2023 Mini Cooper accidentally exposed inside and out! Surprise new rear-end look for iconic three-door city car and Audi A1 rival

Mini’s fourth-generation Hatch – or Cooper – has had an early reveal thanks to some spy images published over the weekend, which show the new city car inside and out, with the latter headlined by a bold redesign of the classic rear end.

Posted by Wilco Blok on Instagram and other social media accounts, the shots depict an uncamouflaged pre-production Cooper S parked at a Chinese testing facility in all its glory, with its front end looking rather similar to the third-generation model’s most recent facelift.

That said, the front-end design has been simplified overall, including the removal of the side air intakes – but that could be because this is likely an example of the all-electric Cooper SE.

Trainspotters will notice the bonnet is no longer a clamshell item, in a massive departure for the series.

However, the even bigger news is the divisive new rear-end design, which does away with the iconic rectangular tail-lights in favour of wedge-shaped units that have their own version of the Union Jack signature.

(Image credit: Wilco Blok)

The fresh tail-lights are also now linked by a chrome bar (which is blackened in this instance), which was previously present in the middle but has been stretched to go from side to side.

Inside, the Hatch has been modernised again, with the circular central display now larger and ‘floating’, while the instrument cluster has been removed, with just a retractable head-up display now ahead of the driver.

(Image credit: Wilco Blok)

Importantly, the centre stack still has a row of physical switchgear, including an old-school ignition switch.

The new Cooper will be officially unveiled for 2023 model year, so stay tuned. That said, turbo three- and four-cylinders engines are expected to again be available alongside an all-electric powertrain, which Mini parent company BMW is co-developing with Great Wall.