Next Generation Paceman to Go Four Doors

Over the past 12 months the Paceman has moved from dead in the water to firmly part of MINI’s future plans. However MINI intends to make a key change to the car in help ensure more success – four doors. The F61 Paceman will be based on an extended UKL platform that will be shared with the Countryman, BMW X1 and (crucially) the BMW X2. What’s the X2? For lack of a better term it’s BMW’s version of a crossover coupe and key reason that the Paceman will continue into its second generation.
The shared development costs should help the performance and refinement of both the Countryman and Paceman models. We know that BMW is currently testing 300hp all wheel drive versions of it’s extended UKL platform. It’s not that much of a stretch to see MINI dropping that engine in a JCW version that redefines MINI performance. While we don’t expect the Paceman to get a the plugin hybrid and diesel models that the Countryman will, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility given that the cost would be mostly in certifying the new models rather than in engineering.
The X2 is reportedly to come in both two and four door configurations while MINI will focus on four doors with the Paceman. Will that help sales? Would you consider a Paceman with four doors? Let us know in the comments below.
Look for the F61 four door Paceman to debut sometime in 2018.
29 Comments
<p>Surely the whole point of the Paceman is that it’s a two door version of the Countryman? Closer in concept to the basic Mini hatch but with added ride-height and practicality. Unless the 2 rear doors are in a “club- door” fashion, I can’t see much point to it to be honest. A 2 door version if the new clubman however, that I would like to see. That would possibly even open up the potential for the continuation of the Clubvan and maybe restart it’s approach the US market as a bigger vehicle; size being a factor which eventually led to the plug being pulled on the original model (a shame really as it was as close in concept to the classic Mini model range that BMW had come up with in years).</p>
<p>Paceman X6?</p>
<p>The problem with R61 Paceman is that it is, essentially, nothing more than a two door Countryman. In return, we get less doors, less seats, less leg room, less head room, less luggage space, less ground clearance and less convenience. Despite this, BMW charges £1,000 more for it! If ever a car epitomised the phrase, “Less Is More” it’s the Paceman. It’s a no-brainer why potential customers stayed away.</p>
<p>The good news is that BMW has learnt from this mistake. We know that, starting with F60 Countryman, all future MINI variants will have their own individual styling, rather that just being a variation on a theme. So, F61 will be a stylish 4-door coupe, whereas F60 which will be a higher-riding dedicated SUV, neither sharing exterior panels with the other.</p>
<p>Automotive component supplier sources, close to BMW’s M division, have confirmed that the company is engineering a high-output variant of its parent company’s new B48 turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine which, with revisions to the induction system and other tweaks, takes peak output to “well over 300bhp”. This bodes well for JCW 4WD versions of F54 Clubman and F61 Paceman.</p>
<p>The problem with R61 Paceman is that it is, essentially, nothing more than a two door Countryman. In return, we get less doors, less seats, less leg room, less head room, less luggage space, less ground clearance and less convenience. Despite this, BMW charges £1,000 more for it! If ever a car epitomised the phrase, “Less Is More” it’s the Paceman. It’s a no-brainer why potential customers stayed away.</p>
<p>The good news is that BMW has learnt from this mistake. We know that, starting with F60 Countryman, all future MINI variants will have their own individual styling, rather that just being a variation on a theme. So, F61 will be a stylish 4-door coupe, whereas F60 which will be a higher-riding dedicated SUV, neither sharing exterior panels with the other.</p>
<p>Automotive component supplier sources, close to BMW’s M division, have confirmed that the company is engineering a high-output variant of its parent company’s new B48 turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine which, with revisions to the induction system and other tweaks, takes peak output to “well over 300bhp”. This bodes well for JCW 4WD versions of F54 Clubman and F61 Paceman.</p>
<p>I like the Paceman, my only problem is the limited colour option.
I do not see the point of a 4 door when you have the Countryman.</p>
<p>The point of the Countryman was 4 doors, the Paceman was 2 doors. If BMW/MINI want the Pacemen to sell then put a large engine into it.</p>
<p>If MINI is to try and compete with itself (BMW) then they have to keep the cost down and changing the basic platform from 2 doors to 4 will cost more.</p>
<p>If MINI is going to compete with Range Rover they need to keep the costs down so if they want to increase sales then cut some of the nonsense frill stuff and stick a larger engine in it. A larger reliable engine would go a long way to insure future sales. Who needs things like “Mood lighting” and if you look around you when you are driving to and from work, or any time for that matter, how many cars have more than just the driver in it? Having the internet in your car is a dangerous and expensive distraction, and it is adding to the costs unnecessarily. A good audible turn by turn GPS that allows you to keep your eyes on the road is about the only thing useful besides real gauges for engine information.</p>
<p>When MINI started selling these larger cars they opened up a whole new can of worms for now they compete with BMW, Range Rover, Acura, Lexus, Toyota, Honda and that is just here in the USA. MINI better rethink the small car, minimalist, concept.</p>
<p>I LOVE MY Paceman [it’s always a conversation starter in mall parking lots or wherevery I go | have been] it’s a sweet look car and an awesome ride.
My only issue – limited colour option.
I see no point in a 4-door Paceman
I like the sporty look
Just sayin’
my opinion</p>
<p>Just when you thought they were going to decrease the model variants, here comes another body style. What are they smoking or ingesting, ’cause I want some.
My head is starting to ache just contemplating the huge number of BMW variants let alone having MINI multiples as well.
Time to change the name of brand MINI – and make Mini a model again, not a brand name.</p>
<p>I would never consider a 4 door Paceman. Just as I would never consider a 4 door MINI. For me, most, if not all, 4 door cars simply are not comfortable due to the short distance between the A and B pillars. I am 6’3″ and need the seat all of the way back. It’s a shame that manufacturers do not make the selection of coupes as they once did. For example, Ford’s only 2 door is the Mustang, at least in the US. Ludicrous!</p>
<p>And there have been styling exercises showing a 4-door Mustang (and “Mustang family” of cars) down the road. LOL</p>
<p>Same with the VW Beetle, as VW considers offering “4-door coupe” and other versions when it moves to the MQB platform.</p>
<p>The crossover coupe is the next big thing, it’s the perfect blend of sports car and practically. In case the German manufacturers have forgotten, a sedan his 4 doors and a coupe has 2 doors. You can call a cow a horse if you want, but it’s still a cow.</p>
<p><blockquote>it was the third best selling Mini globally</blockquote></p>
<p>How long ago was that? In the US, the Paceman has been one of the slowest selling cars on the market.</p>
<p><a href="http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/race-of-snails-10-slowest-selling-cars-of-april.html/?a=viewall" rel="nofollow ugc">http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/race-of-snails-10-slowest-selling-cars-of-april.html/?a=viewall</a></p>
<p>Good question, it was until BMW announced that they were dropping the Paceman back in the spring. It will likely go down is the biggest automotive product management blunder of the decade.</p>
<p>BMW’s research has revealed that the overwhelming majority of customers who buy BIG MINIs prefer four doors, and that they perceive two-door MINIs as “impractical fashion accessories”.</p>
<p>As if to hammer home the point, taking the combined total of Countryman and Paceman sales of 2640 in the US last August, 2412 customers, a whopping 91.4% chose the Countryman, whereas only 228, a mere 8.6% chose the Paceman.</p>
<p>As a consequence, according to an insider source, the next generation Countryman and Paceman will be two entirely separate cars; the one a chunky SUV, the other a more sporting four-door coupe crossover. It actually makes a lot of sense, if you think about it.</p>
<p>“BMW’s research”…is like a Rorschach test. BMW’s takeaway is that adding more doors fixes the Paceman problem. My takeaway is that the Paceman strays too far from the MINI formula.</p>
<p>I don’t know about that Matthew, but what I do know is that it was madness not to offer the Paceman with a four-door option. I was ridiculed for saying so at the launch but, at the risk of sounded smug, it was so obvious to me that the two-door-only Paceman would flop.</p>
<p>The Evoque is Land Rover’s best selling model ever, and from launch was offered with the option of two and four doors. The fact that the four-door outsells the two-door by a huge margin, is as surprising as waking up the night and finding it dark!</p>
<p>MINI already has an answer to the Evoque in the Countryman. Axe the Paceman and offer the R60 in either 2 or 4-doors.</p>
<p>FWIW, Gerry McGovern pitches his Evoque exactly the way MINI should be pitching a 2 or 4-door Countryman.</p>
<p>The Paceman is a 2 door Countryman.</p>
<p>I agree with others, a 4 door Paceman is a Countryman.</p>
<p>I don’t get it. I guess this one isn’t for me (me saying this foreshadows me buying one of these in the future but I won’t know why then either).</p>
<p>WHO CARES, it’s not like they are using your or my money to develop cars that MF readers predict will be a flop.</p>
<p>Whatever it takes for them to develop more platforms for things like Diesel and AWD (and the possibility of expanding into smaller models), by all means go for it.</p>
<p>“WHO CARES”? Well, BMW cares.</p>
<p>Car makers are in the business of making cars that people actually want to buy and, like royal families, need to adapt and evolve if they are to avoid extinction. This article is all about the next generation Paceman which, according to sources, will only be made with four passenger doors. My previous comments, however feeble, have been an attempt to try to explain why the BMW board has made the right decision. Nevertheless, the global sales figures for the current Paceman since it was launched, speak for themselves.</p>
<p>Although the Paceman has a much more appealing look (at least to me) than the Countryman, those in the higher levels of BMW thought it would sell well, mainly for that reason. But that wasn’t the case. I think the primary reason for the poor sales from the beginning was due to it being less practical as a 2 door. Consequently, the Countryman has been outselling the Paceman by nearly 10-1.</p>
<p>So the idea of having a 4 door Paceman when the F series arrives a few years from may be the right move. But keep it as a 4 seater…not a 5 seater!! It should remain as a sporty version of the Countryman.</p>
<p>I think the Paceman’s anemic sales have more to do with a lack of advertising and promotion than the actual appeal of the car. People don’t know it exists. They roll into dealerships to look at a Countryman or a Hardtop, point to the Paceman and ask “What the heck is that?” Meanwhile the people who would actually find the Paceman appealing aren’t even aware it exists.</p>
<p>I agree! At least on TV advertising, the only MINIs I’ve ever seen have been the previous R56 & now the F56. Can’t recall any other models in TV ads. Even the F56 ads are few & far between compared to the many BMW ads covering many of their models.</p>
<p>I thought the Paceman was developed to appeal to the people who wanted the classic MINI look but in a larger envelop. The Paceman meets the MINI personality much better than the Countryman. MINIs are supposed to be fun, spirited, driver enthusiastic. The Paceman definitely meets these qualities; the Countryman??…. What’s the purpose of selling two similar vehicles? As a few other people have stated “a four door Paceman is a Countryman”</p>
<p>Every stranger I meet, friends, and family don’t even know what a Paceman is. Everybody raves about it very much. How can you expect to sell a product if the vast majority of the world’s population doesn’t even know it exists?</p>
<p>It is a situation similar to the X5/X6 and X3/X4. The vehicles are essentially the same, with one more boxy and practical and the other more sleek/sporty and less practical. BMW Group studies have shown that this formula actually works, which is why they rolled out a new X4 this year and an X2 is on the way. Therefore, why not extend that successful model to the MINI brand as well? Viola! The 4-door Paceman “coupe/SUV” is born. It’s difficult to know if it will follow the same logic or success as the BMW models, but I think it may be more successful than the responses here suggest. One reason that the Paceman sales have increased recently is incentives; especially with employees. When a BMW/MINI employee can lease a Paceman for $119/mo with nothing out of pocket, it becomes a much more attractive vehicle.</p>
<p>First off, PLEASE, do not call a four door sedan a coupe. The attraction to the current Paceman design, coupe, AWD, manual 6 speed hatchback is; it’s the only one out there in the U.S. period. VW had the Golf R which will now only be sold as a four door when it’s introduced next year in the U.S. As always the selections are greater in Europe.</p>
<p>MINI was my only saving grace, VW folded on their AWD coupe, Audi only sells an auto TT in the states, their A5 AWD has a 6 speed manual if you want to pony up $50k for a low optioned base model. BMW only offers autos in their new 2 series coupes. What else is there? Nothing.</p>
<p>Manual 6 – speed is a no cost option in the 2 – Series.</p>
<p>Why??</p>