Spy photographers at Edmunds have once again caught the MINI Crossover (final name coming soon) at the famous Nurburgring doing some final suspension refinement. There nothing really new in the video or the article but it’s another great way to see the size relationship between other cars and the R52 R57 which just happens to be right behind the crossover in one shot.
The French magazine “Automobile” claims to have acquired two images of what appear to potentially be initial design mock-ups the upcoming MINI crossover (coming in 2010 as a 2011 model). But there’s more here than meets the eye and we believe both of these images are not quite what they claim to be.
This fall MINI will show a production version of the MINI crossover (internally known as the R60). The road to development for this car has been a rocky one from the start. The R60 is a strange amalgamation of MINI and BMW platforms and components (the Clubman front end married to components from the upcoming BMW X1 in the rear) that seems like a questionable investment for the BMW Group. But BMW has grand plans for this platform.
As we reported a few weeks back, MINI is working on a maximum space concept (known internally as the Spacebox) with four doors and a hatch based off of the R60 MINI crossover vehicle. The car would come without the faux off-capabilities, a lower ride height and an entirely new exterior and interior design. Think of it as the BMW 5 Series GT of the MINI world. Focused on interior space first, efficiency and performance second. continued →
The driving excitement and individual style so typical of the MINI are now being combined once again with all the flair and refreshment of driving in the open air, the new MINI Convertible offering this unique rendition of motoring freedom in particularly intense style.
With its design improved in an evolutionary process and an even wider range of practical functions, with the most advanced and sophisticated suspension technology, even more powerful and, at the same time, economic engines, and with optimised safety technology, the new version of the open-air four-seater MINI consistently raises its strengths and qualities to an even higher level. continued →
Worldcarfans have some new photos of the MINI SAV that everyone loves to hate argue about. Included is the first look at the interior of the car. However we’d strongly encourage you to not make too many assumptions based on the photo above. It’s clear that this is very much a rough prototype and is simply making use of stock MINI parts to cobble together a functional interior. Look for something different than this and from what is in current MINI range when this car debuts at Frankfurt this fall and goes on sale to the public in 2010.
The MINI Crossover has done the rounds in the Arctic and now it’s on to suspension development at the Nurburgring. Globalmotoring.net has a new batch of photos of the crossover from this past week at the famed track.
Look for the new model to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September with photos to leak out a few weeks beforehand. For more on the R60 MINI Crossover be sure to check out MotoringFile’s R60 section.
Over the last year we’ve heard some rumbling that the MINI Crossover didn’t justify the cost of the development as a single model. To put it frankly BMW needed to create another iteration off of the same chassis to make the accountants sign-off on the deal. However it’s only been recently that we’ve started to see real signs of their plans. According to British Magazine Autocar, MINI is planning on a five door two wheel drive model that sits on the same chassis as a way to make the crossover chassis development eventually profitable.
The car will is expected to help round out the MINI range and provide a more efficient people moving option for the MINI brand over the R60 crossover. The expectation is that these additional models will push the brand over the 500,000 mark that will allow research and development programs to finally stand on their own outside of BMW. Autocar expects that we should see some sort of teaser at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
We’ve asked this question before but as we get closer to the official launch of the car this fall, the realities of what we’ll all be calling this thing become more real. So we want to throw this question out to the MF readers one more time. What would you like to see the name of the MINI crossover vehicle (aka the R60).
Our money is on something relatively simple like MINI X but than again a historically relevant name like the Moke could be appropriate as well.
Sound off in the comment section below. Oh and bonus points if you actually aren’t sarcastic on this one!
We’re reposting this Ask MF originally from last year due to a number of similar questions we’ve gotten over the last few weeks.
This week’s “Ask MotoringFile” comes from Dave M and is quickly becoming a very common question:
I have a 2008 MCS on order and am relatively new to the MINI world. I couldn’t help but notice everyone using these code names for different models of MINIs. What does it all mean?
MINI models follow a similar system to the (seemingly ancient) BMW model internal naming convention. Since we often talk about different models (sometimes in the same story, paragraph or even sentence), using the internal model code-names is often the easiest way to quickly identify what model of MINI we’re referring to.
The first generation of BMW MINI’s started with the R50 which was meant to be the coupe version of the car. However once that model number was established BMW decided to produced a higher power version called the Cooper S. Because the development work was started later it was given a different code-name – the R53. The R52 was actually conceived before the Cooper S and thus has the code-name R52. And for those wondering, the R51 was a concept that never made it past the conception stages.
You can get another look at that trippy MINI cross-over prototype that’s currently undergoing cold weather testing over at Autoweek.
Look for the production version of the crossover to debut this fall in Frankfurt and to begin production (in Austria) sometime in 2010. Be sure to check out our R60 section for all the details you could ever want on the soon to be largest MINI.
BMW confirmed the lamest excuse for a secret in the automotive world today when it officially approved the MINI Crossover Concept for production. As most MF readers will know, BMW has been working on the Crossover for years now with hand-built drivetrain prototypes starting tests way back in late 2007. In fact BMW currently has Munich built prototypes doing winter testing in Arctic circle.
Edmunds was on hand at the European Convertible launch and got this official statement from MINI:
“After going over the large amount of feedback from experts and the public, we approved the Crossover for production just four weeks after it debuted at the Paris show,” says head of Mini brand management Wolfgang Armbrecht.
As we’ve reported for over a year, look for the Crossover to be offered as both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive and have four full sized doors (unlike the concept).
Corriere della Sera (an Italian newspaper) had the opportunity to get not only a close look with the MINI Crossover Concept but actually had a chance to create a memorable photo-shoot.
The shoot took place at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle in Milan and marked the first time the city had allowed a car onto the premises for such on occasion. It also allows you to better judge the design and size as compared to the official photos we saw a few months back. It’s particularly nice to see the car surrounded by real people and real cars (even a MINI Clubman) to give it further context.
You can click on the photo above for a slightly larger look. However if you’d like to get a full size view, we’re broken the image down into five individual files below.
Car Magazine (always a favorite of ours) has some new photos of the MINI Crossover prototype that has been roaming around Munich. However a quick look at the rear of this particular prototype shows that this is indeed a different prototype than we’ve seen before. If you look closely you’ll see dual exhausts where there was only one on the previous R60 caught by Next Autos a few weeks ago. Could this be the R60 “S”? continued →
NextAutos has some of the best spy photos yet of the MINI Crossover. Due in late 2010, this prototype is the first to appear in what will be its final shape and size. As we’ve reported, expect the final R60 to take on much of the overall design seen in the recent MINI Crossover Concept that debuted in Paris a few weeks ago. Previous prototypes have used Clubman derived bodies and (who can forget) an early tank-like structure to hide the overall shape and size. With the concept giving most of that information away, MINI is has now moved onto the production based prototype phase than many of us are used to seeing with previous MINI models. continued →
We had a feeling the Crossman name wouldn’t stick and now it’s been verified at the Paris Auto Show by GoAuto.
BMW’s global sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson revealed to GoAuto at the Paris motor show last week that the Mini Crossman will have a different badge when it makes production inside the next two years.
Besides the name, they also found out that an ‘Estate’ version will follow in 2011. Could it simply be a larger version of the upcoming R60? It makes sense from a business case point of view. But then again you have to question how big it can get and still be a MINI. As it stands now the R60 seems to walk the line rather well. But we’re not sure how much bigger it can get. Of course this is all quite unconfirmed at this point and frankly we doubt this part of the story.
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1st Gen MINI R50: One & MC Coupe R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt. R53: MCS Coupe 2nd Gen MINI R55: Clubman R56: One/MC/MCS Coupe R57: One/MC/MCS Convt. R60: MINI SUV
Sections: R60 (Crossover), Video May 20th, 2009 11 Comments 
