Next Generation MCS Undisguised!

I don’t like it! I’m glad I’m getting my 06 MINI in a few weeks.

It looks a little more feminie than the current S. I do like the new rear bumper though (you can see it in another pic in that article)

I think I like it… actually, I do like it overall. Just not sure about the black bumper. Is it unpainted for a reason?

A hopeful MINI owner with increased hope for the next generation MINI.

The most eye-catching thing is the grill for sure! It looks a little grumpy (kinda cool), but the changes are very subtle.

Looks like a slightly wider stance, maybe a tad taller too – or a tad more off the ground?

It needs bigger wheels. Overall, it is still a MINI. It’s not bad. When we see the final fit and finished version in all its glory and all the customizable options – I’m sure it will look great.

It still looks like a MINI! phew ;-)

The R56 will be more Mini than the current generation (R50/R53) MINI.

I will probably take some heat for this, but I have to ask: Is that necessarily a good thing?

Frank Stephenson had a vision of what a Mini in the 21st century should be. I believe he succeeded on all fronts. It was the perfect marriage of design cues from the old Mini, mixed with a sexy, modern, confident style.

This new car looks a lot more like the pre-BMW Minis. And as much fondness as I have for the old era, I believe Frank’s vision was the right direction for the brand. I feel that this new generation design is a step back in time.

My only criticism is that of losing the horizontal slats in the grill. What they’ve essentially done is put the grill style from the lower radiator opening in the top to match. Which doesn’t look bad, but I think they should have gone the other way with it – slats top and bottom. It would serve a couple of purposes, the first of which would be to give the car a wider, more squatty appearance. But more than that, an all-slat grill would make it look even more classic MINI. This look is drawing from the Aero Kit, which looks great, but I’d love to have a louvered grill option as well on the S. Otherwise, it’s nice to see a more finished example of the new car. The panel seams fit better than a lot of the mules we’ve seen in the past and the car is obviously much closer to its final fit and finish. That makes me feel a lot better about the car.

Absolutly! Nathaniel as always hit it dead on. We need horizontal lines!

I still don’t like the new headlight design. Not that the blinkers are integrated, but the wrap around look of it. It looks chinese.

Somthing else that I think isn’t final is the side blinker in front of the door. At least it doesn’t live up to what Gabe was saying as to expect something new in that department. They are missing the “S” maybe it was one of those things that they were covering up with tape.

Whoa! This has to be a part of the camo. TWO rear windshield wipers on the traveler? second to last pic.

It still looks like a mini, but its sorta strange how its so rounded in the front but when you trace your eyes towards the rear it looks like the back end was cut straight off of something. like in the picture of the red S… still waiting to see that in action in final form and the suppose to be better build interior.

I’m not sure if I like the extra shoulder in the back. One of the design features on the current model that I’ve always loved, and that really draws me to the car, is the fact that the back window transitions straight down into the body, giving the back a flat look. In other words, more of a hatchback look than a sedan look. The R56 looks more sedan-y than hatchback-y, from the spy shots anyway.

Regarding the grill, I like the grill much better than the chrome. If i had bought a 2006, the grill from the aero kit would have been the first mod I would have made. Horizontal grill bars? Maybe the big aluminum ones from a Ford Fusion could be hacked up and put in [NOT]

Overall I am generally pleased with it. It is not so radically different that it loses its identity. Basicaly if you are not a MINI-maniac, you probably could not tell the difference between a 2006 and 2007.

Maybe the big aluminum ones from a Ford Fusion could be hacked up and put in [NOT]

Yeah, THAT’S what I had in mind. LOL. (note the sarcasm)

It surprises me how many people on here seem so resistant to change.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I am not against change on the MINI, just some of the specific changes that we’ve seen and heard about for the R56. I think there are some great changes coming in this new model both aesthetically (better interior materials) and mechanically (more efficient powerplants with more torque).

But I do think that some of their design choices (the all-black mesh grill, the look of the rear apron, the lines of the new interior) are moving in a much more mainstream direction than I’d like to see. Everything on the road right now is more angular, more aggressive, and thereby more mediocre because they’re all doing it. Some of these new design choices are taking the MINI small steps in that direction.

One of my favorite things about the current car is that sense of timelessness and idiosyncratic distinction it carries in its looks – the fact that it’s round and curvy in the otherwise angular and square world of automotive design. The MINI stands out from the blur of “look at me” aesthetic overkill because of its simplicity of form. Though it retains most of that, the look of the new car is a little less interesting to me.

I think this new car will keep about 93% of that unique visual appeal. But there are still design elements (and mechanical choices – on/off water & oil pumps for example) that I don’t like the look of. The current car has, in my opinion, a better mix of aesthetic nuance and design detail. From what I’m seeing on the new model, I think some of that nuance has been lost – albeit just a smidgen.

Hear hear, petsounds!!

Agreed Petsounds. For example, why not is possible with new engine to make sure engine hardpoints are optimized in order to not comprimize hood/bonnet design which looks now that it is much too much high? Current MINI design look like one step forward and this new design look like too steps backward. :( I no see nothing that takes current design further into the future. For me is one big “cop out”. Too little too late?

This is truely awful. BIG thumbs down.

I really like it. BIG thumbs UP!!!

While I’m withholding judgement ’til all the evidence is in, much of this new look is Stephenson inspired, albeit with less direction and subtlety. I’m not a fan of the headlite configuration with the turn-signals in ‘em – looks a bit cross-eyed; and the not-so-subtle bulge stickin’ out there on the rear corners – I’d be in a body shop straight from the showroom floor, gettin’ a butt-ectomy. There’s no freakin’ way you could add that much useful space with such a poorly inspired and executed design element – it’s a styling caprice, no more and no less, and the smoothly well-integrated R50/R53 rear end will make this particular feature look like a tumour growed from A-bomb testing.

The front may be a bit more vertical, but the downright upright Classic Mini nose is a far cry from the wall-eyed ’07 to come – truth to tell, one of the best single “looks” on the R50/R53 is if you lean forward and up while in the driver’s seat, and look a little down and to the left, the fender line going to the headlites is simply sublime – I do that now and then to remind me a proper British MINI is kinda like Bettie Page – it has big round headlights and a hint of sensual curves at the fenders. ;-)

              BCNU,
          Rob in Dago

I think the design is nice and progressive. That said, I feel that the wheel wells need to be filled out with more rim. Additionally, and this is a minor gripe of mine b/c I’m picky, I can not understand why BMW would not have gone with the new squeegie type of windshield wipers a lot of the new cars today have. BMW seems to be putting them on all of their new cars. I just think they look cleaner (and probably work better) than the traditional frame and blade style of wiper.

The bonnet scoop is for the intercooler, not the supercharger.