The Mini brand is readying the third variant of its line-up with the announcement of the Mini Crossover Concept which will be unveiled to the media at the Paris Motor Show next month. The classic styling already showcased in the Mini Cooper and Mini Clubman is plain to see, add a blend off-road styling and here is what we end up with.
It features a unique door arrangement which sees the conventional rear passenger door on the right hand side, but the left hand side get an easy access slide opening mechanism. The twin-door setup featured on the Clubman fails to make the grade on this model, with a single sideways opening door being used.
Both the 2606mm wheelbase and overall length of over 4 meters come in a little higher than the Clubman giving the Crossover the most spacious interior a Mini has ever had. Four individual seats with more than enough space for four full sized adults fit snicely inside the Crossover concept, a multifunctional fastening rail runs in between the seats running from the dash board to the rear cargo area of the model giving occupants a constant link between the front and the rear, not to mention the unique storage option.
The dashboard features a centrally mounted globe which houses all of the controls for the concept, BMW state that this is the first time a design like this has been used in an automobile – we tend to think it is probably the last as well.
BMW's approach from concept to production in recent years has been to make minimal changes, the exterior design we see before us will stay pretty much the same but for a more conventional door set-up when the production model is launched in 2010. There is however a good chance we will see more intense modifications to the interior.
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