clubman

Day 1--Geneva to Briancon

The maid pounded on the door, an early morning wake-up call. Well, not so early, as post-show jet lag had kicked in and I was sound asleep at 10:30 am. I had locked myself in the room for three straight days to write about the 2011 Geneva auto show, but made a quick exit, loading up a new Mini Cooper Clubman loaned by BMW for a French Alpine tour.

The car was similar to the U.S. version, a Cooper without the S, meaning a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. Given a choice, I would have … Read more

In an ad depicting the growing Mini family, the company just announced that the Mini Paceman concept, unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, has been given the green light for full production.

The ad, in a first-ever slow motion 3D (shown here in 2D), features an 1,800-hp monster truck jumping a Mini Cooper Convertible, a Mini Cooper Clubman, a Mini Cooper S, and a Mini Cooper S Countryman in front of a stadium audience. The ad debuts today in movie theaters.

The ad was pretty complicated to shoot, Mini said in a press release. It required a crew of … Read more

For the 2011 model year, Mini is introducing the new Countryman crossover to its diminutive lineup (both in quantity and in stature). Not wanting to be leave any out of the party, Mini will give updates its remaining three models--Cooper, Clubman, and Cooper convertible--exteriors, engine bays, and cabin controls and technology packages.

Starting in the cabin, the Mini's center stack will retain its familiarly weird configuration. But if you look closely,  you'll notice that 2011 models' volume knob is located on the face of the stereo system. (Whoa!) One of the things that has always … Read more

After months of making the rounds at every conceivable auto show, the 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman is finally on sale in the U.S.

The wagon-style Clubman is billed as a roomier car that still maintains the personality of the original Mini. To some, it seems like a perfect combination of form and function. But for me, the idea of a big Mini just seems ... well ... against what makes a Mini a Mini. One thing's for sure: the Clubman just seems to be one of those cars that people either love or hate.

Part of the point of making … Read more

Mini just released all the details on its forthcoming Cooper Clubman, which is scheduled to arrive in Europe later this year and in the States early in 2008. While it might not be in the same league as the stretch Mini limo that we saw earlier this year, the new Mini Cooper Clubman is nearly 10 inches longer than the standard Mini Cooper. It also features a bizzare unique carriage door on the right hand side to allow greater access to its roomier rear seats, as well as a couple of BMW's most recent engine management technologies. Check out … Read more

For those that find the Mini too, well, mini, the BMW-owned brand is launching a stretch version, spy photos of which appeared on Spanish automotive site Km77.com. We saw various Mini concepts at the 2005 auto shows based on this new stretched Mini, but the new photos show the real deal. Km77.com apparently caught Mini shooting video of its new model in preparation for its launch at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. The car will be named the Mini Clubman, taking its name from the original Mini Clubman launched in 1969.

Although previous spy shots of the new … Read more