The Mini Countryman crossover could be followed by a three-door model, currently dubbed ‘Canyon’, based on the Countryman platform but aimed at a slightly different market, described as the ‘corporate image’ demographic. The Mini Canyon would be a compact, four-wheel-drive vehicle and takes on the BMW ‘SAV’ label as a small, Mini sports activity vehicle.

According to reports, the Mini Canyon would compete with the Land Rover Evoque, although we were expecting it to be a much smaller vehicle than the new English SUV. It’s clear that the SUV market is developing and its corporate appeal has been ensured ever since luxury brands such as Porsche, with its Cayenne, entered the market.

Where, exactly, Mini wants to go with its image though, is anyone’s guess. It has been able to maintain its cute, quirky British image and is still considered and icon of retro style. But the new Countryman has radically changed that and a possible Canyon version shows that Mini is serious about expanding its product line-up.

Continue reading: Mini three-door Countryman: where is Mini going?

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According to reports the Mini Countryman, also known as the Mini Crossover, could debut at the Detroit motor show in January 2010. The new model’s presentation has been postponed more than once, most recently at the Frankfurt motor show where the company concentrated on the Mini Coupe and Mini Roadster concepts.

The crossover is code-named R60 and should be marketed under the “Countryman” moniker. It will have all-wheel drive and a bodywork derived from the Clubman model. The project is under the management of Steyr in its Austrian facilities, although indications from BMW are that collaboration between the two companies might cease due to the Magna-Opel acquisition.

Mini Crossover Concept

Source | Motoringfile

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These spy shots show the Mini Countryman undergoing further testing, as the Mini Crossover pursues its ambitions to enter production. It’s a precarious situation as the model doesn’t seem to have the backing of the company itself.

Its presentation was postponed and the Mini crossover made no appearance at the Frankfurt motor show; and there have been murmurings that perhaps its production was being reconsidered.

However, the Mini Maxi is seen here and after the hype of the Mini Coupe Concept and Mini Roadster Concept, it’s difficult to say what the future holds for the Mini Countryman. It seems that given the money already invested, the Countryman gets the green light by default. We could see it at the 2010 Geneva motor show, but then again, who knows?

Mini Countryman crossover spy shots

Source | Autoblog.it

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Here’s the “voyeur” video of the Peugeot RC-Z, when every square inch of car gets scrutinised. The new Peugeot coupé was quite a success at Frankfurt, and together with the Mini Coupé Concept, we wonder if this is a sign of a new era of accessible coupes. More details will surely come, including pricing and pics of the standard version alloys, but so far the market seems to like what it sees.

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The Mini Roadster concept and the Mini Coupe Concept, presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show, will have different engines, with the former equipped with the classic 1.6-litre unit, without the John Cooper Works treatment. It will therefore have 175 hp. Apart from that, the “Oxford Twins” are very similar, with the Roadster demonstrating itself to be the soft-top version of the coupe.

The Roadster is 3.71 metres long, 1.68 metres wide, and 1.35 metres tall. It takes on a few elements of the cabriolet, including the ‘Always Open Timer’, along with the ‘Nature Guard’ driving system, Highspeed Shifter for transmission, Gravity (acceleration indicator) and other fancy stuff like the Hear Beat indicator and Buddy Radar.

Mini Roadster Concept official pics

Continue reading: Mini Roadster Concept pics

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These Mini live pics from Frankfurt show the new Coupe and Mini Roadster concepts, continuing the Mini birthday theme of this year. Explaining the Mini teaser videos, the two concepts have been named the “Oxford Twins” and already have a production future. The prototypes look like they will become production models within two years. Check out the pics below.

Mini live pics from Frankfurt

Continue reading: Live pics: Mini Coupe and Roadster Concepts in Frankfurt

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We’ll have live pics of the Mini Coupe Concept from the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show later on, but here’s the final installment of the Mini teaser concept videos which should see the presentation of the Mini Speedster concept as well. The first and second videos are after the jump. Weird stuff but hey, there are girls in bikinis to keep the guys happy. Stay tuned for live pics.

Continue reading: ''Two Untamed: Mini teaser concept videos for Mini Speedster and Coupe concepts

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Here’s a gallery of pics of the Mini coupé concept, headed for the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show for its debut and one big birthday bash. Personally, the Mini was already about as coupé as I cared it to be, but this is one snazzy looking car, and the sloping rear roof-line could be a hint at the future speedster model that some rumours were suggesting.

The lower half of the car has John Cooper Works stamped all over it, while the top half and roofline are really striking. We can’t wait to see this live at Frankfurt. After the jump you will find more pics, the video and the full press release from Mini.

Continue reading: Mini Coupé Concept pics and video

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