IT is nearly three years since the new MINI arrived on the scene and, despite some scepticism that it would never recapture the magic of the original with its sliding windows, drawstring door opening and scooter-sized wheels, the BMW-built icon has attracted its own band of admirers, most of them probably unaware of its heritage.

Certainly, the MINI adventure shows no signs of slowing down. More than 90,000 have found homes in this country, the biggest market in the world, and more than 176,000 were last year delivered to fans in 72 different countries worldwide.

This summer sees the arrival of two more models, the MINI One convertible and the Cooper convertible. Both will be built at the Oxford plant alongside the four models already in production, the MINI One, the One D, Cooper and Cooper S. And there is yet another in the pipeline, the Cooper S convertible which is due on the scene later this year.

It is too early to announce prices or to provide more detailed specification. However, what is known is that, just like the other MINIs, the convertible is a four-seater, and will more than likely be as good looking and provide seat-of-your pants go-kart style handling.

What specification is known shows that there will be four airbags and parking distance control fitted as standard, and that both will have fully automatic roofs. The roof operates in two stages: press the control button once and the roof will slide back 40cm creating an open sunroof. Press the button again and the roof retracts fully, folding down into a space behind the back seats. There are no catches or tricky tonneau cover press-studs, just the button, and the roof is up or down in 15-seconds.

Unfortunately, the roof down does tend to eat up a few litres of boot space. Roof up there is 165-litres, roof down 120-litres.

However, owners with bulky items to carry can create a little more essential space by turning a couple of levers in the boot which in turn releases the rear fastening of the roof which allows the rear section to be raised.

This creates enough space for those larger items. In fact, by using this easy load facility and also putting the rear seats down, the convertible can provide 605 litres of storage space.

Although, the new MINI series are certainly of the 21st century, the convertible does show that it has not lost its heritage entirely.

One important reminder of the original Mini is the arrival of a drop down boot, which can then double as a handy loading platform. Two steel cables on a spring- mounted retractor system act as the boot hinges and are strong enough to hold a weight of about 80kg.

To draw attention to the convertible, it has been given two exclusive colours: "hot orange" and "cool blue", while the Cooper has a choice of three roof colours, black, blue or green, while the MINI One convertible roof comes in black only.

There is a splash of colour inside, too. Body-coloured dashboards are offered as an option in addition to the existing choice of silver, anthracite, aluminium and wood. Body-coloured wing mirrors are standard.

There are other choices to be made inside: leather upholstery can be in a dark blue, as well as taking your pick from the wide range of upholstery colours already worn by existing MINIs.

There is also a choice of wheels, especially with the introduction of a new 17in five-star alloy, reserved exclusively for the convertible models.

Both convertibles will be powered by the same engine as their hatchback counterparts. The 1.6-litre produced 90bhp, giving a 0-62mph leap time of 11.8-seconds.

The Cooper convertible has an output of 115bhp and takes 9.8-seconds to reach 62mph.

Updated: 08:40 Friday, March 05, 2004