Video: MINI Five Door Debuts in Motion
The F55 five door MINI represents an entirely new variant from the brand that mixes some of the R55 Clubman with the current F56 design language. That said there are also some new forms present on the F55 (namely that rear) that is entirely new for the brand. And while the photos show this off in various angles, the videos after the break do a much better job putting it into three dimensions.
Note – this is meant to be B-roll video and thus should be considering as such. But it is a great way to get to know the car a bit better than simple static images.
<p>you know, I’m liking it more and more. this might replace my Laurel hardtop…</p>
<p>MINI sources believe that F55 will attract more male buyers and help to “de-feminise the brand” and balance the split between male and female customers. Industry wisdom suggests that female car buyers will buy a model that is seen as a ‘male’ car but male buyers will not buy what’s perceived as ‘female’.</p>
<p>I am not a huge fan of that color combination, but this car looks much better in-motion. I’ll be in the market by the time the LCI is released – so this could be a good option for me. I really wish ( know it’s not happening) they would put a normal tachometer next to the speedo, like the R53 chrono-pack set up.</p>
<p>There will be an optional digital display that could happen on the LCI</p>
<p>Ah, good to know.</p>
<p>meaning you will have the option to configure it with the tach back center on the steering col.?</p>
<p>[URL=http://s555.photobucket.com/user/mab01uk/media/Four-door-Mini-600x364_zps2f511cea.jpg.html][IMG]http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj470/mab01uk/Four-door-Mini-600x364_zps2f511cea.jpg[/IMG][/URL]</p>
<p>Concepts and prototypes : Classic Mini four-door
The launch of the MINI 5-Door Hatch has sparked memories of a similar product that BMC could have launched, right at the dawn of ADO15 production, in the early 1960s. A more practical Mini seemingly has been on the cards ever since Alec Issigonis devised his clever 10ft (and a quarter inch) long baby car.</p>
<p>According to John Pressnell’s epochal book, Mini: The Definitive History, the idea of a four-door Mini had been floating around Longbridge since 1957, once the ADO15 project was underway. However, little work was done on the car, as the priority was just to get the two-door to market, but it was the arrival of the commercial and load-carrying variations that had the designers thinking more seriously about the idea of a more practical Mini.</p>
<p>The 1960-1961 Morris Mini van, Countryman, Pick-up and the Austin Se7en Traveller’s new underpinnings would potentially form the perfect basis for the new four-door Mini. They received a much-needed four-inch stretch of the wheelbase (from 80in to 84in), giving the car more rear room and a worthwhile extension in the luggage area.</p>
<p>According to one ex-Austin apprentice who helped with the Mini’s 20th anniversary celebrations in 1979, when he was researching the Mini’s early life, he came across the above interesting image of a four-door Mini produced by the Longbridge engineering team as a possible upwards extension of the Mini saloon range.</p>
<p>He said that the approach back then was very much a case of ‘suck it and see’, with many one-offs being produced as the result of a ‘good idea’. The four-door Mini in the image was built in 1962-1963 and, as can be seen from the accompanying image (note the gap between the rear wheelarch and the rear corner flange), it was based on the longer-wheelbase platform and was photographed at the Longbridge development shops behind Austin’s HQ, known by one and all as the Kremlin.</p>
<p>The fate of this car is unknown, but it almost certainly did not survive. There was a rather unfortunate policy at Longbridge of scrapping most ‘non-standard’ prototypes like this, so it probably didn’t survive very long, or was stuffed into one of the infamous tunnels and got burnt in the fire in the late-1980s.</p>
<p>John Pressnell said that Ron Dovey of the experimental body shop remembered the single running prototype. Consideration was also given to a long-wheelbase two-door saloon and it seems possible that a car was also built to that specification. The fate of that car remains unknown.</p>
<p>More on AROnline:-
<a href="http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-classic/concepts-prototypes-mini-four-door/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-classic/concepts-prototypes-mini-four-door/</a></p>
<p>The elongated boot does follow a similar shape as to the original Mini!</p>
<p>Is the angle of the headlights less severe (more upright) than on the F56? If so, I find it flattering here. So, too, is the bumper profile. Less-BMW angularity and more MINI softness.</p>
<p>Then there’s Electric Blue. Does anything look bad dressed in that color? :-)</p>
<p>The slope of the rear hatch reminds me of any Audi Avant except less elegant. I get the some of the classic Minis rear lights extended outside the body, but they were also rather small and proportioned. These still look too big even on the larger F55 rather than the F56. I think the issue with them being too big is that they take over the rear and alter the rear shape. Whereas on the R53 for example, you could see the beautiful curve of the rear quarter panels, these lights jut out from the body and protrude too much at the corners so that the car’s rear looks like a set of wide hips (and not in a good way) While the R56’s rear lights weren’t as elegant as the R53, they didn’t affect the lines of the car as much as the F56-gen do.</p>
<p>It is your point of view, I own a R53, I think the R56 the least attractive of Bmw Minis, whereas the F56 is the most beautiful</p>
<p>We’re in the same boat, I’ve owned three R53s and will likely skip the R56 gen completely for the F56 LCI in a few years. The only R56-gen car I’ve genuinely enjoyed driving and that felt special to me was the R58 Coupe. As I’ve said in a few other posts recently: I love the tech, interior, and performance of the F56. Also I think the solidity of the F56 platform may provide for great modification potential even if it’s a bit softer out of the gate. The things I still haven’t warmed up to are the rear lights and the S models lower front bumper/chin/underbite.</p>
<p>So funny. The vast majority will disagree that the F56 is one of the ugliest cars on the road right now. The R53/56 were very close in design. As an owner of both, I would say the R56 is the best looking, as it has aged very well, and looks slightly more refined than the R53. The F56 is straight up ugly.</p>
<p>Look at the body roll on that thing!</p>
<p>Is it just me or am I saying a resemblance with the bigger <a href="http://www.fleetavenue.com.au/landrover-rangerover-evoque.php" title="land rover range rover evoque" rel="nofollow">Land Rover Range Rover Evoque</a>… What do you guys think?</p>
<p>such a beautiful car. if anything, the paceman resembles it most. my favorite mini model, too.</p>