Most liked posts in thread: Rumor: New Mini Minor City Car in the Works

Probably... They have to kill it for the enthusiasts somehow.

 

To keep the cost down for the electrification buyers will have to buy 7,000 standard Duracell AA batteries rebranded as "Special" BMW/MINI batteries for 4x's the cost they could buy them at Costco.

The battery cost will not be included in the sale price but it will be listed with a small * letting the buy know the car comes with no batteries.

 

Less models, more models, new models it's all rumors ....

 

I once had a Morris Mini Minor.

 

Sounds like a MINI i3

 

yeah, I didn't understand that either. No production electric cars out there for that price range. If they can do that it, and actually have a decent range it would probably sell like hot cakes. Twice the money as an Eilo, but maybe more practical.. Still looks like a catfish up front.

 

If they make it look like a normal car... they might sell. We all know that driving an iQ or a Smart car in the US might as well be committing social suicide.

Also, global economies, too. The Mini Minor should sell well in Europe. If they introduce it to the US with realistic sales goals and a good marketing campaign, it might do alright.

Toyota and Smart haven't done much to push the iQ or Smart car in the US. Mini's marketing team does a nice job with promoting the brand, too.

 

At the rate MINI is expanding, if the Rocketman is ever built for production, it will probably be about the size of an R53... Just a little longer in the front bumper area.

 

Anyone want to put money on this car coming with a CVT only?

 

MINI Minor implies smaller. We will see...

 

I wonder if Scion's pulling their microcar, and Smart cars selling like curdled milk will have an effect on this decision.

 

I kinda like the iQ... But you cant get it in the states with anything but the autotragic/snowmobile trans.

In Europe they got a limited number of iQ's reworked by Aston Martin... That was actually a cool little appliance!

 

The rumor is that it would cost between "$14,500 and $16,000." Electrification isn't off the table. And "simplified" seems to be tossed around in various ways of saying it.

Frankly, I'm not believing a small city car, electric, for that price. Even in 2019. Nope. Even if you take the Toyota / BMW relationship and BMW's interest in their fuel-cell tech into account.

But I can see a Rocketman in some variant by 2020.

The only thing that was new in that story, which originated with Automobilemag, was the quote from an unnamed source with MINI who said, “It’s still early days as far as the baby Mini (sic) goes... But when our new R&D board member Klaus Fröhlich traveled to America early in the new year, this was one of the subjects on his agenda.”

We can hope (?) that he went to California to meet with DesignworksUSA. We know that Fröhlich was at Detroit and his scope for interviews there was the small car segment, so it's possible that this quote means little. Automobilemag also referenced the fact that the 177 foot MiniVan passenger van is also off the table and seemed to do it in all seriousness so, as original news sources go, I'd not give this one much weight just yet.

 

Seems like this is going the wrong way.



Don't get me wrong. I love my R53. But I do wish it was more the size of my '88 Mini.

I wonder if there is any chance for the smaller Rocketman concept to influence future MINIs? Will there be a Mini Minor?

 

Maybe they should make a mini MINI.....you know something different for a change.

 

Me too..my first car!

 

The new Mini Minor is supposed to be just a few inches longer than the original. Automobile Magazine had quite a spread on it. it's supposed to come out around 2020. By that time I just may be ready for another MINI.

 

By 2020 the MINI 3 door hatch will be the size of a Chavy Suburban and the Countryman will be a Winnebago. :lol: