Coming soon: Mini Cooper by Rolls-Royce

Washington DC November 20, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that according to CNN, carmaker MINI is preparing to launch a new special edition of the subcompact icon outfitted by its ultra-luxury cousin Rolls-Royce.

Both British automakers are owned by Germany's BMW. The special edition cars will go into production in 2010 as 2011 model year cars.

It has not been decided yet whether the cars will be available in the United States. If they are made available to U.S. customers, they'll be in extremely limited numbers, said a company spokesperson.

The cars' bodies will be no different from those of other Mini Coopers, but they will be coated in a special paint, the color of which has also not been decided. The cars will be built at the Mini factory in Oxford.

It has not yet been decided if the cars will brought to Rolls-Royce's factory for final outfitting with special high-end interior trim and other luxury touches or if the Rolls-Royce produced luxury materials will be added to the cars on the MINI assembly line.

MINI announced in May that it was considering a high-end special edition car. Up to now, however, the company had not officially confirmed production of a Rolls-Royce edition.