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Mini SUV
By
Tim Pollard
02 November 2007 10:03
A Mini off-roader, you say? This looks like a Clubman on tip-toes!
This prototype is based on the Clubman, but if you look closely you'll spot a few telltale signs that this is the four-wheel drive version under development in Munich. The single biggest indication is the raised ride height, which lifts the 4x4 up to give the impression that it can head off road and foster a higher seating position. More importantly, and not wholly visible in these pictures, is the presence of rear driveshafts. People who've seen the car in the metal confirm that the Mini is indeed going four-wheel drive, and this shot does show a different rear suspension set-up to the front-wheel drive Clubman and Mini hatch. Engineering sources have told CAR that the front module is essentially the same as in current Minis, but the rear section is completely re-engineered to provide the 4x4 hardware. Don't expect to tackle muddy hillsides and mountain trails in the go-anywhere Mini, though. This is very much pitched at the lifestyle 4x4 end of the market.
What's it going to be called?
We're dipping into the rumour mill at this stage. Names under consideration are said to include Monte (after the original Mini's rallying successes at Monte Carlo at the hands of Paddy Hopkirk and others) and Colorado, but neither has a natural ring to it in our view. And the fourth Mini bodystyle means that BMW has a production headache on its hands. The Oxford plant in England will crank out 220,000 Minis this year and that will be pushed up to 260,000 in the next couple of years as the Clubman, refreshed Convertible and full range of 'new' new Minis comes on stream. But there's not room for the new 4x4, sales of which could hit 80,000 a year globally; it's likely that BMW will sign up Austrian contractor Magna Steyr to built it - instead of the X3 that's being taken back in house by BMW. BMW production chief Frank-Peter Arndt recently told interviewers that Plant Oxford could theoretically produce up to 300,000 cars a year. The Bavarians clearly have big plans for their smallest brand...
