NAIAS 2011

It seems as if the rest of the automotive press can’t quite get it right when it comes to the Paceman. First there were those patent renderings that were wrongly reported to be of the production Paceman when in fact they were simply for the concept car. Then today Car and Driver reports (with great fan-fare) that the Paceman will go into production. The only problem? It was confirmed for production last January by MotoringFile and other European news outlets.

And those three doors Car and Driver keep talking about? We’ve confirmed with a number of sources that the Paceman will indeed have “activity doors” (aka suicide doors) on both sides. Five doors in total if you’re counting at home.

Then there’s the name? C&D gets this right that the R61 will ultimately come to market with a name other than the Paceman. But again we broke that news last winter as well.

But we say thanks to C&D for bringing up the R61 as it’s a great time to give you some updates. The Paceman will be based on the R60 Countryman and thus will come with All4 as an option. MINI will likely only make the car available in Cooper, Cooper S, and Cooper SD form at launch with a JCW model coming shortly afterwards. Speaking of JCW, don’t be surprised if you see the R61 form the basis of an updated WRC in a few years.

Look for the Paceman to debut in production trim sometime during the first half of 2013 and at dealer lots in the fall as a 2014 model.

So what of the similarly sized Clubman? The next generation Clubman (the F55) will continue to be based on the standard MINI hatch (in this case the F56) and will spawn a slightly lower sleeker look more akin to a wagon vs a crossover. In addition to this MINI will offer two rear hinged doors (one on each side) rather than the one currently on the right side of the car.