MINI Rocketman Unveiled on the Catwalk

The latest addition to the MINI line-up, the Rocketman concept, was presented for the first time in front of a live audience at the Istituto Europeo di Design, during the Milan Fashion Week. The concept was witnessed live by a crowd of 300 people, in an unveiling created by film artist Marcus Tomlinson and featuring actress Lily Cole. The return to the original dimensions of the 1959 MINI models, the Rocketman will be presented in front of a much bigger crowd at the Geneva Auto Show next week. MINI will be bringing the model to the show with the stated goal of giving the world a greater insight into the future design of its models. Since it was created more as a means to catch the eye of the audience (despite the fact that, aside for the reduced dimensions, the Rocketman is pretty much your average MINI with a few nip'n'tucks), the concept doesn't present any revolutionary power trains, but features some of the new materials the BMW group will be using in its future models. A carbon spaceframe is used to make the car lighter, while high torsional stiffness of the underbody structure allows the arrangement of the side sills to be combined with high body rigidity. The most striking feature of the model remains, however, the way in which the doors open, pivoting outwards complete with their sills. autoevolution will be attending the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, so stay tuned for some real up close and personal shots of the vehicles, as well as for first-hand details of the motorized contraptions presented at the event.