Mini Beachcomber: Mini Moke re-born?

The Mini Beachcomber concept car is due to make its in-the-flesh debut at the 2010 Detroit Motor Show in January.

We suspect that the Beachcomber is pretty close to the production Mini four-wheel drive, with the doors and tail-gate conveniently left out.

The Beachcomber concept car is meant to recall the stripped down Mini Moke four-wheel drive from the 60's, which lacked doors, a steel roof and most of the conveniences that we take for granted nowadays.

Despite looking for all the world like a spare wheel carrier, the Beachcomber utilises run-flat tyres, so the tacked-on compartment at the back is simply a lockable case for the trendy go-getters' gear.

Unlike the stripped-to-the-bones Moke, the Beachcomber comes with an integrated cabling duct dubbed Centre Rail. Mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS units, chilled eskies, laptops or anything electric can be connected anywhere along the rail.

The Beachcomber concept car is a refinement of the earlier Crossover concept from 2008.