The MINI Paceman to End Production This Year
BMW will cease production of the MINI Paceman along with the R60 Countryman at the end of this year. Unlike the Countryman (the new version will shift production from Magna Steyr’s Graz plant in Austria to Oxford) the Paceman will be discontinued. The dream of the MINI Crossover Coupe will officially be dead.
The Paceman was expected to be a niche product but even in that capacity sales goals were never reached. The combination of less versatility, higher prices and coupe like styling didn’t appeal to buyers as expected. A much as we loved the idea of a all wheel drive manual transmission MINI Coupe, the Paceman didn’t quite stir emotions like even the standard R56 or F56 Hatch.
The decision (made several years ago) also coincided with a change of strategy for MINI: offer less niche products and focus more time and investment on the core vehicles. The evidence of this is seen in the quality and engineering in the Clubman and (so we’re told) in the upcoming 2017 F60 Countryman.
Where does the Paceman lie in MINI history? The Paceman represents an interesting combination of traits on paper that should continue to appeal as a used car with lower prices. The All4 system is excellent in snowy climates and the ability to pair it with a slick shifting manual is rare on US roads. While performance was somewhat dulled by less than stellar weight to power ratio it still had lively turn-in and plenty enough performance to justify the MINI name. That said it’s the JCW model that will likely appeal more to enthusiasts looking for something both rare and fast.
Let’s hear your thoughts. Is the Paceman one to remember or one to forget?
<p>I think it is a great car. True, the JCW ALL4 manual will be the one to get. I don’t see many Pacemans around the Kansas City area, but there are a spattering here and there.</p>
<p>The R61 Paceman was, indisputably, a commercial flop, and at the zenith of MINI R-Series sales in 2013, the Paceman only managed to garner 5% of the total MINI global sales. Let’s be clear here, the Hardtop and Countryman took the lions share at 75% of global MINI sales, and it needed five other models to make up the remaining 25%.</p>
<p>Percentage Of MINI Global Sales 2013 By Individual Model:</p>
<p>R56 Hardtop 42%
R60 Countryman 33%</p>
<p>R55 Clubman 7.1%
R57 Convertible 6.9%
R61 Paceman 5%
R59 Roadster 3.1%
R58 Coupe 2.9%</p>
<p>I see a fair few here in the south east/London area. Each time I see one I can’t help think that the doors look huge. In a country where the average parking space was made for the original Mini, they are impractical when trying to get in or out.</p>
<p>They remind me of trikes. All the disadvantages of a car and bike rolled into one. You’ve got the size of the Countryman, but the access of the 3 door hatch.</p>
<p>The problem with the R61 Paceman was that it was nothing more than a two door Countryman with, not only, less doors but also less seats, less leg room, less head room, less luggage space, less ground clearance and less convenience.</p>
<p>In other words, BMW removed all things that made the Countryman so successful, and then added insult to injury by asking punters to pay more money for it. Not surprisingly, few punters fell for such a cynical exercise.</p>
<p>The problem with the R61 Paceman is that it is just ugly</p>
<p>It’s those horizontal tail lights… and now they put them on the new Clubbie?</p>
<p>It wasn’t discontinued many months ago? I haven’t seen one at the dealer in nearly a year it seems.</p>