Hmmm: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...roit-show.html

 

Interesting... I like the styling better than the Countryman; but then again, I always seem to prefer a 2-door design over a 4-door design of the same model/platform.

But does anyone else think that MINI is getting just a bit carried away with all these new vehicle concepts/introductions...? I dunno... I understand about wanting to expand markets and all that; but maybe there's also something to be said for doing one thing better than anyone else, and not diluting it...?

 

Going from memory, it is expected that the Paceman (too close to PacMan for my tastes...) won't see production until 2014 or 2015. They want to get the Coupe and Roadster out and have the Countryman entrenched before they do a variation. Actually, a better guess might be the next generation Clubman. It is said to be Countryman-based...

 

But even in the old Mini's there were a few mutant strains. Like the Marcos and the pickup (loved the pickup).
To say an R53 0r R56 is pure mini though is not really accurate.
It's all an evolution though, as Porshe did with the Cayenne and the Panamera. If people will buy them, companys will make them (except for my 300hp AWD 2L MINI GT-P concept).

 

Good point!

 

The cars all use a lot of the same body parts and engine/ tranny hardware so it really does not cost the company a ton of $$$$ to have a bunch of different models. The more Mini's out there the more aftermarket parts and places to take your Mini for maintenance and repairs.

 

I don't think the Countryman (for sure the All4) shares anything with the current cars - maybe the instruments and a few accessories....engine and tranny except in the All4, but the suspension, chassis, body and interior are all different, aren't they?

In the Classic version, there were only 2 chassis, the coupe and the streched version of the coupe they based the wagon and pick-up on.

If they follow thru on all that's planned, we'll have the hatchback coupe, a shortened version of it for the Coupe and Roadster and a stretched version for the Clubman - if it survives, and separate chassis for the so called city MINI, and a completely different one for the Countryman and Paceman.

5 in all by my count....

 

As long as they don't go making a newer version of the "square nose" (the ugly ones) mini I say more power to them. Sorry to any square nose fans, IMHO

 

You also have to think about MINI as a part of BMW. I believe there is going to be some carry-over from the MINI line into the 0 Series. Basically what BMW/MINI has been doing is stretching, widening and shortening. If you were to strip all of the models down, I suspect that you would see many similarities. It's not like they started from scratch each time. So, while there may eventually be 5 chassis variations, they are not 5 cars built from scratch. Remember that BMW is a relatively small company. They would not have the resources nor the inclination to do 5 models from scratch just for the MINI line.

 

Was at Desert MINI for service the other day and walked around a couple of Countryman they had on display there. Looks bloated to me; 7 or 8 pounds of poatoes in a 5 pound bag...

 

I think it is a question of timing and perception. If the Countryman had been here first, and THEN the Hardtop, people would think that the Countryman was small, but the Hardtop was REALLY Small...

 

I want this.

Word is it's been approved for production and could be in showrooms by 2013.













Is it 2013 yet?