Recently I got some quiet time with the new MINI Clubman and immediately started studying some of the more interesting aspects of the vehicle. The first thing I spent time on was the rear barn doors.

Since the Clubman debuts on MotoringFile last August people have been asking the question – do I really have to get the black or silver trim on the back? While the official answer is yes, we found that it’s surprisingly easy to remove each piece of trim. As you can see in the photo above, the plastic tail-light trim is simply held on by a couple of screws. This opens up a world of possibilities, one of which is to buy an unpainted version and simply have it painted body color at your local dealer.

While the c-pillar is a little harder to get to, we were assured it was completely possible and, like the tail-light trim, is also just a piece of plastic.

Of course you can skip painting altogether and simple put silver trim on a silver car or just mix and match to your hearts content.

So for all you soon to be or would be Clubman owners, your ability to customize just increased a little.