MINI Sedan? It’s Officially on the Table
A MINI a with a trunk? It could be coming according to Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW board member in charge of MINI. At the recent convertible launch Mr. Schwarzenbauer was surprisingly candid with what the brand is considering for its 5th volume model. And it’s not good news for the beautiful Superlegera concept.
While car a based on the Superleggera electric roadster concept is still on the table (as a halo) the business case is proving difficult. “The volume would be low, but the price would be considerably higher than MINI’s current vehicles”, he said.
Economically it is easier to put a sedan on paper than a great halo car,” Schwarzenbauer said. “We have to look at all the options.
“As you know, halo cars are economically not always great. It is a trade-off: How much does it do for the brand, and how do you make it feasible?” he said.
>MINI must weigh all options.
Schwarzenbauer Continued that sedans make up “a huge segment” and could be another step in Mini’s effort to move part of its lineup from subcompact to compact.
A decision on the fifth volume Model is expected sometime this year.
The one thing completely off the table? A small pick-up Schwarzenbauer said.
<p>If there’s a hatch/wagon version of a car available, it makes little sense to buy a sedan, if you ask me. Oh, the same car but far less practical?! Great! I’ll take it! Obviously, many fellow Americans would disagree, but having owned several hatchbacks, now, I don’t understand it.</p>
<p>Doesn’t the BMW brand already have enough sedans? Do we really need one with the MINI badge too?</p>
<p>Let’s make a BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and call it a day.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Mini is dead. BMW are killing it. It started with Gen 3, and it’s getting deader and deader. As an owner of 4 MINIs in the past, including a Gen 3, and having built an original Mini from the ground up, I can tell a BMW in a morphed Mini shell when I see one.
They need to separate MINI from BMW and let the brand live on it’s own. That’s the only way to save the Mini heritage.</p>
<p>Would they call it the Riley Elf just like the sedan version of the Mini from the 60s?</p>
<p>I get why MINI would be considering a sedan: it could make the company good money.</p>
<p>Sadly, I’ve been losing interest in this brand for a while. I still check this site from time to time in the hopes of news about the rocketman or superlegerra.</p>
<p>Other than the new clubman, which I generally like, I have no excitement or interest in the F56, the 4-door, the convertible, or the upcoming countryman. These things just seem to keep getting bigger and less cool. But I get that this design direction is profitable, and that helps guarantee the brands survival.</p>
<p>So it is what it is … kind of like two lovers slowing growing out of love as they grow older and change. No hard feelings, but definitely some sadness about losing what once was.</p>
<p>Sales numbers show there is less disapointed customers like you than new happy customers</p>
<p>That point is obvious …</p>
<p>As I said, the current direction is making the company good money and guaranteeing its survival, which would generally only be occurring if MINI was gaining more customers than it is losing. I happen to be in the losing category.</p>
<p>About 10,000-15,000 Mini were sold annually in the late nineties.
A painful agony that a lot of fired Mini workers did not find any fun.
The</p>
<p>If they would simply approve the Rocketman and put it in production, then they can make all the elephants they want. At least there would be a model for Mini purists.</p>
<p>A MINI Sedan would be relatively cost effective to put into production, because it would be the sister car to the forthcoming UKL2 based BMW 1-Series Sedan, camouflaged prototypes of which are currently out winter testing (see photo).</p>
<p>The fly in the ointment, however, is that previously all the design proposals for a MINI Sedan put to the BMW board for approval, were met with “Derision” and were considered to be “Commercially unviable”, according to a source close to BMW.</p>
<p>There are, however, two other alternatives for a fifth volume model. The MINI Minor – born out of the ‘Rocketman’ Concept – has always been popular with the board, but has yet to make a business case for itself.</p>
<p>The other is the MINI Traveller, sister car to the 2-Series Grand Tourer. A lot of work has already been done on the Traveller, and those who have seen it agree that it’s, “A good looking thing”. If the Minor fails, the Traveller will most likely get the green light.</p>
<p>Definitely the car the world needs…</p>
<p>You have illustrated my point brilliantly – well done that man! :)</p>
<p>A MINI sedan? WTF? Wouldn’t that just be called a BMW 1 series or 2 series.</p>
<p>It would be the same damn car. This reminds me of Toyota Lexus, get the same car just with a slightly different body and more/or less options.</p>
<p>I WOULD have interest in a MINI sedan.</p>
<p>MINI as a brand should be all about having the smallest, smartest and most efficient product in every segment……If they don’t do this…. this is how they die, this is how the brand becomes irrelevant….not because they would build a small, smart and efficient sedan.</p>
<p>The Countryman should be the smallest yet most capable crossover on the market. Is it?
The Cooper hardtop should be the smallest yet most capable compact hatch on the market. Is it?
The Clubman should be the smallest and most capable wagon on the market. Is it?
….etc</p>
<p>I’m not so sure….</p>
<p>A sedan may be less expensive to make, but its a dumb idea. CUVs are the fastest growing segment, and sedan sales are flat or worse.</p>
<p>What’s worrisome to me is that platform sharing is making Minis both larger and heavier. The new Clubman is more related to the X1 than the previous Clubman. Yes, it will sell better, but if sales growth is the only goal, get ready for the Mini Camry or the Mini Rav4.</p>
<p>Mini is in a tight spot: Small and nimble is fun and sporting, but low volume. Larger is high volume, but less Mini…</p>
<p>What to do…. What to do…</p>
<p>“What to do…. What to do…”</p>
<p>Seems to me MINI could have had its cake and ate it too,</p>
<p>MINI is definitely in a tight spot. As so many have commented they have really lost their quirky nature, which made them so distinct (and wonderful). Personally I think they should have fewer models. If it were up to me, I’d go with just the hardtop (3-door), Clubman, and Countryman. Scrap the convertible, the 5-door hardtop, and promise NEVER to come out with 3rd row seating for the Countryman. In addition, the JCW version of each platform needs to have more HP and aggressive/enhanced body styling (not just some bolt on mods). That’s my $.02 worth</p>
<p>MINI has already had a trunk – on the roadster.</p>