STILL A CUTIE 4TH-GEN MINI GETS MORE TECH BUT STAYS TRUE TO ITS APPEAL
Designer says next model will have a cleaner dashboard, inspired by the past
In 1959, decades before “mobility” became an industry buzzword, Sir Alec Issigonis set a ball rolling that BMW picked up when it purchased Rover in 1994. We’re talking about the emblematic Mini.
The Munich-based firm reinvented the tiny car once in 2000, and it’s preparing to do it again in the coming years. BMW Group chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk says Mini has already started working on the next-generation Hardtop, and he gave us insight into what we can expect from it.
When it travelled with a British passport, the pocket-sized city car received only evolutionary changes until production of the original model finally ended in 2000. Its German successor, the first one designed entirely in-house by BMW, took a revolutionary path while staying true to the styling cues fans knew and loved. Over the past three model generations, designers have carefully honed those fundamental lines without straying too far from the basic idea. It’s an approach that has worked well.
Van Hooydonk pointed out the current design language helped BMW successfully transform Mini from a one-car brand into a true automaker with a multi-car lineup. It also made the Hardtop a global car, a status the original model never came remotely close to achieving.
Now, the brand is looking ahead and it’s ready to shift into the next gear.
“Our thoughts about the Mini brand are the same as for the BMW brand. We’re going to pick up the speed of change, and the new technologies that will become available, like electric drive or connectivity, are going to help us do that. Bigger changes are around the corner, but it will still be a little bit retro,” van Hooydonk told us.
He doesn’t feel the least bit constrained by the retro design that has made the Hardtop a hit. And, interestingly, he’s less concerned about stretching the scope of Mini as a brand than he is about remaining true to the original model’s core values. In his mind, Mini should always make the most compact vehicle in each segment where it competes. He added the brand also stands for the clever use of space.
He’s open to trying new ideas as long as they remain within those boundaries, and it’s that last point he wants to underline as he works on the fourth-generation model.
“Mini started out as a brand that was very clean in terms of design. There were only four switches and one dial (on the dashboard). We somehow moved away from that because so many more functionalities have entered the vehicle. Let’s say that would be our goal, to arrive back at something that would be as clean and simple as the original but offer the modern technology and safety features of today’s cars.”
He stopped short of telling us precisely what the next-generation model will look like. There’s only one way to remove buttons, switches and knobs without sacrificing tech: screens. His comments suggest digitalization will help designers give the next-generation Mini a cleaner, simpler cabin design. He also promised to develop the brand’s upmarket side to continue proving luxury can come in a small format.
“Mini is looking at a great future because urban mobility is going to grow. Of course, it’s going to go towards electrification. It’s also going towards compact vehicles, and Mini is perfectly set up to cater to those needs,” van Hooydonk concludes.
We’ll find out how the brand plans on adopting electric technology next year, when it introduces its first series-produced battery-powered model. It’s been a longtime coming.
In 2009, 450 commuters in California tested a highly experimental second-generation Hardtop powered by a battery pack so big it took up the space normally occupied by the rear seats. It cost about twice as much to lease as a standard, gasoline-powered model, yet a majority of the participants loved it ; some even asked to keep it at the end of the program, a wish BMW couldn’t grant.
That response bodes well for the upcoming battery-powered model, which Mini previewed with a close-to-production concept last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show.