MINI Clubman Photos Leaked on the Web
It looks like Edmunds has broken the official press embargo on all photos and information the 2008 MINI Clubman. So far they’ve only shown three photos and some various specifications (all which we’ve already reported). At this point we’re going to hold off on releasing our own information and photos (the one above is from their site) out of respect for the folks at MINI press who’ve worked so hard over the last few months in preparing the release. However we will give you a link.
Look for tons of pics and info early Sunday morning. Unless the whole world breaks the embargo before then.
[ Mini Offers First Specs on Five-Door 2008 Clubman ] Edmunds
And we’ve got one word for the folks over at Edmunds… Karma.
I like how the barn doors open around the rear lights. It’s kind of interesting to see the MINI logo off center too.
I can’t wait to see it in person.
I see that Edmunds lists the power figures for the R55 Cooper at 120 HP and 118 lb-ft and the R55 Cooper S at 175 HP and 177 lb-ft. According to the MINI USA website, the power figures for the R56 Cooper are 118 HP and 114 lb-ft and the R55 Cooper S are 172 HP and 177 lb-ft. Does this mean that the Clubman is getting a slight boost in power?
>I see that Edmunds lists the power figures for the R55 Cooper at 120 HP and 118 lb-ft and the R55 Cooper S at 175 HP and 177 lb-ft. According to the MINI USA website, the power figures for the R56 Cooper are 118 HP and 114 lb-ft and the R55 Cooper S are 172 HP and 177 lb-ft. Does this mean that the Clubman is getting a slight boost in power?
Nope. Edmunds are just wrong. 175hp is meant to be 175<b>BHP</b> – just like with the current coupe.
That is the first photo I’ve seen of the tail lights and how they poke through the doors – its a detail that came straight off the concept cars.
Technically it’s all there, but somehow it just misses the awesome finesse that Stephenson managed in the 1st gen- I hate to be the bad guy saying it, but the final execution of the details and proportions is somehow off to me…like a knockoff copy of a great design …. I dunno, the magic is missing somehow. It will sell though, just not to me. Oh well.
Well aren’t Edmunds all big and clever now!! It’s a kind of ‘We posted them first, nah nah!’ scenario. – Idiots in my opinion. Gabe has had those and other images for a long long while it seems and has been respectful to the poor sods on this side of the pond who’s job it is to keep this all hush hush. Jeez they only had to wait until Monday didn’t they?
It’s a shame this site is moderated because I would have a few harder words to say.
But anyway, the cat is out of the bag! This lovely piece of metal is there for all to see!
(Hope you appreciate my good work!) lol
The press embargo was also jumped during the R56 release. Seems like a tradition now. Just how realistic is it to send information and photos to hundreds or thousands of news organizations and tell everybody not to release it? May as well release everything and let it be public all at the same time.
>The press embargo was also jumped during the R56 release.
It was broken a couple hours early. Edmunds broke this one three days early.
Does it need to be said that I hate Edmunds?
They seriously don’t do anything newsy and just break embargoes and go on press junkets. I mean we already have Autoweek for that and at least they have Automotive News for the actual stories.
First time I have seen the way they handle the rear lights, I love it, and matches very well with the new design of the headlights. Not intending to buy a Clubman but could easily see why other people would.
Hmmm. All black. Dechromed. Lowered. Wheel spacers. Wide rubber. Big lights. Aftermarket tuned to 250hp. This might just work…
First Harry Potter, now the Clubman – what’s the world coming to? Spoiler queens – Hmmph. The Divil’s work. Useless to resist, hadda look. The rear is a triumph of the unique – this will be its signature feature, side loading be damned. Thanks for posting the image, BTW – now that we’ve looked into the abyss, the abyss has looked into us as well – there goes that little bit of purity I was saving as a get-outta-hell card. 😉
“Looks for tons of pics and info early Sunday morning. Unless the whole world breaks the embargo before then.”
“And we’ve got one word for the folks over at Edmunds… Karma.”
? They broke the news before MotoringFile so now they’re the bad guys?
… by the way, The Clubman is looking good! ; )
Autoweek – Print edition (Magazine) for July 30th has a small article and 3 pictures of the Clubman. The only “specs” they write about is the that it’s 9.4 inches longer.
Hmm….wooden panels (real vs faux) on the sides, like the ones available once on the PT cruiser…hmmm…icing on the cake!!!
Bravo!!! happy motoring!!!
Clubman feature now on the UK MINI website at <a HREF="http://mini.co.uk/html/model_range/mini_clubman/home.html" rel="nofollow">http://mini.co.uk/html/model_range/mini_clubman/home.html</a>
Any word on if the rear silver portion can be had in body color? It reminds me of the silver around the windshield on the Chrysler Crossfire. It seems out of place.
So how does providing a direct link to Edmunds make you any better? Of course I went to that link and provided them some web traffic. I’m sure Edmunds appreciates you doing that. 😉 🙂
The additional rear space looks cavernous next to my current R50. I may even be able to fit my bike and other gear in the back without removing the rear wheel or having the passenger get poked in the shoulder with a handlebar. The door opening around the tailights is downright nifty. I’m on the bandwagon on this, I can’t wait to see the accessories for it.
Autoblog is saying Edmunds is pointing fingers at Autoweek who ran it in print first, but not online. I don’t get autoweek anymore so I can’t say. Regardless, what a pain. Mini.com has a full microsite up too.
I think it looks fantastic. However a small bit of worry regarding the rear doors and the way they open … in tightly packed residential areas with street parking, where cars are literally on top of one another … and bein that the MINI is not at Van height … how far do these doors swing out when opened?
Thinking about a) not hitting the car behind and b) when opened they could be blocking access to the sidewalk
ahh whatever … 🙂 … nice job, good show!
Now we know what was covered up on the rear end in those pre-launch spy shots. I wonder if it’s possible to have the rear pillars in black, instead of roof colour, plus the rest of the rear in the body colour as per SB’s post above? Can’t wait for the official MINI brochures. Looking forward to buying one if the price is right.
Billy, great work indeed.
Now I want to order my R55. When can I get this done here in the good ole’USA?
>I wonder if it’s possible to have the rear pillars in black, instead of roof colour, plus the rest of the rear in the body colour as per SB’s post above?
It is.
I just noticed the gas struts at the bottom of the barn doors – much like a hatch.
yeah, re: the gas struts, i remember seeing an early prototype last year at a focus group – they asked a lot of questions whether people would want assisted opening or assisted closing of the barn doors – i.e. fly open/push close, or pull open/auto close. i wonder what they settled on in the end.
i have to wonder what’s the point of leaving the rear clusters on the body and have cut-outs in the doors. seems just to add complication for no good reason? but then i wish they’d kept the headlights in the hood as well… don’t like panel gaps.
i think the car could be made to look quite alright with some aftermarket mods. personally i’d put bodycolour stickers on the side/rear windows to make it look like a panel van :).
I think mounting the lights on the door is more complicated.
It’s not bad. Originally I thought it was going to be fugly (based on photos of the test mules) but it’s turned out better than I expected. I might even be able to imagine myself owning one, if I needed the extra space. Wonder how it’ll handle, though… & if the engine is the same (it is, right?), then the extra weight might slow it down some… definitely would want to get that in a JCW if possible.