R?? Third Generation MINI Cooper: AWD Hybrid Spied

[Joey D]

There's not much on this yet but over the next year we will probably see quite a bit roll out on it. Here is a photo from the latest design study by Neal Steinhoff from the Munich University of Applied Sciences

Can This Be The Next Generation MINI Cooper?

MINI Core styling

Featuring stunning swoops and a very aerodynamic body, the concept which was dubbed MINI Core follows the strict rules of automotive functionality and the current MINI Cooper R56 base.

Steinhoff doesn't throw everything away in his "Cooper refresh" and retains the round fog lamps but adds in a rear bumper diffuser, slot air intakes and a much more aggressive silhouette than the current version.

Will we see this on our roads some day or is it too radical for the stylings of the British car maker? Here's hoping this is a glimpse of what the 2012-2013 MINI Cooper may look like some day.

 

[JCE]

Looks ok, I'll be curious to see if that swooping rear will be real.

 

[Neal]

Nice...even if I do say so my self

 

[Philly]

Looks pretty cool. I think it's something that might still go very well with the blandness and practicality that needs to be designed into everything.

 

[Prince.M5]

I'll reserve my judgement but from that picture, it looks quite promising!

Though I think the ''C'' pillar back window looks somehow like an Audi A1 to me, I could be wrong but this sounds promising.

 

[YSSMAN]

I wonder how much of the style refresh would be due to Saab's 9-2 (or 900, or whatever)? Apparently the car will be riding on the Countryman chassis, and will be using the BMW 1.6L turbo too.

 

[homeforsummer]

I think you were right with 9-2. Very much looking forward to seeing the first official designs for that.

(Edit, if it looks like this then pure awesomeness will result).

As for the MINI, it looks good. It'll be interesting to see what MINI officially come up with when they replace the current model. Difficult job, making something more modern and yet more retro at the same time...

 

[Tornado]

This looks like one of those designs that would suffer greatly when you actually install usable tires/wheel sizes on it, so I'm quite skeptical about what this would look like if they actually produced it.

 

[raz_10]

This looks like one of those designs that would suffer greatly when you actually install usable tires/wheel sizes on it, so I'm quite skeptical about what this would look like if they actually produced it.

^^^ This.
But if it does end up looking like this I would look into this Chick Car

 

[homeforsummer]

This looks like one of those designs that would suffer greatly when you actually install usable tires/wheel sizes on it, so I'm quite skeptical about what this would look like if they actually produced it.

I'm not so sure. People say the same thing about the current MINI, and yet Joey's MINI proves that you don't need 19" rims for it to work well, you just need the arches to be suitably filled by something, in his case a little less wheel and a little more tyre.

I still reckon the new MINI looked best on the original 15" "pepperpot"-style wheels and fat tyres. And EVO magazine also say it's the best of any of the modern MINIs, above the Cooper Works GP, the current Works S and so on.

A guy down my street has an early MINI Cooper. A while back he appeared to have fitted the pepperpots on to it in place of the 17" daisies that you seem to see on virtually all Coopers of that vintage. "Yes!", I thought "an enthusiast who knows those are the best wheels!". Unfortunately, a few days later back on went the newly powder-coated daisies

But yeah, that's my long-winded way of saying that you can get away with smaller wheels on smaller cars. Unfortunately the same trick doesn't work on bigger modern cars.

 

[grog]

the thing with rim sizing these days is, large rims are needed to clear/fit the brake rotor and caliper typicaly. I mean I like good functional brakes but I hate big rims, what to do? Sometimes you're just stuck with both.

 

[homeforsummer]

It's possible to have effective brakes without them being enormous. Apart from anything, on a small car with a lighter weight you don't need the brakes to be as big in the first place for them to be effective.

And looking at many modern cars, performance models with big brakes aside, it's not uncommon to see relatively small brakes hiding away behind enormous wheels. Much of the time, the big wheels are purely there for show.

 

[CTznOfTime]

There's not much on this yet but over the next year we will probably see quite a bit roll out on it. Here is a photo from the latest design study by Neal Steinhoff from the Munich University of Applied Sciences

i totally approve this design, i actually wish the current MINI MK2 be what is shown above...

Very Good drawing by Neal ! 👍

 

[Jim Prower]

Am I the only one who notices the enormous, gaping shape of what may be a grille?

 

[Tornado]

I'm not so sure. People say the same thing about the current MINI, and yet Joey's MINI proves that you don't need 19" rims for it to work well, you just need the arches to be suitably filled by something, in his case a little less wheel and a little more tyre.

The current Mini is also a lot more slab sided than this one. This design places a lot more emphasis on the wheel wells.


I'm still willing to give it a chance, but I'm skeptical.

 

[Zenith]

I like the new (old) taillights. The front isn't doing it for me at all, especially those bulbous lights.

I agree with Toronado, fitting realistic wheels on that thing is going to make it look ridiculous

 

[Robin]

Looks frog eyed (a bit like the Nissan Micra) but I do like it. I can imagine those huge protruding fog lamps are going to look great and give it a cool rally feel. Its a tasteful refresh if it goes ahead but I suspect it will be considered an all new mini (MK3) because all the panels will need to change.

Robin.

 

[homeforsummer]

I agree with Toronado, fitting realistic wheels on that thing is going to make it look ridiculous

There's a happy medium in there somewhere. I personally think that those concept-style wheels look way too big for the shape.

15" would almost certainly look too small on a production version and 16" might be a little lost. I reckon 17" would be the sweet spot if the car turned out like the image above. Going by proportions, the ones in the image would be about 20" or 21" I expect, which is ridiculous.

 

[Joey D]

16's are about perfect on a Cooper. That's what I rock. Any smaller and they look goofy and any bigger you start losing comfort.

 

[GT_Prologue5]

I see too much grill, too much Countryman headlights, too much craziness. It's a nice design but tone those and the wheels down (throw down some 16"s) and this would be a orgasmic design for the next MINI Cooper.

 

[Joey D]

Motoring File finally picked up the story, which means more pictures:

With the Paris Motor Show in full swing this week, MINI is debuting several new concepts. Turns out they’re not alone. Design student Neal Steinhoff from the Munich University of Applied Sciences has rendered his vision for what he thinks the next generation MINI should look like. He’s dubbed it the MINI “Core” and the family resemblance is undeniable. Before anybody gets too exercised over this, remember that it’s a student concept. Only time will tell if Munich and Oxford take notice.

It should be noted that this is only a design students idea for the next generation MINI, it's a study, nothing more. Will the 2012 Coopers look like this? Probably not.





More pictures at source: http://www.motoringfile.com/2010/10/01/the-mini-core-concept/

 

[Jim Prower]

So this is the dream of a Design student.

well, that figures. Tell his teachers to stop telling their students to make enormous grilles.

 

[homeforsummer]

Agreed. Grille aside though it's a nice take on the modern/retro thing.

 

[Prince.M5]

Looks nice and I agree, the grill is a bit too.... Big? Other than that, I like it!

 

[Tornado]

What are those things on the ends of the licence plate area?

 

[Prince.M5]

What are those things on the ends of the licence plate area?

Could be a place for a fog lights perhaps?

 

[Keef]

I like it, most of it. The tail lights are bit a awkward, jutting out like that. This isn't a 50s Cadillac, you can't get away with that lol. The features might be a bit exaggerated for your average folk though. This looks more like the next-gen Coupe/Roadster than it does the normal Cooper.

 

[F1GTR]

So this is the dream of a Design student.

Wasn't that obvious from the first post anyway?

 

[Joey D]

More info:

Next Generation MINI to Take “Big Design Leap”
Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group design, recently told Autocar.co.uk that the next generation of the MINI hatch will be a “bigger design leap than the last one.” Mr. Hooydonk goes on to add that Anders Warming, the new head of MINI design, will be all but starting over with the new line of iconic little hatchbacks, but adds “we have to balance that against the fact that it is the brand’s core model, like the 3, 5 and 7-series rolled into one.”

I can’t say this is too much of a shock. We’ll be two generations and nearly 15 years removed from Frank Stephenson’s revolution of the classic car in the R50. And while I love many things about the R56 (power, comfort, refinement, etc.), I’ve always felt that many of its design details were needlessly derivative of the first generation MINI — change for change’s sake. Not bad per se, just fussed with in a way that I’ve never liked. With the car evolving significantly in this next generation (3-cylinder engines, more variants), it makes sense for the design language of the MINI to get an overhaul. Add to that new leadership at MINI design and significant change is inevitable.

But what will that change look like? What is sacred ground? How can the MINI evolve and still be iconically MINI? In their posting, Autocar goes on to cite sources saying that MINI is working on a “new interior design language to replace the theme of the large centrally mounted speedometer.”

I was flabbergasted when I read this. Speaking just for myself, I really hope this is just a rumor. Perhaps it’s just a design exercise and not their actual intention. Yet, I can’t hide my alarm. The center speedo is one of the few truly unique design details in the MINI. No other car out there shares the gauges with the cabin like the MINI does. Rooflines, headlight shapes, bonnet bulges — these can all be pretty fluid in my mind. MINI has shown us over and over in their concept cars how much flexibility there is in the brand’s character. But can a MINI be a MINI without the center speedo? Does it just become yet another clever european interior? Say it ain’t so, Anders. Say it ain’t so.

We’ll be working diligently to get more information. Stay tuned.

The engine will change, that's already a known but I'm worried about the design. Right now the MINI looks goofy but it's unique, I don't want to see another bland, cookie cutter car with a MINI badge thrown on it.

 

[Jim Prower]

I'd ALMOST be willing to bet that instead of the small grille up high, they make it one big grill low, and between the headlights...like the original cooper. Because that seems to be how most other euro...strike that....worldwide makes are going.