Extended Wheelbase MINI Spotted

Sections: In the Press | R55 (Clubman) | R56 (Hatch) Sep 6th, 2005 96 Comments

Here it is folks… the first clear spy shots of the upcoming extended wheel-base MINI. Autowereld (and Dutch publication) has the scoop. Unfortunately our Dutch is a little rusty so let me talk a bit about what we do know and what these photos confirm.

While this prototype is heavily disguised with copious amounts tacked on black plastic, we can immediately see several tell-tale signs of the new four door MINI. First off is the extended wheelbase which will allow for three and most likely four doors. The multi-door design is reportedly similar to what BMW uses for the Rolls Royce Phantom which allows the rear doors to be opened independently of the front (unlike the Mazda RX8 for example) . Then there’s the slightly taller roof and more square rear hatch. This should allow for more rear headroom and a taller cargo area. Finally we’re told that this new extended wheel-base MINI will feature a slightly tweaked design language that we’re guessing will be more along the lines of chunky and funky. This will set it apart from the standard R56 coupe, which we should see in the fall of 2006.

We’ve learned that the MINI EXT (our name, not BMW’s) will debut as early as the fall of 2007 (as an ’08 model) and will be closely followed more than one other variant in the years following.

You can read the entire Autowereld.com article below (in Dutch):

[ Eerste spyshots Mini Estate ] Autowereld.com

And just to let you know why we were so insistent that the recent Auto-Bild MINI EXT renderings were spot one… just take a look at how close they are to what appears to be the real thing.

[ Next Generation MINI Revealed ] MotoringFile

Update: Mike was kind enough to translate the Autowereld article from Dutch to English:

These are the very first spyshots of the MINI Estate. This new variant on the MINI-theme will for its cost have to account for approximately half of sales.

That BMW is doing well with the new MINI goes without saying. But in order to continue to grow further, BMW is coming with new variants. A pickup and station-wagony variant have been speculated about for a long time now. Now, the first spyshots of the latter have been taken. The MINI Estate was captured during test procedures. There is little to see, but it is confirmation that the Estate really will come.

New dashboard The Estate will directly accommodate the new dashboard that the MINI will receive. There is a facelift in the works for the MINI and MINI Cabriolet in which the new dashboard will make its debut. The materials used will be solidly upgraded and there is an expanded in-car entertainment system available.

Estate lives again! This is not the first time that Mini has come out with a stationwagon. There was also an Estate model available on the old Mini. Several body structure enhancements are above all responsible for building the regular MINI into a 3-door stationwagon. In reality the new model will have to wait until 2007, but will eventually also be available as a 5-door stationwagon. Surprising is the development of the doors which can be opened in the opposite direction.

Written By: Gabe

http://www.kangamini.us/ kangamini

Ayyyyyy!! The Bells!! The Bells!!!!
Greg W

Old Mini made by BMC had a 2-door Estate version, as well as the other variants. New MINI wasn’t designed to just be a “Cooper” model, but as the rest of the world knows, the One, the One diesel, the Cooper, the Cooper S, and the Cabriolet. As mentioned previously, MINI USA only chooses to take “Cooper” models. If you stick to one variant sooner or later you satisfy the market, sales drop along with values. How long did Henry Ford stick with one choice – a black model T?
http://www.minisofmiami.com Frank

JAG, your “egocentric” comments are very sorry to say the least.
http://www.ururk.com/gallery.asp John P.

Just a bit confused here. I’ve been following the rumors from July, and have one thing mixed up:

Are they planning on only manufacturing one wheelbase, and slapping a different body atop? Or are they going to go the route of the Plymouth Voyager (for instance), and selling an extended version (ie, grand voyager)?

So, they’d have the Cooper, and then the Cooper Ext, or is the entire new MINI line going to be on the extended wheelbase/platform?
Christopher

Great….. it looks like Grandpa’s casket will fit perfectly!!!!!
Vanwall
We’re first in line for a Countryman, as long as it has barn doors in the rear. ;-)
```
         BCNU,
        Rob in Dago
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http://www.bancroftsonline.com Sean Bancroft

This might just be what I will buy as my “utiility” type vehicle. I was thinking A3 but this new MINI may change things.
Christopher

I agree with JAG’s posts. Perhaps by the time MINI is done greedily milking their brand with a MINI version Hummer it will then be called the MAXI.

Farewell MINI brand, perhaps thats why MINI’s advertising jumped ship….They realized that in a few years they would all look like liars!!!!
Christopher

A big ole MINI like that really isn’t a MINI anymore is it? It’s a MAXI….Go ahead MINI and confuse the public with your branding!!! VW will love you for it!!!
JAG

Frank, by personalizing my commentary would not take us to intelligent observations, but call it egocentric; I call it degradation of the brand. The more variations that are brought to market (13 possibilities in the last count by CAR magazine) the more its core values are diluted, that simple. That goes for MINI as it goes for Mercedes-Benz in its own respective segment. I am for variations in the hatch like the convertible, ONE, Cooper, the S, JCW, diesel, special editions, etc. Not a 4-door utility wagon or pick up.
http://users.adelphia.net/~rocketboy/index.html Rocketboy

So far, so good.. without extending the brand, we will be stuck driving the same MINI Coopers for the next 40 yrs.. I just hope that they don’t just copy the interiors for all the cars. Each variant should be distinct (but similar) on the outside, and the inside.
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Are they planning on only manufacturing one wheelbase, and slapping a different body atop?

No.

Or are they going to go the route of the Plymouth Voyager (for instance), and selling an extended version (ie, grand voyager)?

Yes.

Is the entire new MINI line going to be on the extended wheelbase/platform?

No. The standard hardtop two-door MINI will of course still be available with the introduction of the R56 in the fall of 2006. In fact the MINI hardtop will essentially the same size in every demension.
nrkist

I call it degradation of the brand. The more variations that are brought to market (13 possibilities in the last count by CAR magazine) the more its core values are diluted, that simple.

Word up, JAG. But I think the dilution of the MINI brand is already well into its death spiral. Many trace its beginning to the detuning of the suspension for the US market after the first year of production. While this was clearly a bad move, I feel things went clearly and irreversibly south for the brand with the introduction of an automatic transmission on the S. After that sacrilege, who cares what body style variants they introduce. Game over.
Vanwall
After manipulation, the rear shot seems fairly undisguised compared to the other pics. I’m seeing a split door there – not a hatchback – possibly of unequal proportions, with an offset to the right. There doesn’t seem to be any real sign of rear passenger doors, tho, unless there’s a seam between the 2 duct-tapes. I wouldn’t be surprised if that door is on one side only – the side w/o the gas cap.

I’m all for a Sportwagen MINI – with an ‘S’ version. Just think of how pissed some’d be when one kicks their butt in the twisties. ;-) Now there’d be no question about a WRC-length MINI.
```
        BCNU,
      Rob in Dago
```
O(=^=)O Capn

One thing that I think that people are forgetting is that this is a brand just like Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge…. MINI. So, it is trying to get market share just like any other Brand. Each model has it’s own spirit. That’s what makes them different. Just because Ford makes trucks , minivans, cars and compacts it doesn’t dilute the brand, just makes it stronger. By diversification it is gaining more market share and becoming better.

And for all of those hearse comments, which car would you rather them carry your body to the cementary in? This or a Cadillac/Lincoln?
Me I’m MINI! (wouldn’t that make a great t-shirt?)

I like It!

I would love to see a jacked up AWD ralley edition! Yeah!!!!
O(=^=)O Capn

Wouldn’t this look cool chopped into a fastback like this
O(=^=)O Capn

or this!
http://motoringfile.com Gabe

Off topic:

But I think the dilution of the MINI brand is already well into its death spiral. Many trace its beginning to the de-tuning of the suspension for the US market after the first year of production.

nrkis – I won’t disagree with anything you’ve said above. It’s all your opinion and your welcome to it. But the last sentence in the above statement is totally ridiculous. Have you driven a pre-May 2003 SS+ MINI back to back with a post-May 2003 SS+ MINI? Have you tracked them? Have you lived with both extensively? If not, how are you in a position to make any assumption like the one you made above? I’ve done both of these things.

I (like many here) was very concerned at the time that the MINI was indeed being softened up for our American tastes when they changed the fluid in the SS+ shocks. Well I’m happy to reports (as I have done previously) that the change isn’t detrimental to the handling in any noticable way. Furthermore, the ability for the suspension to absorb the enormous potholes I dodge on a daily basis has been subtly improved.

So how this change somehow signaled the ‘death spiral’ of the MINI brand in your eyes, I’ll never know.
Jonathan Graves

Stop freaking out – It’s not the next Mini, it’s the wagon version. The original version was called the Mini Clubman. This is the second extension of the Mini franchise beyond the convertible. I had a friend who owned a Clubman and it was ace!

jon
Vanwall
I hope to God they don’t call it a Clubman – that was not the name of the wagon. It was a seperate Mini line, that included wagons, but also was the first step to diluting the performance aspect of the Mini. The normal Mini wagons were Morris Traveler or Austin Countryman. The Clubman was the flat-front re-style of the Mini done at the end of the ’60′s in an effort to “modernize” the look, but altho it sold in moderate numbers, I, and many other Mini owners, felt it ruined the looks.

http://motor.terra.es/addon/img/motor/15f70c4mini3g.jpg

Bad juju with that name.
```
BCNU,
```
Rob in Dago
http://www.blokspeed.net Eelke

Can I just say how funny it is that people now start to comment on the size? Over here in Holland, where the classic is much more common, parking your classic along side a Mini2 is a sure-fire way to get people to give comments like “It isn’t really ‘mini’ at all, is it?”

The whole “New New Mini” thing is very quickly becoming a deja-vue experience for classic owners. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Join the club, guys :)

I don’t see the problem. There was a long wheel-base version of the classic as well, and this will allow people that are now selling their Mini’s because it just is not practical anymore when they start building a family to trade their saloon in for a “family Mini”.

John P: don’t worry, this is a new, more roomy variant, just like the convertible is a more “airy” variant ;) It will be placed along side the direct replacement for the current Mini. Outright replacing the current Mini with this would be a very bad idea.
nrkist

Gabe: So how this change somehow signaled the ‘death spiral’ of the MINI brand in your eyes, I’ll never know.

First, thanks for giving me the space to voice an opinion, as opposed to deleting my post. I appreciate it. Second, I did not say that I felt that the detuning of the dampers signaled the death spiral of the MINI brand, but that “many” do. I’ve indeed talked to many who do, but I personally feel this position is a bit extreme. Seems that you agree. So, I think we’re good, right.
Ian F

I’m looking forward to seeing final production versions. Bring it over in a diesel version. Although a diesel pick-up version would also be fun as a second utility car. Granted, I don’t see the ’03 MCS going anywhere….
http://www.ururk.com/gallery.asp John P.

Gabe and Eelke,

Thanks! I was starting to think I’d have to get an 06 to retain the same size MINI for years to come (kinda crazy to say this).

I think expanding the line is necessary, as many people on the online boards make comments like, “I’m getting married, and she wants kids -> the MINI has to go” or “We’ve just had our third kid, and I have to get a minivan.” If MINI wants to retain their customers, realistically, they need to change, not the customers.

Though this shoots down the reason I purchased my MINI -> because in a few years if I do get married, I won’t be able/allowed to have such a fun car. Do I mind? Heck no!
RB

Eelke,

I’m just back from Holland, Hilversum, and I noticed very few MINI’s. I think I saw only 10 in 3 weeks there. I think I saw more Deux Chevaux’s than MINI’s. Most Dutch I talked with, my MINI T shirts brought up the subject, suggested they felt the car was ugly.

On subject I’d say my biggest complaint with this vehicle is that front overhang. I guess it’s for the pedestrian laws in Europe but I’ll stick with my ’04. Maybe it’s just camouflage.

Jag,

I am allergic to caffeine and caffeine free Coke is a blessing for me. I really don’t follow your logic on this. I presume by your statement that you’re a vanilla ice cream ONLY type, wow how narrow minded.
JAG

Eelke “I am allergic to caffeine and caffeine free Coke is a blessing for me. I really don’t follow your logic on this. I presume by your statement that you’re a vanilla ice cream ONLY type, wow how narrow minded.” We do not have the pleasure of meeting but thanks for the tip, maybe you save me years of expensive therapy but in no way I am talking about your personal taste, I am talking about brand and brand values. Different topics. Now don’t tell me that you feel the same passion when you open a can of Caffeine Free Coke than when you start your MINI? Coke, with its many variations is in effect looking for market share, MINI on the other hand is a Premium Hatch looking for a segment in that market and BMW charges for that, so to do so it has to offer intangibles like: lifestyle (Lets Motor and all that groovy thing) Heritage (Monte Carlo rally) and so on. That is called the spirit of the brand and my only question is if a 4 door or an SUV will spoil that, on the other hand Caffeine Free Coke has… mmmÃ¢â‚¬Â¦???
RB

Jag………………

First……..you meant to send your comment to RB not Eelke.

Second I don’t do battle with people with dull swords, and yours is obviously broken.

RB
JAG

RB, you are right, Eelke I am truly sorry for the mistake. RB, don’t do battle, nobody is doing it, those knight dreams from video games and the lack of caffeine are getting into you, ride more your MINI or ask a friend for one, chill out.
O(=^=)O Capn

Hey RB, I think that if someone got JAG one of those coats that the MINI people wear he would probably chill.
O(=^=)O Capn

now this is interesting, i found it after my about post was well, posted.

Autoweek’s take on the differences between BMW and MINI’s corporate structure.

Mini’s new chief, former BMW marketing guru James McDowell, sports a green polo shirt and a striped worker jacket from the Oxford, England, factory with his name on the pocket.
Nathan

Hey, is JAG really Jim from Ohio in disguise? Very sneaky Jim, very sneaky. Can’t we all just get along?
http://www.dominationthevideo.com Crush

There is alotta hate in this thread. This variant is perfect for MINI couple’s that just need something a bit bigger but still love the MINI.

For example, we recently had to trade in our 2002 MINI because in the next year or so we will have a new bundle of joy in our family. The standard mini just won’t cut it.
JAG

Nathan, I am in Miami and still looking for a twisty road here in the everglades. So no Jim in disguise. The thing is that some prefer to go off topic and start getting personal. What I want is a smart exchange about the MINI branding and how or if future models will affect what MINI has accomplished in its positioning campaign, for others is if I like Vanilla or to do battle or not. Which is really funny by itself. Lets move on and love to everybody.
David

I think too many people here are erroneously equating “MINI” with “Cooper”. I hear it all the time. I hear someone call it a “Mini Cooper” as if it’s one name. I very rarely hear “Ford Mustang”, just “Mustang”.

MINI is a brand like Chevrolet is a brand. So far, MINI has only two vehicles. A coupe and a cabriolet. Each can be bought with a base trim (MC, MCc) or with a performance package (MCS, MCSc). MINI will indeed need to add model offerings to stay relevant to aging owners whose needs will change. It did so the first time around, why is there so much resistance on this board to doing it again?
http://www.minisofmiami.com Frank

Thank you David.

Hey JAG, have we met before? Have you come to our meets here in Miami?
RB

I’ve bought 3 (THREE) MINI’s how about you?

Thank you also David. Right on!

RB
JAG

David, more or less that is what I am saying, MINI in its niche market, like Ferrari, Aston Martin or in a rare case, Porsche, are names that inspire by just hearing them. Their history and heritage, as some old championships under their belts, makes the brand more desirable, so I do not imagine myself all excited about a station wagon or pick up. I could be wrong, time will tell.

Frank, so you are in Miami, that is great, no I haven’t been to any meet yet but I was hoping to go once I stop traveling a little. I will drop you a line to see if we can meet.
JAG

“” I presume by your statement that you’re a vanilla ice cream ONLY type, wow how narrow minded.”"

“”I’ve bought 3 (THREE) MINI’s how about you?”"

Excuse me? Did I hear vanilla THREE times??
Nostrodamus

Welll kiddies, lets stop the fighting and start motoring.

Some ideas such as the clubman are better off dead. Its ugly and ruins the brand! I predict that if MINI keeps trying to produce MAXI cars…MINI will drive itself into extinction and be nothing but a fad by 2010.

You heard it here first kiddies!
http://www.cardomain.com/id/martinmcfly rednwhitecooper

i dont understand why people are so against adding in hte rest of the MINI line.

all these cars were avaliable at one time, they are just the modern day rendition. its not like there some designer over at bmw’s studio going ” hey franz, come look at the MINI wagon i just drew up!”

deal with it people, there were other models besides a 2 door.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/martinmcfly rednwhitecooper

BTW, i really like how they tried to hide the rear doors by taping all the gaps over and adding 2 more B pillars the rear windows!!! LOL
MauiMini

The photos on this site shows the newly designed Mini fully covered to prevent people from seeing what the body really looks like. I found a spy shot that proves that everyone is just over reacting about how bad the new “Extended Wheelbase Mini” will look. If this is how the new Mini will look, I’ll be ordering on ASAP!
MauiMini

I think the new Mininew Mini looks GREAT! I WANT ONE NOW!
malibumini

It is a shame that greed rules…BMW had such a solid winner and the resale on the vehicle has been fantastic…The new mini coupe is a logical move for profit, emissions, and new european laws governing design of the front end. However, the station wagon is a joke…why not build on the very reason people love the mini, rather than trying to capture the entire range of car buyers..BMW can do that with the rest of the BMW line…Why not leave the mini for those who appreciate what it is…..remember your advertising success and why!
http://none mike

looks like an elephant stepped on the top of a black PT Cruiser and this is what you got…horrible looking car.
akcowboy

Why can’t we all just get along. The classic MINI will outsell any varient that gets put out anyways. There are too many die-hard fans (see above) to let a new Mini take control.
The EXT only makes since for the few people who have more than one friend, are of a decent hight, or wish to carry anything. As for a pickup version, the only way it could get going would be an awd or rwd drive version. If there was a s/c, 6-spd, rwd mini available…college may take a little longer.

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