Mini built the Urbanaut concept in real life and it's still super funky
We don't know if it'll be a future car from Mini or not, but the brand went all-out making it a cool place to hang out.
If you adored Mini's Urbanaut concept, you'll be mighty excited to see the brand built it for real. Mini on Wednesday showed the physical concept car for the first time after debuting the vehicle as a digital piece of work back in November. It's still an intriguing, cute pod car with tons of personality.
The crux of the van-esque concept car is what the brand calls "Mini Moments." That translates to the car understanding its purpose in the moment to swap between modes that include "Chill," "Wanderlust" and "Vibe." The exterior and interior of the Urbanaut change with various interior sounds, mood lighting and even scents.
Chill and Vibe are all about relaxation (the latter is more about being outdoorsy) while Wanderlust is the only mode where passengers become a driver. They tap the Mini logo in the cockpit and the car unfolds a steering wheel and pedals so they can take control. This mode also enables fully autonomous driving, Mini said. A final feature is to create a custom mode simply called "My Moment."
The brand said this concept's features are about rediscovering how people want to travel. Whether that's manually driving the Urbanaut with all of its comforts, or relaxing while the pod car motors along, is up to the driver (or passenger). Did I mention it can turn into a ginormous boom box? Yes, that's also possible, if you select Vibe while at the beach or something like that.
The concept is complete with a daybed, a living plant and more to make the Urbanaut whatever you want it to be. Some of it is rather nonsensical, sure, but the concept is charming in its own right. Will we see a time when cars actually become secondary living spaces like this? I wouldn't mind a nap on the beach in the Urbanaut before driving back home.
