I think it's going to be a long long time before the Mini Rocketman shows up ... as in never. Car Magazine is reporting that Mini has pulled the plug on its mini Mini, the tiny city car previewed by the Rocketman concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
According to Car, it was determined that the investment needed to engineer such a tiny car that satisfied "current regulations" was prohibitive. Correcting problems with stability, handling and crash performance was apparently not worth it. For comparison purposes, the Rocketman concept is a foot shorter than the current Mini Cooper and 4 inches shorter than a Fiat 500.
The Rocketman would've been a 2016 model. Now have fun with that Elton John song stuck in your head all day. I know I will.
ed124c says:
11:13 AM, 01/23/12
Does Mini have to use its own money for development? I doubt it. BMW certainly has the means to come up with a tiny car. After all, there are tons of them in Europe.
firstwagon says:
08:32 PM, 01/23/12
Too bad. Being a big fan of the Austin Mini I always thought the current model was too big and heavy.
lostboyz says:
03:37 AM, 01/24/12
Not a shocker, but it is the only legit move the company had left, instead of new bigger "minis"