RE: Mini Reveals Clubvan concept

[Fire99]

s m said:

They designed the Moke for the military originally but it didn't have enough power or ground clearance to be successful in the end so not sure it was 'capable enough' in that instance

Bugger. Probably still more capable than a modern Countryman, on the rough stuff. (Though a bit more draughty)

[ivantate]

A bit like what MG did with the ZR van.
High performance car options in a carpet lined van for people that wanted to enjoy paying less tax. (also Vauxhall with the Astra Sportvan to a lesser degree too).


Looking at van prices in general and the mini premium pricing structure then I am pretty sure most people on here who see to think they will be able to pick one up for about £10k because it has steel wheels will be sadly disappointed.

To build it probably costs about £500 less than the clubman and should imagine the prices will be similar.

[mat205125]

Please can we have a pickup?

[Mr2Mike]

K 5ive said:

You don't know your history. There WAS a convertible and it was an official Rover car. Moke? was that not a kind of grotesque SUV before SUV's exisited? Plus in the 60's there was a plethora of conversions from other companies wanting to capitalise on the Mini. OK they were not official but there were many many more spin off than there are now. Oh yes did i forget to mention the Unipower mini coupe?

I wasn't aware that Unipower was a BMC/Austin Rover brand? Oh yes, that's because it wasn't. You might as well mention the Marcos, GTM Cox and the Midas (amongst dozens of others) whilst you are suggesting irrelevant mini based cars manufactured by third parties.

The Moke was designed for the a military as a previous poster mentioned, designed to be light enough and robust enough to be parachuted from a cargo plane. It didn't quite pass muster, so was sold as a general utility/commercial vehicle. Though it used the mini running gear the rest of it was very different to any of the other minis. It's nothing like an SUV however, more like a small version of a Willys Jeep.

[mogjay]

What is bmws obsession with giving the minis the wrong names, why the clubvan and not just van

stil i think it could work with fancy businesses which need little loading space , but it does beg the question why not just buy a mid-size estate instead would be much more useful or better still if its about looking cool get n original mini van

[lotus99t]

lotus99t said:

Here's one I made earlier - Blue Peter Styliee

I have only had my Clubman van conversion for 5 weeks now and I love it. I test drove many small vans but none of them had enough bling lol. If your not going to carry much (like I don't ) then it's spot on.

[Cotty]

Of all the MINI's so far, this is the one I hate the least.

[twobanks]

suffolk009 said:

God, I'm bored. I just googled Hugh Buckingham Signwriter. Looks like he's an Abe Froman.

Wrong. Not only does he exist (and trades under another (company) name) but he's an occasional PH-er and actually did the signwriting...and with a brush, not a keyboard.
Imagine that - small-town but extremely skilled British signwriter is flown out to Germany to write a CONCEPT van due to appear at Geneva... WITH HIS OWN NAME! Hats off to the guy. We should be proud.

For what it's worth I can see this flying off the shelves. Signwriters will love it for a start! (a coupla brushes, a pot of paint and a stick fit very nicely in the back)

[Twincam16]

mogjay said:

What is bmws obsession with giving the minis the wrong names, why the clubvan and not just van

Overly excitable marketing types with a tendancy to 'over-think' things, then assume the rest of the world thinks the same way they do.

The names don't even make sense. The Mini Clubman was so-called because the model that headed the range, the 1275GT, was aimed at club racers looking to replace their Coopers, and the reason for its frontal restyle was at least in part to make it easier to work on and fit new bits to the engine bay. The MINI Estate thingy that's been called a 'Clubman' was so-called because, according to the original press release, that little rear door is a 'Clubdoor'. Eh? I bet no-one outside of the marketing department has ever called it that. And since when were rear-hinged rear doors called 'clubdoors' anyway? In coachbuilding terms a 'clubdoor' is actually a little hatch in the side of the car leading to the boot floor to fit your golf clubs in, usually found on Great Gatsby-era art-deco cars like Auburn 851 Speedsters and Duesenberg SJs. MINI's use of it just seems a case of marketing types looking at all the trademarks available to them and going 'We can call it a Clubman! And that little door - well, we can call it a Clubdoor!'

Surely it'd make more sense to use the original name BMC applied to all its estates - Traveller, suggesting going on longer journeys when you might need to carry more luggage and would therefore need an estate.

[Mr2Mike]

Twincam16 said:

In coachbuilding terms a 'clubdoor' is actually a little hatch in the side of the car leading to the boot floor to fit your golf clubs in, usually found on Great Gatsby-era art-deco cars like Auburn 851 Speedsters and Duesenberg SJs.

I didn't know that; every day is a school day!

[Twincam16]

Mr2Mike said:

Twincam16 said:

In coachbuilding terms a 'clubdoor' is actually a little hatch in the side of the car leading to the boot floor to fit your golf clubs in, usually found on Great Gatsby-era art-deco cars like Auburn 851 Speedsters and Duesenberg SJs.

I didn't know that; every day is a school day!

You can see one here just behind the door:

[CDP]

Twincam16 said:

You can see one here just behind the door:

Brilliant packaging. The anti-mini.


(Of course I mean the original)