Next Generation MINI Hatch to Feature an Extra Door?

If there’s one thing that MINI consistently gets dinged on in consumer feedback is a lack of room. Even though it’s called
a MINI, there are many markets that prize space and utility above almost all else. And MINI intends to respond. But instead of making the 3rd generation MINI hatch (aka the F56) bigger, they intend to give it more utility and more access to the space it already has.
More specifically they intend to give you at least one club-door similar to the door the Clubman currently has on the right side. The original rumor was that MINI would have two doors (one on each side). However it may make more sense to solely have it on the left side of the car given than the fuel door will move to the right side of the car to better correspond with the front wheel drive BMW that will share engines and chassis with the MINI.
The addition is rumored to be an option on the MINI after the first stage of production – likely 6-12 months after the introduction of the F56 in late 2013.
So what about the rumored BMW like interior? Don’t believe it. What you see if you’ve been following the Automotive web lately is a BMW 1 Series (from the forthcoming FWD 1 Series) shoe-horned into the F56 to hide MINI’s radical new interior. Yes despite what you read on other sites, MINI will not get a BMW interior and will not lose it’s core design identity.
37 Comments
<p>So, just an option</p>
<p>I’d rather like…….</p>
<p>Wow, this door is going to be TINY, going to break up the side glass and add weight. I think that the 6 door Clubman will be a better option for those looking for more utility from the MINI. Good think it will be an option.</p>
<p>Terrible news for the Rocketman</p>
<p><a href="http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/Industry-News/Mini-cancels-the-mini-Mini-aka-the-Rocketman/ " rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/Industry-News/Mini-cancels-the-mini-Mini-aka-the-Rocketman/ </a></p>
<p>I saw that, it’s a real shame.</p>
<p>I certainly hope that the gas door doesn’t move to the passenger side of the Mini. I know that lots of manufacturers, like Subaru, BMW NIssan and those that I missed didn’t get my business mainly on account of the gas door being on the wrong side, in my estimation. Think about this: Go to the gas pump, you drive up to it with the pump being on the passenger side, then someone with his gas door is on the drivers side, It can cause problems. Plus it’s just easier to get out of the drivers door, flip the gas door open and begin gassing up the car.</p>
<p>I’ve just always thought that it made more sense having the gas fill door on the drivers side. Of course in the middle of the back bumper would solve all the problems, but the rear end crash tests would probably not be good.</p>
<p>Really?</p>
<p>Really +1. Wow.</p>
<p>I’m guessing you’re American.</p>
<p>I like it on the driver’s side as I sometimes forget to close the gas cap. When I notice it, I can easily roll down the window, reach around and shut it while driving down the highway :)</p>
<p> Those must be some real monkey arms.</p>
<p>I’m a little confused.. should I ignore the previous article named, “This is NOT the next generation MINI”? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2012/01/13/this-is-not-the-2013-mini-hardtop/" rel="ugc">https://www.motoringfile.com/2012/01/13/this-is-not-the-2013-mini-hardtop/</a></p>
<p>“We’ve seen this car before. It wasn’t the F56 then. It’s not the F56 now.”
“his FWD BMW 1-series mule has what is basically an improvised R56 body on top of it and an equally improvised BMW interior.”</p>
<p>Sooooo… same photos, but its an F56 now?? This is just like reading those Mac Rumor forums..</p>
<p>Different angle and a little insider info has given us further details on this car. However note that that is NOT the true interior destined for the F56.</p>
<p>Different angle, same car. So you should revise your previous statement to: “It wasn’t the F56 (interior) then. It’s not the F56 (interior) now.” </p>
<p>Looks like you just did.</p>
<p>Fine, as long as it is just an option and it keeps MINI from making the car bigger. I think it’s funny that people complain about the Mini’s and Countryman’s size – just buy another car.</p>
<p>Glad it is an option as it would change the character of the MINI</p>
<p>5 lug wheels are interesting change</p>
<p>“What you see (if you following the link to Autoblog to see more photos)
is a BMW 1 Series (from the forthcoming FWD 1 Series) shoe-horned into
the F56…”</p>
<p>I just don’t understand the comments about “lack of room”. If people don’t have enough room, then buy another frickin’ car! There are plenty of larger cars on the market and even larger MINI’s now. “I really like that small size if only it was larger”.</p>
<p>Gentlemen, I thought we agreed this photo was not the new hatch, but merely a mule for another BMW project? ( you”ll recall great debate about the “BMW like dash” etc..</p>
<p>If you look closley the “third door is just a black tapeline… pysch!</p>
<p>“What you see (if you following the link to Autoblog to see more photos) is a BMW 1 Series (from the forthcoming FWD 1 Series) shoe-horned into the F56 to hide MINI’s radical new interior.”</p>
<p>Is there supposed to be a link here somewhere? I feel a little lost.</p>
<p>According to other rumors the F56 length will be near to 4 meters, to compete with the Audi A1 and the Alfa Mito.</p>
<p>If this is true there would be room for a smaller Mini based on the current generation platform, that will continue to be produced for the coupè and the new roadster.</p>
<p>Probably BMW has killed only a short Mini, not a Mini with the Rocketman design based on the current platform.</p>
<p>It would be easier for BMW to restyle the second generation Mini with a new roof, a new face and a smaller engine.</p>
<blockquote>According to other rumors the F56 length will be near to 4 meters, to compete with the Audi A1 and the Alfa Mito.</blockquote>
<p>This just isn’t true. Cars don’t compete on length. We know from sources very high up in MINI that the F56 will grow by only a few centimeters over the R56, and only to comply with now even more stringent EU pedestrian crash standards. Despite how much people like to moan about it, there is no grand conspiracy within BMW to make the MINI bigger. MINI is still selling cars faster than they can build them, so the idea that they’ve got to take desperate measures and grow to compete with Audi or Alfa is absurd.</p>
<p>Conspiracy??? Heck lets review history of the Bloated/Bigger Motor Works company before we make any grand decisions about the future of MINI ;)</p>
<p>You mean when they made the second generation car lighter and only 1-2 cm longer?</p>
<p>Just poking fun Gabe , hence the ;)</p>
<p>Honestly MINI has done a decent job so far, the parent company though less so. While I think MINI proportions are safe for the shortterm I wonder if the bigger is better mentality at BMW will infect it. Funny that the most lauded BMW for a long while (1M) bucked that to great reviews.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>From the article: “The original rumor was that MINI would have two doors (one on each side).” Is this still true for the F56 based Clubman?</p>
<p>Yes, the future Clubman is supposed to have two suicide club doors. However, it’s also supposed to be based on the larger Countryman/Paceman footprint rather than the Hardtop like it is currently. It’s also supposed to be more of a traditional “shooting brake.”</p>
<p>I like this post the most :)</p>
<p>Yeah. It reads like an new Apple product rumor ;)</p>
<p>Most of whats been said on this website about the F56 sounds like a Mac rumor mill.. Its not that they’re wrong, its the absolute certainty in which they state they’re right.</p>
<p>Wait. What? I’m confused. We keep hearing conflicting info on the next gen Clubman. For a long time we heard that it was going to be based on the R60. Then we heard that, no, it was going to be based on the F56 as Edward (and I) have assumed. Is there a new development? I notice that you say “footprint” and not chassis. Whatever it is, I am looking forward to seeing it more than any other future MINI.</p>
<p>F55 Clubman 2 will be based on a longer wheelbase version of the UKL1 platform which it will share with the FWD BMW 1-series. F56 3-door Hatch and F54 5-door Hatch will use a shorter wheelbase version of the UKL1 platform shared with the BMW City car.</p>
<p>Ah. Well now I am even more intrigued by the Clubman 2. Thanks.</p>
<p>They can add whatever the hell they want as soon as it doesn’t make the car bigger and that it comes as an option. Regarding those consumers, what were they exactly expecting when they bought the hatch? That it would grow bigger over time? I’d like to know more about the kind of questions that were asked because this feedback sounds plain stupid to me…</p>
<p>For some perspective…</p>
<p>Most brands want to capture a customer when they are young, fit and unencumbered. The brand bond is created then. The company wants to keep the customer as they get older, form families, and eventually have bad knees and hips! So they want to capture the customer with the small car for a single person, then keep them through the family years, and then to the empty nest time of life.</p>
<p>For Honda, this would be start with a Civic, move onto an accord, then an Oddesy or Pilot with the family, then back into an Accord. (Or up to an Acura or something, when they are older and have more cash).</p>
<p>So MINI started with the original two-door hatch, and didn’t have any offerings for all the rest of the market that wanted larger vehicles for whatever reason. As the original purchasers had kids or dogs or whatever, many moved onto other brands because there was no MINI branded offering that fit the evolving needs. So MINI offered the Clubman, and it was a bit bigger. But still no family hauler. And then the Countryman with four doors, but still a 4.5 seater…</p>
<p>So, MINI has a couple of options…. Throw away the happy customers that want MINI branded products that aren’t offered and try to replace them with more people that fit the market demographic of the small end of the market (the young, or a non-primary car for those that have a different people mover as they have a family), or they offer more convenience to those that have needs for more people and stuff.</p>
<p>The first options limits the growth of the brand. The second option will offend some who think that MINI should just offer small cars, but many who complain about the second option seem to forget that MINI can still offer the product just like the original new MINI while growing the brand with offerings that cater to those that need to move more people or stuff.</p>
<p>The marketplace wants the second path, as shown by the huge sales volume of the Countryman. Just be happy that MINI sells stuff to a larger percentage of the car buying public, and still offers a two door hatch that has the performance and practicality of the MINI and Mini. While the new two seaters are neat cars, they won’t be the volume players that MINI needs to become a commercial success.</p>
<p>Matt</p>