There have been rumors that MINI might do a butch off-road version of the Clubman, to be called the Crossman. The vehicle would be raised a bit, beefed up a bit, and of course have AWD.
Latest word is that a concept will be shown at the next Paris Auto Show, with a production model too be ready by the end of the year. Magna Steyr, a company with loads of off-road building experience, is reportedly going to build the car...
dougtheeng says:
08:02 AM, 05/28/08
Booooo. I don't know about this idea, it seems blasphemous.
firstwagon says:
08:12 AM, 05/28/08
I wouldn't buy one but I don't mind if the build it.
The original Mini was built in every possible combination, why not the new one?
Another model I would like to see is the economy model. Right now we have the Cooper version but the Mini Cooper was only a small percentage of total Mini sales. The vast majority were economy cars.
How about a version the drops a lot of the accessories and competes in price with economy cars?
flicmod says:
09:14 AM, 05/28/08
Ditto on the economy version of the Cooper. I just pictured the Cooper with a bare minimum interior, hardly any features, and no excess.
Might save some additional weight and make the base MINI a tad more fuel efficient and faster, too.
estreka says:
12:14 PM, 05/28/08
If Mini wants to build an offroad version, they need to consider entering a one-off model in the WRC first. Build some heritage before you start mass producing the things.
cruiserhead1 says:
12:20 PM, 05/28/08
WRC or even a historic Monaco rally mini version would be cool.
I like the looks of the Crossman but I really don't get it. It has me scratching my head a bit.
considering that MINI's easily go for $30,000+, exactly how much will the Crossman cost? Will we be comparing it to a X5 or FX35?
ateixeira says:
12:12 PM, 05/29/08
This seems pointless.
You start with something light and small, then try to build an SUV out of it and lose the light and small part.
You're left with an overpriced small crossover that offers very little utility.