MINI Crossover 4x4x4x4 debuts

Well at over 4 metres long it certainly isn't MINI. The longawaited concept SUV from MINI is finally making its debut at the Paris Motor Show. This will certainly have the motoring press talking. We believe it is aimed mainly at the US market as motoring fans are probably looking to downsize to a more economical SUV, and it is certainly different. Who would have thought in 1959, nearly 50 years ago when the Mini was first introduced it would grow to this BIG!!.

The MINI Crossover Concept is a design study for a fourth variant in MINI’s current model range. With four doors, four drive wheels, four single seats and at four metres in the length, the Crossover Concept combines versatility and style: its main aim is to tempt new target groups into the world of MINI. The MINI Crossover Concept is packed with innovative design details and practical solutions. It seeks to retain MINI ownership as a unique prospect as competitors continue to try and replicate the successful MINI recipe.

You know what they say about length…The MINI Crossover Concept is the first MINI model to measure over four metres in length and almost 1.6 m high, giving it greater practicality and enhanced flexibility. Interior personalisation opportunities are also increased.

Looks matter…The MINI Crossover Concept still features many of the typical MINI characteristics, such as the wheels located at four corners to highlight the ‘go kart’ feeling, the circular design features and the entertaining use of space and functions. More than just an all-wheel drive, however, the MINI Crossover offers fantastic flexibility and meets more specific customer requirements.

With four doors, two on each side, you may think the MINI Crossover Concept has a conventional feel after all. But you’d be wrong. Two conventional doors can be found on the passenger’s side (front and back), with a third for the driver. The fourth door, for the rear passenger on the driver’s side, slides back along the outside of the car for convenient access and loading.

The rear door has a frameless, retractable window and when open, swivels to one side to facilitate the loading of long items, such as skis, snowboards and surfboards. But it doesn’t stop there: the capacity can be increased even further due to the folding roof cover which extends across the whole length of the roof and there’s even a transport case which can be fitted on to the outside of the rear door.

But it’s what’s inside that counts…With more storage space than ever seen before in a MINI, the MINI Crossover Concept offers additional capacity and uniquely, the opportunity to personalise the layout of the interior.

The four seats are individual, single seats which can be adjusted forwards and backwards by up to thirteen centimetres in the rear – allowing more legroom to the rear passengers. The front and rear seats are linked visually by the new MINI Centre Rail – a matt-polished aluminium fastening rail which extends from the dashboard through the middle of the car, to the rear. A unique fastening system can be used with the Centre Rail to attach cupholders, storage units and entertainment consoles which can be passed between the front and the rear passengers.

The MINI Crossover Concept features a new display and control console which hosts all major entertainment, telecommunication and navigation functions: the MINI Centre Globe. This three dimensional globe can be personalised independently by both the driver and passenger as the display is shown in two hemispheres – for example, allowing the passenger to surf the net whilst the driver follows the navigation.

Operated by a touch-sensitive surface, the MINI Centre Globe can also be programmed by a trackball situated on the steering wheel, buttons or slide controls in the lower section of the globe, or even by a keyboard which extends out from the dashboard on the passenger’s side.

The MINI Centre Globe also hosts the stop/start function, whereby the driver inserts a Keyball into the upper edge to start and switch off the engine.

The MINI Crossover Concept previews at the Paris Motor Show and is the basis on which a series production will be developed in the future.

Comment on the MINI SUV in our forum at www.britishminiclub.co.uk