10 Sep 08 10:51
The longest Mini yet is to make its debut in Paris: the four-wheel-drive Crossover Concept.
Over 4m long and nearly 1.6m high, it's a proposal for a new type of not-so-mini Mini. We've already seen spy shots, but here's the show car.
It's a four-door with a difference: the rear passenger door on the driver's side slides back, rather than opening outwards, for easier access to the rear compartment. This rear door has a frameless, retractable window and can swivel to accommodate long items such as skis and surfboards. A folding roof cover allows for further load versatility, as does an extra case which can be mounted on the outside of the rear door.
The interior is laid out in a four-seat configuration, with each individual rear seat able to slide forwards or backwards by up to 13cm. A central aluminium rail runs the length of the car's centre and storage units, cupholders, entertainment consoles and the like can be attached to this. The Concept contains a set of specially-designed cups and plates fitted into the rail.
The dashboard features a new display called the Mini Centre Globe, a 3-D console that allows driver and front-seat passenger to view different hemispherical displays - ie one can view the sat nav and the other surf the internet. It can be programmed by touch-screen controls, buttons, slide controls, a trackball on the steering wheel or a pull-out keyboard from the dash, and it also incorporates a stop-start function with a 'keyball' for ignition.
Mini describes the Crossover Concept as 'the basis on which a series production car will be developed in the future.' That production car is to be called Crossman and will share its underpinnings with the BMW X1 - also expected to make its debut in Paris - and will have BMW's xDrive four-wheel-drive system. Its platform is derived from that of the 1-Series, and will be shared with the all-new next generation of Mini hatchbacks, convertibles and Clubman estates. Production is scheduled to start next year, with the Crossman made for Mini by Magna Steyr in Austria.
