Hey low to my friends here on NAM!

As MANY of you know I have had a lightning blue Clubman on order for a LONG time and have recently seen the car in person. Instead of reaching for my checkbook I instead took a very long pause. I summed the car up from the back, the front and most importantly the sides.

Without going into GREAT detail on my thoughts I was, well puzzled! I wanted to fall all over it, ohh and ah at its barn doors, admire how many more woofers I can add to the boot etc. etc. Instead I just stood there with a dumbfounded look upon my face. Not sure what to do.

I ordered this as a replacement to "Howard" and looked forward to making it into my own quirky performance ride. But now I am rethinking the whole motivation. We will certainly offer a new exhaust system and other Clubman specific bits, but I am not sure what else to do with one.

So I ask you NAM. Many of you have now seen them in person; What are YOUR thoughts? Keep the H/B( well I can't do that as I sold it, but for me buy another?) Buy the Clubman? Or what?

I know many of you look to ME for advise and now I look to YOU!

Let me know!

 

Buy it for development. Sell it cause it looks terrible from the rear pillars.

 

We (Honolulu) won't see our first real Clubman until mid Feb, until then I can only rely on the pictures and I'm not sure what to think...

 

Well I worked out a deal with the local MINI dealer. They will allow me to use one for development if I order or take delivery of another H/B. So I don't HAVE to own it. (Thanks to jaridp at Rasmussen MINI as always for the help!)

 

I think with the right vision the Clubman could look pretty cool. I'd start off by dropping and it and adding nice wheels, then go from there. Do you have any pictures?

 

I would work on a side door delete and single door rear hatch or maybe some sort of horse hitch.

 

I'll get back to you next week when I see one. In-person reactions thus far have been very good it seems although some will no doubt go . I'll say no more till I get some face time for myself.

 

I saw it yesterday at the DC auto show. I really like it and like others I think it looks much better in person. In fact I think I like it better than the Cooper. It definitely has much more room in the back. I also found the secret compartment.

 

Well we can certainly tell where you opinion lies! Thanks though for the candid reply. That is EXACTLTY what I am looking for!

 

Adam, if you can make it look anything like this...



...of course without all the "Safety Car" decals. This Clubman is bad ***.
Making the rear side windows look like body panels really helps the look
of this "extended" body style.

 

I also saw the Clubman at the show in Omaha, NE yesterday. Seeing it in person brings a whole new persona to the Clubman. That long drivers side window back window looks great. Using some really dark tint to hide the seam between the club door and the back side window will do a lot for the look on that side.
Pictures from rosmakleoma in Omaha

Nice work by the show staff to put MINI right by Hummer.

But then again this is my plan for the next year or so.

add a really shiny trailer behind this and I am happy.
Jim

 

Still haven't seen one in person but from the photos that make me go... ... I'm thinking seeing one in person the first time will make me go... and then... .

Sorry, the MINI doesn't look right when it's stretched out like a station wagon.

 

I'm happy you liked the Clubman... Hadn't seen it in red/black before, sharp! I like the dark tint on the rear idea. I've been thinking about going 35% all the way around, but maybe you've changed my mind.

(I'm also going to continue shopping for wheels... I'm just not gonna be happy keeping the s-winders!)

A note on your plan for the clubbie... I love it, but you can save yourself a few bucks by not getting the ipod connection... I've read in a few spots that the '08 with bluetooth/usb comes with a super special cable you can use with the ipod. Not like that $330 bucks is such a big deal in the long run, but I suspect you won't need it.

I'll be sure to add more details once I get to play with the darn thing myself!

 

Thank you so much for the red photo. That's my OTTO! Exact configuration with dark tint in back and 35% up front. This has so been worth the 25 months I've waited!!!

 

Thank you again folks! The Lime Green would be AWESOME on any MINI and certainly might help the look of the Clubman as well.

I need people to understand that I don't dislike the Clubman, the idea of the Clubman etc. Many of you know I have had classic Mini's as well as new MINI's so I am a freak for these buggers. What I have mixed emotions about after having seen the car in person, is that while I can do many things to it, wheels, tires, go fast bits and the like, is that REALLY what the Clubman is all about? Like am I swimming upstream just for the sake of saying I did it?

ALTA is about performance handling, engine tuning, and other upgrades to improve upon the already brilliant MINI platform. But those relate to speed and agility. Is the Clubman a speed and agility machine trying to be released? Or is the Clubman content with being the quirky soul that it is? The MINI of SUV's.

Does that make any sense?

 

These photos are shot from the ideal angles to compliment the lines of the Clubman. It is the dead to the side shots that being the ? from most folks.

The Chili over Astro is HOT!

 

Maybe the answer is.. both? I think the ad campaign is right about this baby running on irregular, but that doesn't mean it won't want to show off every now and then.

I think it might take a little motoring to help you (and everyone else) make a call on this. Quite a few of the "expert" reviews say that the size hasn't made much of a dent in performance. We'll see.

 

Cloud10- OTTO's a total hottie! (yup, i said total and hottie. i work at a high school.)

 

I thought the Clubman was pretty cool when I saw and played with it at the NAIAS. The barn doors are fun, as was the 3 level boot, and the actually useful rear seats!

The Clubman Safety Car above looks smokin' hot; the R55 has much better proportioning than the R56!

 

Adam,

The wife's Laser Blue/Black is made and waiting transport. She is really hyped up over it.

I keep thinking that the back end looks much better than the R56 because it lacks the bubble.

I think the clubman could be more of the sleeper of the family. Kind of like the those nasty BMW M station wagons. The trick will be getting the go into the clubbie. It sounds like the handling will still be close according to those on the other side of the pond.

I still remember seeing an original mini panel van at the vintage races. That car was VERY cool.

Alan

 

I think that done tastefully the Clubman could be hot. Personally I think it begs to be slammed on 18"s, tinted, and JCW skirts would look great too. I'd also love to see 3" tips to fill out the back a bit more. It'll be as sporty as you make it

 

MY question is - Am I supposed to wave at clubmans also or do they do there own thing?

 

You answered your question right there...

 

Love the looks of the Chili Red and Black roof Clubman - thanks for sharing!

 

"ALTA is about performance handling, engine tuning, and other upgrades to improve upon the already brilliant MINI platform. But those relate to speed and agility. Is the Clubman a speed and agility machine trying to be released? Or is the Clubman content with being the quirky soul that it is? The MINI of SUV's."

Well just to shed some light on that the Clubman S i borrowed from the dealership was able to outrun a slightly modified R53 on the Motorway (needless to say the driver was stunned!), trust me it's a wolf in sheeps clothing! & i've found that you get a lot more attention in the Clubman than in a normal R53/56, everytime we stopped anywhere we had people coming up to look at it

Also i wouldn't say it's stetched out like a station wagon, when i parked it on my driveway it's the same length as our 5 door VW Golf R32 So i'd say it's about the size of a "normal" hatchback

I agree that it does need lowering on some 18's & the window tints do look good on it & there is a full JCW bodykit & tuning kit coming out for it sometime this year (dealerships reckon around September) but it's begging to be tuned engine & Suspension wise! Sure there's plenty of power & grip in fact it feels the same to drive as a normal R56 Cooper S, but i'm sure the Alta guys can make it even better! In fact it could be quite a formiddable opponent on the track if done correctly Also with the bigger trunk you'll be able to do a bigger ICE install for the shows!

so to answer your question "is the Clubman a speed & agility machine waiting to be released?" HELL YES!!


P.S. Alta please please please make a kick-*** bigger, louder exhaust system for this it sounds good as it is but it could be soooo much better!

Ahh rant over!