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Back in 2011, MINI was introducing the Rocketman concept, a car that looked exactly as it should - small, quirky and fun to drive, returning to the brand’s core values. In the meantime, no word was heard about it except for some very enticing rumors.
Last year we reported that the British company is considering putting a model based on that concept in production in its attempt to shrink its line-up to some five ‘core’ models. Automobile magazine is also claiming that one of their inside sources told them that this will become reality but with a different name.
Dubbed the MINI Minor in honor of the original city cars (like the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor), the new car would be exactly what customers have been waiting - a true city cruiser.
Space would be limited inside by a large degree and rear seats are still being debated. The design would also be true to the MINI heritage but with updated details found on the Superleggera concept like the taillights done in Union Jack motifs.
“It´s still early days as far as the baby Mini goes,” said the aformentioned source from Mini. “But when our new R&D board member Klaus Fröhlich traveled to America early in the new year, this was one of the subjects on his agenda.”
Built atop the new UKL platform, the car could arrive with the new 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine from BMW as its top pick, the smaller 1.2-liter 3-cylinder being the cheaper alternative. With a price tag that would have to be competitive with what Smart is asking for its ForTwo model (that will be this car’s direct rival) we should be looking at somewhere between $14,000 and $16,000.
This would be the final version model to complete Peter Schwartzenbauer’s vision of how MINI’s line-up should be comprised of only 5 models. Dropping the Coupe, Roadster and Paceman models would leave us with the hatchback (3-door, 5-door and convertible), the Clubman, the Countryman, the upcoming Superleggera roadster and this, the Minor.
Dubbed the MINI Minor in honor of the original city cars (like the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor), the new car would be exactly what customers have been waiting - a true city cruiser.
Space would be limited inside by a large degree and rear seats are still being debated. The design would also be true to the MINI heritage but with updated details found on the Superleggera concept like the taillights done in Union Jack motifs.
“It´s still early days as far as the baby Mini goes,” said the aformentioned source from Mini. “But when our new R&D board member Klaus Fröhlich traveled to America early in the new year, this was one of the subjects on his agenda.”
Built atop the new UKL platform, the car could arrive with the new 1.5-liter 3-cylinder engine from BMW as its top pick, the smaller 1.2-liter 3-cylinder being the cheaper alternative. With a price tag that would have to be competitive with what Smart is asking for its ForTwo model (that will be this car’s direct rival) we should be looking at somewhere between $14,000 and $16,000.
This would be the final version model to complete Peter Schwartzenbauer’s vision of how MINI’s line-up should be comprised of only 5 models. Dropping the Coupe, Roadster and Paceman models would leave us with the hatchback (3-door, 5-door and convertible), the Clubman, the Countryman, the upcoming Superleggera roadster and this, the Minor.
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