Smaller Mini Minor coming soon
As Ouseph has discussed in the Mini Generations article (evo India February 2015 issue, on stands now), the modern Minis are quite large, almost making an oxymoron of its own name. Those who would like to own a smaller Mini car, one that is true to its name, will be happy to know that BMW will revive the Minor badge, used in the 1960s, and introduce a smaller version of the Mini based on the tiny Rocketman concept showcased in 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show.
[caption id=”attachment_9120" align=”alignnone” width=”620"]
The 1959 Morris Mini-Minor[/caption]
Making use of its partnership with Toyota once again (as they have for the BMW Z4 replacement, the Supra replacement, and the powertrain technology exchange), BMW will jointly develop an all-new chassis, rather than use the Euro-only Toyota Aygo as a donor car, reports automobilemag.com. There are two reasons for this:
1. The next gen Toyota Aygo is scheduled to launch sometime in 2020, which would mean that the new Minor would also be delayed.
2. Unlike Renault and Nissan in India, BMW would like to avoid launching a badge re-engineered sibling, for the sake the Mini and Minor brand’s image.
Design elements will be taken from the Rocketman concept and Mini’s Paceman for the car meant to slot in below the current Mini line-up, while the drivetrain is also likely to be co-developed.
Besides reviving the old Minor name, the British manufacturer is also restructuring its portfolio on five models:
1. the recently launched two/three- and four/five-door hardtop and the soon-to-arrive convertible;
2. the upcoming Clubman wagon (expected to launch in the summer);
3. the next-gen Countryman crossover in 2016 (which may get a plug-in hybrid version);
4. and two new model lines, one of which will be the production version of the Superleggera roadster concept, scheduled for a 2018 launch.
When any of this will trickle down to India is completely open to sepculation, but seeing as the the 2015 Mini Cooper was launched in November 2014, only four months after the international launch, it would be safe to assume that we will see some of these cars on our roads, quite soon.
