Last month we broke the news that the MINI Clubman was set to end production in early 2024. On cue, today MINI is announcing a special edition model celebrating the end of the Clubman. The Clubman Final Edition is a celebration and send-off for the beloved MINI shooting brake that, while never finding huge sales, found critical acclaim from owners and automotive writers alike.
The MINI Clubman Final Edition in Detail
The MINI Clubman Final Edition is a global special edition car which means it’s a bit more unique than what we’ve seen from specific market special editions. However make no mistake the unique
Available in Nanuq White, Enigmatic Black and Melting Silver and is available in various models depending market. With details in the color Shimmer Copper, the Final Edition has similar details to the recent Untold Edition. The surrounds and the upper third of the radiator grille crossbar are in the shimmering edition colour, as are the model-typical MINI Cooper S Blade and the side scuttles. The graphic pattern on the 18-inch light-alloy wheels in the Final Edition Spoke 2- tone design is also finished in a tinted clear lacquer reminiscent of copper. Finished in Enigmatic Black the whole thing has a classic John Player livery feel to it.
There’s a “1 of 1969” badge on the side of the C-pillar and the words ”Final Edition” are on the lower right of the right rear door.
The interior of the MINI Clubman Final Edition also has some unique touches. For example, the door sill trims with the edition-specific “Final Edition” lettering, which is also found on the lower spoke of the sports leather steering wheel which is finished in Nappa leather. The MINI Yours leather sports seats with adjustable thigh support and sewn-in edition badge are finished in Dark Maroon. They are set off by an anthracite-colored Piquet fabric insert and blue contrasting stitching.
Elsewhere there’s dark dashboard trim, which is framed by harmonizing trim strips in the matte shimmering Sage Green Dark color and the edition-specific Shimmer Copper color. On the passenger side and floor mats theres “1 of 1969” which is another reference to the limited edition nature of the model.
The MINI Clubman Final Edition will be available in Cooper S in North America and Cooper SD in Europe. Unfortunately it would appear that MINI won’t be offering the Clubman JCW in this special edition package.
The MINI Clubman Final Edition will be available to order soon and will end production as MINI later this year. The rest of Clubman production will wind down in Q1 of 2024. Pricing will be announced for each market soon.
Why is MINI Killing the Clubman?
The Clubman in particular has had a hard time finding an audience outside of Europe as small wagon sales have slowed to a crawl in many markets. And despite MotoringFile calling the F54 JCW Clubman the best all around MINI ever made, it’s been a hard sell for dealers. Especially next to the taller more SUV like Countryman.
And now MINI is making the Countryman even larger while introducing a smaller electric Aceman crossover the US might not even get. It’s a sad end to our favorite car in the MINI line-up
The original Clubman is a bit divisive. With the third door on the wrong side for right-hand drive markets, it was looked at as the “other” MINI even but the brand’s own marketing. While we loved the concept, it never really jelled for us as it felt too close to the R56 and didn’t find the sweet spot that the F54 ultimately did in terms of utility and performance.
The F54 Clubman on the other hand has been our favorite MINI model since it’s introduction in 2015. We’ve run three of them over the years – a manual Cooper S All4, the 228 hp JCW and most recently a 306 hp JCW. While all were great cars, the 306 hp JCW Clubman might just be out favorite new MINI ever made.
Gabe, I think you meant “With the third door on the wrong side FOR right-hand drive markets”.
Anyway, yea it’s unfortunate they didn’t decide to offer a JCW option on the final edition like they did for the Untold edition.
That also makes me wonder about the final edition being just a simple color palette refresh, as compared to the Untold edition, where the real design work was done.