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2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman Shows New Details on the Nurburgring

The last time we met up with the upcoming MINI Clubman the Nurburgring was still closed for the winter. On top of that, the camo it was wearing hid a lot of details from us. Well, that’s not the case anymore as our photographers just caught the Cooper S version out testing on the Green Hell.
2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman 7 photos
Photo: SB Medien
2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring2016 MINI Cooper S Clubman on the Nurburgring
The car in question seems to be red and has camo on the bonnet, front fenders, roof, mirror covers and the rear fenders, tailgate and doors. However, this time, we can make out a couple of details.

What surprised us though, is that the front bumper seems to have a different design compared to the hardtop. Sure, the overall styling looks close but there are more differences included in the mix than we might’ve expected.

The lower half of the bumper now includes two air intakes that are no longer rectangular while right next to the fog lights you can notice air breathers. We guess those were introduced to further optimize fuel consumption.

The grille seems the same, but the chrome lining around it appears to have a different shape as well. Unfortunately, the headlights are looking the same and so is the bonnet, air vent included.

Round the back, the taillights look extremely similar to those featured on the concept while the barn-style doors were kept along, as they are defining this particular model. One mention has to go to the air breathers in the rear bumper as well that are not present on the Hardtop models. The twin tailpipes are also telling us what engine hides under the bonnet.

That would be the B48 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged plant good for 192 HP and 280 Nm (216 lb-ft) of torque that’s more than enough even for a big car such as the Clubman. In terms of engines the range will probably also be made up of 1.5-liter 3-cylinder units in petrol and diesel guises but we’re expecting a plug-in hybrid model as well.

The big question is whether the interior will be brand new or not. The Concept shown at Geneva last year had some really interesting tricks up its sleeve when it came to the cabin. However, nobody could confirm just how much of it would make it into production but we’re still keeping our fingers crossed!
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