Seven-Seater MINI Countryman Plus in the Making

After the release of the MINI Countryman sparked the entrance of the British carmaker on the crossover market, a possible entry on the MPV segment is rumored to be considered by MINI, after Wolfgang Armbrecht, head of MINI brand management, kind of hinted the news to AutoExpress.

Supposed to use the Countryman as a basis, the seven-seater will likely wear the Plus name and will be some 10 cm (4 inches) longer than the regular Countryman.

The move may be surprising for the fans of a brand which for decades has been synonymous with the name small. After all, even its name means exactly that. Yet, according to Jim McDowell, MINI vice president, launching the Countryman is not a MINI attempt to grow bigger and wider (both in terms of size and market), but, as will probably be the case with the seven seater, a means to satisfy "a need our customers have expressed."

The Countryman is powered by a choice of three petrol and two diesel engines, with power outputs ranging from 90 hp to 184 hp; engines which, most likely, will also be used on the Countryman Plus line.

All Countrymen are fitted with permanent MINI ALL4 all-wheel drive, an electrohydraulic differential positioned directly on the final drive varying the distribution from front to rear in "an infinite process".

The Plus will be only of the several variants of the Countryman planned by MINI. Rumors on a Beachcomber-based, Countryman-inspired revival of the Moke have been around for some time now.