Mini and Rolls-Royce have teamed up to create the Mini Inspired by Goodwood, a Mini Cooper with the type of lavish interior you would normally expect to find in a Rolls-Royce motor car. It may seem a bit bizarre that one of the most elite automobile brands in the world would team up with a low-budget brand like Mini, until you realize that both were most likely driven together by their parent-company BMW. Starting with a Mini Cooper S, Rolls-Royce has added its expertise to give the three-door hatchback a lavish interior with a few exterior upgrades.

Mini says the Mini Inspired by Goodwood features top-grade materials and a high level of workmanship. The dashboard and door-handle surfaces are finished in Walnut Burr, a wood that was formerly exclusive to Rolls-Royce. A black nappa leather dashboard, leather door linings, and Piano Black buttons on the steering wheel and center console provide additional accents. Floor mats with a deep-pile lamb-wool quality, another Rolls-Royce trademark, cover the floorboards. The exterior receives the Rolls-Royce treatment as well, with a Rolls-Royce exclusive Diamond Black metallic paint and 17-inch wheels sporting a multi-spoke design.

The Mini Inspired by Goodwood will cost 46,900 Euros, or approximately $68,000, and will be limited to 1,000 units. At first glance, paying $68,000 for a Mini Cooper may seem absurd. But is it any less absurd to pay $31,000 for the smaller and less powerful Aston Martin Cygnet? A product based off a Toyota. Maybe the Aston Martin Cygnet is the first in a new line of small low-budget automobiles that will carry some big brand names. If that is the case, the Mini Inspired by Goodwood’s only problem is that it doesn’t carry the Rolls-Royce moniker. Paying $68,000 for a Mini Cooper may be absurd to some, but paying the same for a new low-budget Rolls-Royce based off a Mini Cooper may have just the right amount of panache to do well.

Provided by duPont REGISTRY