and Mercedes S550

MINI announced today that the firm is working on a luxury sedan mean to compete with the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class, and that it is set to go on sale in late 2012. “MINI means a lot to many customers, but we know we can mean everything to every customer,” said spokesman Clive Hartson. “We’re going to take the core MINI characteristics — go-kart handling, great fuel economy, and quirky Anglo-German character — and apply them to a top of the line luxury sedan.”

Prices will start at $89,000 for the 4-cylinder base model, and increase to $100,000 for the V6 ‘Cooper’ version, and top out at $140,000 for theV8 Coopers S level. (A John Cooper Works package has not been discussed, but one can only baselessly assert that it is going to happen with a BMW/Rolls-Royce V12).

Asked if the prices were a bit optimistic, Hartson explained “Look, we’re a premium brand. You can go buy a Yaris for $12,000 or you can get a MINI Cooper for $19,000. So when we are looking at competing with BMW and Mercedes, we want customers to know that our products are better. We have quirkiness that they don’t. We’re British, we’re — hold on, the Fuhrer is calling.”

Full press release after the jump.

MINI Squirts Into New Territory with Super Luxury Sedan!

Sportiness:
–4-cylinder with 80 horsepower on base model, V6 on Cooper version, optional V8 available for Cooper S.
–One example will be built with a stick shift and used exclusively for magazine tests and photos

Fuel Economy:
–4-cylinder offers estimated 14 miles per gallon city, better than the Audi A8 W12 6.0.

Fun British Character:
–Seats available in leather or deep fried with curry sauce.
–Plenty of room to sleep in the back seat after bankruptcy forces eviction from your flat
–A weird marketing campaign with billboards
–Available roof decal of all 192 flags of the UN Member states

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