MINI Beachcomber revives Moke spirit

This funky looking machine is MINI’s Beachcomber concept, which is supposed to revive the spirit of the original Mini Moke. The Moke was a classic Mini based death-trap on wheels with no roof or doors which was perfect for the task of killing yourself on the roads of holiday isles. So, as you can see, the Beachcomber has no doors – which wouldn’t prove too practical on your typical windswept British beach.

Of more relevance is the fact that the Beachcomber previews the look of the MINI Countryman small 4×4 that’s coming next year. Imagine it with doors and a proper roof and it’s close to the final product. Its main purpose is to be a MINI for families, with four full-sized seats. MINI have done a great styling job, retaining the MINI hatch spirit but treading a well judged path between cutesy and rugged.

While I like the look of the Beachcomber, It remains to be seen how much of the MINI hatch’s handling and darty, fun-to-drive feel it will retain. I’m intending to keep my superb MINI JCW hatch for  a few years yet, so my long-suffering friends and family are going to have to put up with the zero rear leg-room of my MINI hatch a little while longer.

MINI Clubman – nice but not for me!

You know what happens – there you are, racking your brains on Oxford Street on Christmas Eve, wondering what to buy your nearest and dearest, then you suddenly find that the shopping trip has turned into one for yourself.

Well I took it to extremes on Christmas Eve and found myself in MINI Park Lane, having a poke and prod of the new Clubman. There’s no doubting that it looks distinctive, like nothing else on the road. It’s just the practicalities – or lack of – that’s the problem.

Putting the seat into my usual driving position and sitting behind it showed very little increase in rear legroom, despite the extended wheelbase. The single rear door, is not only on the wrong side for dropping people off at the side of the road but also has a clumsy seatbelt arrangement.

At the rear, the twin rear doors are beautifully engineered on gas struts, but again the increase in luggage space is useful but not life-changing.

I was wondering if the extra room in the back of the Clubman might be useful for giving friends the odd lift. But at an extra £1200, I think a really nice set of alloys on a Cooper S hatch would enhance my life more. Sorry, friends.

Clubman: Designed for the Deutsch

Here’s the official shots of the MINI Cooper Clubman, showing its “Club door” which appears on one side of the car only, is hinged at the rear, and only opens when the front door is open.

With its twin rear doors evoking memories of the old Mini estate, the Clubman looks like nothing else on the road.

The only problem is that the “club door” appears on the same side of the bodyshell in both left and right hand drive markets. In the UK it’s the driver’s side, so when it comes to dropping off rear seat passengers at the kerbside, they emerge into the traffic.

MINI says it was due to fuel filler complications. I say it’s because they are being cheap, because flipping the door to the other side would have meant engineering two bodyshells. So this “British” car has been optimised for countries that drive on the wrong side of the road!

Having said that, I think it looks unique and very smart indeed and I look forward to seeing it in the flesh.

Undisguised MINI Clubman

It’s unique and stylish, and very MINI, but not very mini – it looks massive in this shot.

MINI: now with room for stuff

First clear spy shots have emerged of the new MINI Clubman, which is the name being touted for the estate version of the new MINI.

It has an extended wheelbase for more rear passenger and boot space, a rear-hinged rear door on one side of the car only, twin rear doors and built in roof rails.

I’m  in two minds about this development. On the one hand, the classic Mini had estate and pick up variants, but on the other, it’s all starting to look a bit massive.

Still I suppose like its smaller brother, once kitted out with 17 inch wheels, bonnet stripes and an Aero kit, it will look the business. We’ll find out at the end of this year.

MINI goes MAXI

Signs of life in Munich – the sloths at MINI design who were last seen heading to the 2001 Oktoberfest have returned to their desks to actually design something. And here it is: The forthcoming MINI Traveller.

The Traveller will sit alongside the standard MINI in the range from 2008 and features an extended wheelbase, more room in the back and twin rear doors which open to reveal a larger boot which will actually hold more than just a toothbrush and a pair of underpants for those trips away. The prototype above is covered in padding and tape to disguise it, this artist’s impression shows how the finished article will look:

Not bad – but haven’t we seen this somewhere before? Oh yes:

I’ll stick to my mini MINI thanks – because it gets you out of having to take your friends to IKEA if all they can bring back is wooden coathangers and a bag of tea-lights.