Dave Moore
There’s a new Mini Clubman in the wings and this time it doesn’t have daft doors. explains.
THE first time BMW tried to add some practicality to its modern Mini range with its first Clubman it got a few things right. The extended wheelbase gave the room in the back that everyone wanted and the hatch couldn’t offer. The result looked even better than the hatch and, with a pair of rear doors like the original Mini travellers had, it was a unique prospect in the market place.
But BMW Mini also got something very wrong. By putting a rear-hinged extra side door on the car, it meant that rear passengers could exit the car without disturbing the driver. Clever, right?
Well, no. Instead of putting extra doors on both sides, Mini attached just one but, get this, only on the right-hand side. That was because the fuel filler cap and tube was on the left and there was no costeffective way of bolting an extra door in place on that side.
So the British-built, Germanowned car could only be used well in left-hand drive markets, where children could spill out directly onto the pavement, whereas in Britain and other right-hand drive markets like ours, kids couldn’t use the extra door at all, unless they wanted to step out into the middle of the road. A great idea, poorly executed.
What we have now is Mini’s new generation form of the Clubman which was revealed at this week’s Geneva car show. Like the earlier ill-fated car, it’s longer, looks stunning has two outside-hinged rear doors, but this time instead of its quirky single backwards opening extra side door, it has a pair of much more conventional ones that appear to work properly.
It really is longer too, at 4223mm adding 260mm to the previous Clubman and an extra 170mm in width, for a car that now measures 1844mm across the beam, with whole plot being 1450mm high.
It adds four side-doors and two rear barn-doors, six altogether, as well as five full-sized seats to the recently released new Mini III and its hexagonal radiator grille, com- plete with tell-tale side scoops, the black band of the glasshouse, short overhangs and elliptical front and rear lights to shout ‘‘Mini!’’ from every angle.
The way the hinges and closure lines are detailed shows that the car’s
aerodynamics are fully integrated and an essential part of the exterior design.
The interior design interprets typical Mini shapes and colours, presenting an elegant combination of high-end quality and functionality.
An elaborate colour, texture and material choice has been organises for the Geneva show car’s interior.
The new central instrument setup introduced on the Mini III with newly conceived user interface creates what BMW Mini says is ‘‘an event-controlled interaction space with touch operation’’.
‘‘The Mini Clubman Concept shows how the Mini Clubman could be taken a step further: more interior space, a greater sense of highend quality and yet still clever, bold and distinctive. In short: more car, more MIni,’’ said Adrian van Hooydonk, the head of BMW Group Design, explaining the approach to the car. For over 50 years now, the Mini, from BMC to BMW days has stood for maximum use of minimum space and the Mini Clubman Concept applies this aspiration to a new class of automobile.
Head of Mini design Anders Warming explains: ‘‘With the Mini Clubman Concept we are presenting a car with space, flair and style in a segment where the focus is mainly on function and utility. With clever ideas, emotional design and a cool blend of colours and materials, it offers an overall experience which remains unique in this segment to date.’’
With the characteristic agility suggested by the Mini’s proportions, the Clubman’s longer roofline clearly reflects the car’s increased utility and space. It also gives the silhouette a distinctive elegance.
The powerful, warm Berry Red ‘‘hero’’ colour shows surfaces and shapes to optimum effect. The roof in ‘‘Blade’’ metallic grey creates an elegant contrast with the warm red of the rest of the car.
Clearly defined wheel arches and the roof spoiler accentuate the car’s dynamic appearance, underscoring the overall impression of sporty flair.
Seen from the front, the circular headlamps, hexagonal radiator grille and roof with add-on look clearly identify the Mini Clubman Concept as belonging to the Mini family. The radiator grille is strikingly elaborated and incorporates the bumper in the front section. The bumper is finished in ‘‘Black Chrome’’, adding a touch of exclusive style to this functional element. Elaborate details such as the three-dimensional structure of the chrome ribs inside the front grille further enhance the front section. The high quality of the Mini Clubman Concept even extends to the surface modelling. Fine edges add precision and presence to the generous surfaces.
In the lower area of the front-end design there is a continuous air inlet which highlights the breadth of the concept, emphasising its solid stance on the road.
Meanwhile, a finely wrought chrome rib floats inside the air inlet, and in the outer section of the front apron there are so-called AirCurtains, an aerodynamic feature borrowed from recent BMWs, notably the 4-series that gives the wheel arches an aerodynamically optimised closure. These dynamically surround the lower part of the front section like two brackets.
The concept’s long roofline and the typical two-box design clearly emphasise the car’s high level of functionality and its generous utility space.
Meanwhile, the four flect the extended dimensions and doors reexterior increased functionality. Generous surface expanses elongate the side, while at the same time subtle surface modelling and precise lines make the silhouette appear flat and dynamic. Three chrome elements give the side section a sense of exclusivity with modern understatement. At the front, the Side Scuttle incorporates the filigree mirror base and turn indicator in an elongated element whose shape is echoed by the two electrical door openers. Integrated flush with the surface, these draw a line back to the rear which is taken up by the rear door handles. Above this, the surrounding shoulder line in chrome offsets the corpus of the car from the greenhouse and roof in hallmark Mini style. This so-called ‘‘Waistline Finisher’’ embraces the entire passenger cell, reinforcing the exterior graphics so typical of the brand. The 19-inch light alloy rims in black chrome and silver chrome finish are a highlight of the side view. A clear cup formation gives the elaborate multi-spoke design a highly dynamic touch. In between, glossy accents are added by non-cupped polished surfaces.
The third brakelight is integrated in between the two wings of the roof spoilers and there are two longitudinal sections of plexiglass which run across the entire length of the roof like rally stripes.
The Mini Clubman Concept is broad and athletic in the rear view, the most striking elements being the characteristic split doors.
The horizontally positioned rear lights have a highly detailed finish. Their shape underscores the car’s broad standing and the dynamic orientation of the rear section. A functional detail in the rear apron is the Smart Opening function: a sensor underneath the bumper allows the tailgate to be opened using your foot if you do not have a free hand. Along with the exterior, the interior of the Mini Clubman Concept has also grown to larger dimensions. Inside, the underlying design theme in the interior is the ellipse.
The show car’s special materials include nubuck leather in a light sky blue, patent leather in rich red and black soft nappa leather, with elements in patinised silver to provide a contrast.
The most striking interior element of the Mini Clubman Concept is the leather-covered instrument panel, surrounded in bluelimed ash grain and a white porcelain finish, above which the black upper section of the instrument panel almost appears to hover.
What BMW Mini calls a ‘‘Faded Diamonds’’ rhombus pattern gives the ‘‘Black Chrome’’ surfaces a high-quality structure. The lower section of the instrument panel is finished in ‘‘Berry Red’’ patent leather, providing an extrovert yet sophisticated contrast to the more discreet design of the upper half.
The display area in the centre console which measures 160mm by 150mm adapts according to the content selected or the situation on the road. Three toggles are assigned the relevant content according to selected content or driving functions. Above and beyond this, the three toggles can also be freely programmed and assigned specific functions according preference. The haptic quality of the toggles means that the various functions can be operated during travel without looking. The Clubman, when included in the Mini line-up, will sit above the imminent five-door hatch version of the car and work into the range in a practical way that the earlier car with the silly door never could.