Another car show is almost upon us, and you know what that means. Yup, another Mini concept will be in the spotlight.
Mini has been in a rich vein of concept-revealing form since 2008 in Paris where it gave us the crossover, then in Frankfurt the following year with the coupé and most recently, the Beachcomber.
It has been setting the pace for a while so it's fitting that Mini's next bright idea, destined for the Detroit motor show next month, is called the Paceman. The carmaker is describing it as "the first Sports Activity Coupé in the premium small segment, which could form yet another building block in the development of the Mini brand."
‘Could' being the keyword, for this concept is yet to be green lighted. We hope it is, because... Well, just look at it!
This two-door, four-seaterlooks very similar to the Countryman from the front, sharing its grille, but it begins to chop and change its way into a coupé, thanks to a sloping roof Mini calls its ‘helmet'.
It has also been fitted with 19in wheels and, overall, it looks slightly less boxy than the standard Cooper. The new foglamps, air intakes, wheel-arch surrounds, rear diffuser and white roof give the Paceman an "urban and masculine" appearance, according to Mini.
Looks like it was fattened up on a steady diet of bratwursts and... Not much else. It's certainly grown in size and is almost 300mm longer than the standard Mini Cooper, stands more than 130mm taller and is also 106mm wider.
Remaining intact inside the leather-wrapped interior isthe signature central speedo, but you now get a slim-looking centre console. The centre rail, which made its debut on the Countryman, is also present here, while the armrests are sportier and have large storage compartments.
A twin-scroll turbocharged John Cooper Works 1.6-litre four-pot sits under the bonnet and makes 211bhp and 260Nm of torque — 280 thanks to the overboost function.
It has also got the Countryman's permanent ALL4 all-wheel drive system which can vary the distribution of power betweenthe front and back wheels — 100 per cent can be sent to the rearif needed.
A smooth ride is guaranteed thanks to the MacPherson struts and lower control arms at the front, with a multilink rear axle.
Mini hasn't confirmed if the Paceman will go into production, but it does have a history of developing its concepts.
Fingers crossed the carmaker fast-tracks this one onto the factory floor exactly the way it looks in these images.
A little bit more...
Mini says it has developed the chassis for the Paceman to offer an agile, sporty and safe driving experience with superb handling.
The front axle features MacPherson spring struts with lower track control arms which, combined with speed-sensitive electric power steering, help to deliver the sort of ride Mini fans come to expect. Its multilink rear axle was developed using proven BMW Group chassis expertise and is designed for use in both the front-wheel drive and the ALL4 all-wheel drive versions of the car.
