With the recent launch of the Clubman and the unveiling of the Crossover Concept at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, BMW ’s MINI brand is starting to become a little larger than its name implies. But the brand is slated to get a fifth model line, which should return the marque to its mini roots.
Speaking with Edmunds, Dr. Wolfgang Armbrecht, Mini’s global brand manager, revealed that MINI is slated to get a fifth model following the 2010 launch of the production Crossover Concept. While MINI’s last two vehicle introductions have been larger than the diminutive Cooper, Armbrecht assures that the next model will have a returned focus to small.
“While I am working in this job no MINI will be longer than 4.1m,” Armbrecht said.
He continued by saying MINI’s fifth model would be a small city car, comparable in size to Volkswagen ’s Polo. The new model will likely be co-developed with Fiat, and should be ready to hit the market by 2012. Armbrecht guaranteed the new car will be “very cute” and won’t lose MINI’s signature fun to drive personality.
BMW recently teamed up with Fiat to explore the future of co-developing small car platforms, and it sounds as though the two sides were able to reach a meeting of the minds. In addition to the new MINI model, the new city car platform is expected to underpin a future BMW and Fiat models.
