MINI Clubvan Announced, Hipsters Rejoice


By Jake Lingeman


By AutoWeek Mon 2:14 PM









MINI is getting into the commercial space with the Clubvan, which has two seats, five doors and a flat floor for easy loading. MINI says the van is designed for both business and leisure cargo carrying.

When the U.S.-bound MINI Clubvan arrives this fall, it will use the company's base engine for power, which means 121 hp from a 1.6-liter engine. No word yet on a John Cooper Works edition, but that would be the fastest cube on wheels we've seen since the Pontiac Vans Am.

Photo Gallery: MINI Clubvan

MINI says the Clubvan will offer “first-class styling coupled with premium-class cargo transport,” which means that your kickball, skinny jeans and ironic beach cruiser will fit inside quite nicely. The company also says that “trend-setting commercial users can now make a stylish and sophisticated statement when carrying out deliveries to their equally discerning customers.”

Translation: Your organic vegetables will get to the Red Hook market on time. The exterior dimensions of the Clubvan are exactly the same as those of the MINI Clubman —155.9 inches long, 66.3 inches wide and 56.1 inches tall. However, the rear seats are removed for additional cargo space, bringing the total to 30.3 cubic feet. The body-colored rear windows should provide plenty of space for the logo of whatever vintage T-shirt business the driver is shilling for. Six attachment loops can secure the drum set, while 12-volt sockets in the cargo area can allow a driver to trim his handlebar mustache on the go.

The Clubvan gets most of the same options as the other MINIs including xenon headlights, automatic climate control, park distance control and MINI Connected.

The Clubvan follows in the footsteps of the Morris Mini Van, which came out in the 1960s just one year after the original Mini.

MINI hasn't yet announced pricing for the Clubvan, but we'd guess that it would be close to the price of the Clubman, which is between $22,000 and $32,000.

 

This is so awesome. I may just have to do that interior conversion.

 

Pretty snarky article...

A Clubman with seats can fit quite a bit of stuff with the seats folded down. A Clubman without seats should provide plenty of cargo volume for a number of types of businesses while giving them much better gas mileage (and a more noticeable vehicle) than a van, minivan or SUV, and potentially inexpensive (MINI say they're to be priced just below a standard Clubman) assuming they're able to avoid the import taxes on vans.

 

Price should be interesting - I'm sure this will have the same chicken tax piled onto it as the transit connect has...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax