Paris 2008: Mini Crossover Concept

Somethings are just not meant to be, not for any particularly devastating reason but for moral principals, well it could just be devastating, if you’re one of those people that stick to a particular virtue like a religion then straying from it could be quite difficult. But not if you’re MINI. Having been in the car building business for more than 50 years now, MINI has hardly put a foot wrong, it is one of the most successful brands in automotive history.

But putting a foot wrong MINI recently did and how it’ll go down with people who have MINI principals is yet to be seen, it could just be devastating. How could it not be? Just take a look at this Crossover concept, a MINI it is no more. What MINI virtues does it have in its design and ultimately its purpose? Well the design does have a bit of a dark knight villain thing going for it. Autoblog puts it perfectly; on one side it’s got an unusual door configuration, big show-car wheels and a decidedly conceptual turquoise highlighted paint scheme. On the other it’s more staid, with conventional doors, a more conventional color palette and an altogether more production-feasible appearance.

Well some concepts are purely design exercises while others serve as previews of upcoming production models. I’m not sold with its design which leaves a lot to be desired but if MINI is willing to depart from it’s MINI virtues, I’m sure a lot of people would be willing to depart from their virtues and find this crossover rather appealing. We’ll have to see if it goes into production and more importantly, if it sells.