Carrozeria Castagna, the maker of the MINIWagon, (profiled on MotoringFile last year) has several new MINI related offerings for 2005. For those that aren’t familiar with Castagna, they’re a bespoke Italian coach-builder that has recently started building cutom, long wheelbase MINIs. Now it would seem, they’ve taken it a step futher and introduced several new models. Here are a few excerpts from the 2005 brochure on their new products:
SUWagon. Unbeatable land performance.
SUWagon is a favourite of those looking for relaxing weekends and those seeking superior performance on mixed courses. Its new side guards, expanded bumpers and a special suspension system let the vehicle raise and lower itself by adapting to variable road conditions and types of use required. This makes it the driver’s best friend as it adapts to any situation, responding to different weather factors and even the mood of the driver. Wherever you go, to the mountains or the sea, it will follow.
Tender. Sand, sun, salt…
Tender goes back to a car concept that we cherish, popular in all the finest beach reports in the 50’s: the “Beach Baby”. Class, style, and just a hint of swagger as you step off your yacht or out of your villa to grab an aperitif at the marina “aboard” this superb vehicle. Cars to go aboard yachts come with special equipment for proper transport and fastening – in your chosen colours and customizations, naturally.
CrossUP. Deserts, forests, metropolitan shopping.
The CrossUP car is perfect for a wide range of uses. Designed as an “easy trek” vehicle to carry you to the beauty of nature, it is ready to take on any adventure whether it be a mad dash to the shops in town or a mega shopping to stock up your mountain cottage. Special equipment can be made to suit every use.
For those that may have missed the news on Carrozeria Castagna’s original MINI offerings you can read more here: Castagna MINIWagon In Depth
Pricing for a few of the previous wagon conversions (shown above) have reportedly cost around $15,000 (on top of the cost of the MINI). You can find out more in the official Carrozeria Castagna’s brochure:
[ Carrozeria Castagna / MINI ] PDF
Thanks Patricia for the heads up!
<p>The tender kinda reminds me of the Mini Mokes used in The Prisoner…</p>
<p>Hi!! i saw it at Geneve…. belive me, on live are very very TERRIBLE!!!!! brrrrrrrrrr……….</p>
<p>I like the sides fender flares painted or notched like hardware is holding the flares on as in some Nissan trucks. The two-tone is kind of creepy – like when dealerships try to enhance cars by two-toning them – ie: Camry, Malibu. And the bars are so important to design – yuck unless you live in a place that people bump you a lot – NYC.</p>
<p>Does anyone know where you can find that front bumper guard in the US ????</p>
<p>It seems to me the Italians took it upon themselves to create different body variants thatBMW outflat refused to execute with the current R53 chassis.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I have also read bad reviews about Castagna’s renditions as being of poor quality and unimpressive looks (Cars look slapped together).</p>
<p>Nevertheless interesting. Too bad BMW still thinks to introduce more body variants in 2-3 years makes them fully competitive…</p>
<p>Not to offend anyone that liked those concepts – but to me they’re pretty visually offensive to the proportions of the MINI.</p>
<p>Kurt, I really dig the station wagon. It is a nice rendition of the classic Clubman Traveller wagon.</p>
<p>The Italians usually have such good taste but these are UGLY. Yuck!</p>
<p>Wow, aside from the SUWagon, I really like these models. The Tender looks like a British take on an Alfa Romeo. And I love the two-tone on the CrossUP. (It’s not just GM cars that use two-tone — so does Rolls-Royce) It’s too bad that you guys are saying the build quality is poor.</p>
<p>hmmm… I think we should take a Ferrari and put some fake wood on the side of it and add a tutone paint job and see how the Italians feel then…. :0</p>
<p>oh- and by the way, I think I saw that Tender thingy on the Counterfeit MINI website….</p>
<p>From the looks of it the Tender and the CrossUP are just renders anyway (i.e. not real cars, just computer models). The only one that looks like is has actually been made is the SUWagon.</p>
<p>The Tender looks like those goofy cars that Ricardo Montalban and Tatoo used to drive around on “Fantasy Island”.</p>
<p>ditto on the “bull bar” or whatever you call it, anyone know where I can find one of those? I like it!!</p>
<p>Patrcia = Patricia, nickname is quicksilver.
Most now me as that :-)</p>
<p>So much for short overhangs</p>
<p>The Prisoner was sooooo Kool!</p>
<p>Anybody think the CrossUp has a slight look of the 1977 Subaru Brat? It’s nearly as ugly.</p>
<p>De Plane, De Plane……….BOSS!</p>
<p>Actually the cars used in “Fantasy Island” were late 1970’s Plymouth Volares.</p>
<p>Yeah, the Tender has definately got a Mini-moke thing going on, minus the surry top. The CrossUP makes me wonder what the actual practical off-road capability of a car so low to the ground would be. It doesn’t look like they’ve lifted it at all. I agree that the two-tone is a bit of a sytlistic cop out in an attempt to make the car further stand out and it’s something I could do without – a complication to an otherwise elegantly simple design. I also wonder what kind of actual anti-roll features are built into the Tender (such as the A-pillar reinforcement in the Cabrio). I think it’s the best example of the overall principle behind these modified MINIs – a posh luxury customization of what’s considered a very trendy car. I don’t know about you all, but I haven’t yet needed to bring a car aboard my yaucht.</p>
<p>Two-tone and unattractive nissan-style arches aside, the basic idea behind the SUWagon is intruiging. Moving the rear wheel back a tad and then extended the bumper and trunk back as much, is different for sure. At first look, it’s hardly noticeable in the overall look of the car, but after seeing the car at other angles, I don’t like it at all. The average road-goer probably wouldn’t notice, but the after-thought length is unattractive. In concept, a MINI with a real boot and a little more interior room without a significant change to the size or look of the car could be very apealing. I wonder what the handling characteristics would be after moving the balance of the car rearward and adding the weight to the car. The SUWagon boasts a dynamic suspension that adjusts to how you’re driving, but I’d like to read an review of how the car actually drives and if it’s an improvement over MINI’s already spectacular suspension. Has anyone actually driven one of these?</p>
<p>As for build quality, that is certainly <em>the</em> issue. The extraordinarily stiff unibody build of the MINI chassis is essential to the handling quality of the car and I wonder what these modifications do to the stiffness (and ultimately the ride, cornering ability, and safety) of the car. Had this configuration been built that way from the factory by BMW and all the body components were properly engineered and native to the build, a configuration such as this could be viable, though many I think would find it unattractive. The biggest question would ultimately be one of weight, handling, and build quality. Is the car now heavy enough that it’s lost some of its get-up-and-go and suffers at fuel economy? And furthermore, has the car been put together straight and strong in the retrofit?</p>
<p>All and all, these are some very interesting concepts and I’d be <em>very</em> interested to read a first-hand experience with any of these modified MINIs.</p>
<p>The Tender is interesting and Moke-like. BTW, the “surry top” was not a standard Mini Moke feature. That goofy top was found only on the Mokes that were converted by Crawford – a British coachbuilding firm from 40 years ago — much like Carrozeria Castagna is today.</p>
<p>Isn’t the whole idea of the MINI to individualize it as much as you want? This is just another way of doing that. It always astounds me that there is so much complaining about who’s tweaked this or changed that. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it! But someone out there will like it.</p>
<p>lol ‘de plane…. de plane….’</p>
<p>I like the bird in stockings, she can have a ride in my MCS. The cars I can live without.</p>
<p>Ugly ugly ugly…All of them!!! </p>
<p>Why are they trying to change a good brand? Wouldn’t a bigger car be a MAXI? Perhaps the folks at Mini are dreaming of more $$$$. These designs are a disgrace!!!</p>
<p>Moss Motors has Bull Bars, but they are different.</p>
<p>I like the CrossUP, especially if you had them make a couple of seats in the back.</p>
<p>The Tender is kind of cool looking, but regardless of if you like the Castagna variants or not, it’s very cool that there’s still coachmakers out there, and that they are still working on our beloved MINI. More power to them if they can sell them.</p>
<p>I’ve never seen these in person, of course, but from what I can tell, these designers tend to go all out when creating variants…the exterior trim treatment follows into the completely redone interior. It’s a holistic approach missing from many of the appearance mods I’ve seen to date. There are definitely some good ideas here…little bits shaved or added that are quite do-able for the average owner. Some of these interiors are the nicest, and perhaps cheekiest, I’ve ever seen. Think of it as an experimental design laboratory.</p>
I for one disagree with the concept that this vehicle looks anything like a Subaru BRAT. I also, as a BRAT owner, do not agree that the brat is ugly. i love my brat it goes anywhere expecially when in 4 wheel drive.