Castagna to Produce Off-Road MINI

Sections: In the Press Feb 24th, 2004 9 Comments

“This official picture has come from Italian coachbuilder Castagna which, having already put the finishing touches to the estate, is now planning the Allroad. The new-style MINI has an increased ride height, plus bull bars at the front designed to appeal to SUV fans.

Extra trim down the sides gives a beefier appearance, while the timber frame of the Woody model is also fitted for a retro finish. Rather than being an out-and-out off-roader, this MINI makes do with front-wheel drive and will be capable of only very light off-road work, as it has few mechanical changes over the standard hatchback.

Based on the hand-built MINI estate, the 'soft-road' version will be sold as a bespoke aftermarket package. Owners bring along their conventional three-door hatchback, and the work then begins to create a much more individual look. With the estate conversion starting at ÃƒÂ¯Ã‚Â¿Ã‚Â½7,000, expect to pay at least ÃƒÂ¯Ã‚Â¿Ã‚Â½10,000 for the full SUV pack.

The work isn't endorsed by BMW, but bosses at the German firm will be keen to see how many buyers the Allroad attracts. If it's a success, BMW could be keen to produce some kind of small SUV as a rival to Smart's ForMore, which is due in 2006.”

For more information about MINI's own extended wheelbase MINI, see the post below.

Written By: MF Staff

John

Yikes!

I was going to say more here, probably mention eventual good ideas like the Clubman or Pickup or Panel, but … I'm simply at a loss for more words.
Frank

No SUVS!!!!! Here is where the Castagna people are drawing the line…read my lips: NO SUVS!!!
squishy

good lord that's terrible! this is the epitome of the trend towards calling any and all things an SUV just because you can and someone will fall for it. i love the MINI. i love land rovers. let's keep them separate.
Vanwall
Yuk. If MINI goes SUV, I want it like the Moke – almost unrecognizable as a MINI except for those in the know. ;-) Seriously, I don't like the idea of jackin' it up and tossin' on some gewgaws to make an SUV – this would be the MINI H2, fer chrisakes. Some one might want to do this, but to me it would just be another POS pseudo-ORV.

That being said, when I took the MINI survey a few weeks ago, many of the images I was asked to make choices from were of cross-over type vehicles, or outright SUVs, and led me to believe MINI may be gauging the current MINI owners' acceptability of something along those lines in the future. Castagna makes a nice looking wagon, but hope I don't see one of those SUV poseurs anytime soon.
```
    BCNU,
 Rob in Dago
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http://omor.com/mini/ dc

Add a Quaife limited slip, call it the world rally MINI. and we'd love it.

Also liked: door edge moulding.
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

I don't see this as an SUV at all… It's no more an SUV than the Outback…

That being said, it's rather nice looking.
R

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Hey quite I'm sleeping…..R
ed

i thought mini already made an suv (small urban vehicle) :)
http://www.hummercity.com SPI Guy

I'd like to invite everyone to visit my new Hummer (off roading) blog at HummerCity.com and start posting your comments.

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