The 2009 Mini Coupe Concept is a kind of birthday present, as the Mini brand celebrates 50 years since it began on August 26, 1959. And we'll all get to enjoy this present, because it will be presented in public for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. At a secret location near Munich, Mini's Design Director Gert Hildebrand tells us about his newest creation. "The idea to do a Mini coupe was born in our design center," he says. "New ideas never come from the board offices; they come from the floor of the design studio. BMW does trend analysis a lot and every three months we talk to Mini representatives from all over the world to discuss the needs of our clients. But we were never asked to do a coupe. We're close followers of blogs and so forth, and we just felt that people would like the idea of a car like this." Mini Coupe Concept @ 2009 FAS http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=155786