Min Paceman Concept

[Neil - TXJ]

Announcement re new concept model

http://www.facebook.com/MINI.uk

[KenL]

also here: http://www.motoringfile.com/2010/12/18/mini-paceman-official-video/

Looks a lot better than the Countryman IMO.

[weefossy]

Looks much better than the Clubman, but not a mini imho. Tend to agree with the "Nissan" comments.

[Sheilz]

Looks much better than the Clubman.


Hurmph! No its nae :sad:

but just as ugly as the countryman:sick:

[illegalhunter]

I like this alot , the colour is a stinker tho

[craigib76]

think this will grow on people over time and will probably become quite popular i bet the colour looks a million times better in the sunlight rather than in studio light

[zimbo]

You do know why this car is being made dont you? It's because MINI is trying to get back into World Rally Championship and rally cars are and mostly always been three door vehicles... and almost all of them have had to be based on production road vehicles :yes nod:

But I must admit it does look loads better than the Countryman does, apart from that awful leather crap they have got wrapped around the door handles, wing repeaters and the fuel flap!! :frown: :sick:

[ELFMAN]

Well here we are, a huge bloated 3-door NON-MINI-MINI hatch.
The result of a ten year programme of Focus-Group Marketing, Bistro-Chic, Steroids and Botox, complete with 'it'll never make it to production Bondage Gear exterior leather trim' - can't wait for the full-on 'JCW Carbon-Effect Gimp Mask'. The Paceman doesn't look bad, it looks a whole lot better than the Countryman (having said that, from certain angles, so do I...), but I ask you, WHAT'S THE POINT of this up-market Nissan Juke? :confused:

The Countryman was (I thought) introduced to address the lack of space and practicality in the rest of the range, so the trade-off was losing some the MINIs legendary dynamic appeal in the name of 'Family Friendliness'. So now they're losing some of that practicality for the sake of looks, but without regaining any of the traditional MINI Hatch's size, manoeverability and overall performance. It's a 'Lifestyle' model, a great big fat trinket, perfect for those who are interested in neither performance nor practicality, but it looks 'Cool' and 'Now' and that's enough these days. The fact that it'll cost a whole lot more than it delivers won't actually matter, because those who buy it won't worry about value for money and won't miss or even understand why we all bought into the MINI phenomenon in the first place. BMW just can't seem to resist filling every single Market Gap it can see... with yet another 'MINI'.

If you start off with a racehorse, but genetically modify it for years till it's huge and grey, then it's a Hippo - even if you still call it 'Trigger'. :hand:

ps Zimbo, I'd be surprised if the Paceman was in any way connected with MINI's WRC ambitions - as far as I know, Prodrive have already done the WRC development work on the Countryman, which is currently running in the Dakar Rally, so I don't see MINI developing another new model specifically for this purpose... unless they're holding WRC events at the Polo Club and the driver's Oliver, co-driven by Penelope...

[Bazthemod]

Paceman is next model due for wrc purposes after countryman due to door issues as Ali says.

Expect styling cues from this to form the new mini clubman.

Beachcomber concept scrapped and won't go into production.

[KenL]

Manufacturers usually enter rally cars to promote their products. They don't sell cars to the public as a by-product of a rally car project.

If that was the case, it would be a lot cheaper to put 4wd into a standard MINI for racing.

The Countryman is being built for people who think the MINI is a cool car but too wee for them. It uses the same platform as the Countryman but is a lot better looking so will sell well I imagine.

[ELFMAN]

Paceman is next model due for wrc purposes after countryman due to door issues as Ali says.

OK, but surely that's not why it's (quote) 'being made'?
As Ken intimated, Rallying's expensive enough without creating a 'bespoke' model purely for homologation purposes! I thought the whole WRC ethos these days was to keep costs down as manufacturers were pulling out right left and centre.

The Paceman (the 'X6' of the MINI family?) might well be being made because BMW have sussed that the Countryman's just too big and fat to pass for a real MINI! :smilewinkgrin:

[KenL]

That BMW X6 is about the ugliest car I've ever seen!

Please don't mention that and MINI in the same sentence.

[ELFMAN]

That BMW X6 is about the ugliest car I've ever seen!
Please don't mention that and MINI in the same sentence.

Sorry Ken! I've disinfected my keyboard after typing such a thing. :hand::blush:

[Stewart]

Love the clip the designer has to reinforce again and again its “ It’s all Mini” well a “new interpretation wider shoulders to make the car look bigger, stronger”

I don’t want my mini to look like a baby BMW but its getting there. I hate the rear lights. Its not that it looks really bad but its pulling away from what I’d say was a funky wee car to a bigger brother that’s taken himself all serious.

Why do I get the feeling that there will be a point that some of us will buy our last mini on styling alone. If the hatchback gets a new interpretation it could spoil what was a good thing.

[ELFMAN]

Love the clip the designer has to reinforce again and again its “ It’s all Mini” well a “new interpretation wider shoulders to make the car look bigger, stronger”

I don’t want my mini to look like a baby BMW but its getting there. I hate the rear lights. Its not that it looks really bad but its pulling away from what I’d say was a funky wee car to a bigger brother that’s taken himself all serious.

Why do I get the feeling that there will be a point that some of us will buy our last mini on styling alone. If the hatchback gets a new interpretation it could spoil what was a good thing.

Stewart, I TOTALLY agree with what you're saying. It echoes my current thoughts exactly

I personally feel that in 2001 BMW had what they thought would be essentially a 'Niche'/low volume product which they initially saw as a 'stepping stone' to the BMW range. When sales took off because it was a roaring success (due to excellent reviews in the 'serious' motoring press and people like us), a unique, fantastic-looking and performing vehicle, they re-vamped production methods/styling etc to produce the R56 in large numbers more economically than its predecessor. This certainly paid off and the variants of the R56 have done very well, so now they have decided to create a whole 'MINI Universe' with models covering every market sector. Now this is all well and good for BMW, but I think they are diluting the essential characteristics, both dynamically and aesthetically, on which the whole MINI success story has been founded. I just hope that these 'New Values' don't, as Stewart mentioned, trickle down to the Hatch and Clubman...

As a high-octane petrolhead and a VERY proud MINI owner for the last decade, I really feel that the very elements which I hold dearest (that 'funkiness' Stewart mentioned, the unique looks, dynamic appeal and outright 'real world' performance and tuneability), are being put further on the back burner with each new model release (with the exception of the forthcoming Coupe). I'm not saying that MINI shouldn't be doing what they're doing - that's not up to me, I'm saying that what they appear to be doing isn't something I, as a time-served car fanatic, can really relate to any more. What began as a unique, driver-focussed 'sniper's rifle' model has, through what may be a perfectly natural economically-driven process, taken on what is arguably a 'shotgun approach' where BMW/MINI seem to be afraid of missing any market segment. Sales success is vital in the current (or any) economic climate and BMW/MINI obviously want to keep stoking the fire with these new models, but I'd argue that they stand to make more sales and profit from the 'Bread & Butter' Hatches we all know and love than they will from the pricier Countryman and Paceman which, while selling in much smaller numbers, affect the 'perception' of MINIs in general. Brand perception has a great bearing on those who feel attracted to, quite literally, buy into it. I've read/watched a few reviews (Evo Magazine, 5th Gear) of the Countryman which, while not panning it, have raised quite serious concerns about its capabilities and value for money - this doesn't reflect well on a brand which used to rule the Road Test Roost.

My fear is that while MINI increasingly concentrate on these new 'Lifestyle' models, the hard-earned reputation of the Hatchback/Clubman is in danger of being tarnished by 'MINIs' (I use the term in its widest possible - seems appropriate - sense), which simply don't have the essential performance and dynamic abilities which once set the 'Brand' apart from the herd. WRC involvement will no doubt add some positive image to the models, but how much the rally car truly has in common with what comes out of the showroom and down to Tesco is open to debate.

I never thought I'd say this, maybe it's just that ten years and three cars is a long time to stick with what is essentially the same model, but I have begun to seriously consider that my next car might not be a MINI. Which is a shame whatever way you look at it

[Mon the fish]

Do Ferrari listen to focus groups, and make a diesel estate? No, because as a brand, everyone knows what Ferrari stands for - power, looks, soul etc.

Should be the same with Mini - for god's sake the name gives the brand away! Mini = small. If you can't get your poncy 'lifestyle' in a Mini, either change your lifestyle or change your car! How about sir tries a 1/3-series?

Leave the Mini small!

[MINIme:)]

Latest info from Motoring File:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2011/11/15/exclusive-mini-paceman-production-model-info/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Motoringfile+(MotoringFile+|+ MINI+News%2C+Reviews+and+Podcast)&utm_content=FaceBook




I have to admit I haven't read this thread to see if much is new in this article... apologies if not! I'm getting a bit confused as to the raison d'etre of all the models. I guess they don't all need to have a special niche though. To be fair if I'd read the thread you may have already thrashed this out... maybe I'll do that!

not immediately taken with this though - we shall see.

[Stewart]

"grow up" a bit (especially in terms of the over-sized speedo).

Nooooooo I like that! ;)

Before long we will be looking at a one series! Sensible cars look boring and uninspiring. I remember when the golf GTi went from a fantastic looking hot hatch to a bloated sensible car for the family man.

[MINIme:)]

"grow up" a bit

oh man, I thought that was aimed at me at first!! :eek: :lol:

[Stewart]

;)

[ELFMAN]

I'm either getting mellower or just more indecisive as I get older, but these days I always seem to end up quite liking things I initially didn't rate at all, so I'm now swithering about the Paceman - but I'm still not sure where it's supposed to fit in the MINI stable - I mean, is the Hatch too BIG for some people??? Anyway, I must admit that the thought of a JCW Paceman with 200+BHP does float my boat...