Filed under: Concept Cars, SUVs, Euro, Crossovers/CUVs, BMW, MINI

When the X3 dries up, there’ll still be a BMW trucklet for the Austrian assembly and engineering firm to bolt together. BMW’s MINI brand has been reportedly getting an SAV (BMW parlance for CUV) for a while now, and that prospect looks like it’s inching toward reality. Affixing the MINI badge to the pumped-up Clubman might create a rolling misnomer, but that’s supposedly the plan. Code named “Colorado”, the ruggedized and raised MINI will be equipped with AWD calibrated for traction rather than performance. We’ll wait to pass judgement on the styling while hoping that it doesn’t look like the fanciful rendering above. Ugly or cute, if Magna Steyr hits its target, it’ll be pumping out a targeted 80,000 of these things per year, starting in 2010.

[Source: Motoring File]

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Filed under: Car Buying, LA Auto Show, BMW, MINI

The super-sized MINI Clubman has grown only 9.45 inches overall and 3.15 inches between the wheels. That doesn’t tell the whole story for the Clubman, though, as its small car charm gains some utility while also adding those neat little French doors in back. Luckily for panting MINI fanatics, the BMW group isn’t asking a king’s ransom for its famous little wagon. The base Clubman will start at $20,600, and a turbocharged Clubman S will set you back $24,100. For comparison’s sake, a base MINI Cooper starts at $18,700 in the U.S. and a Cooper S at $21,850. Thus, the premium commanded by a Clubman over a base Cooper is relatively small. Of course any self-respecting MINI owner knows that the British Marquee’s dozens of options and customizations will raise the average price by thousands of dollars, but it’s nice to see that base models start in the realm of reality. Check out the press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW Group]

Continue reading MINI prices Clubman from $20,600 in the U.S.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Wagons/Estates, BMW, MINI

Add another model to the Limited Initial Availability pile: the MINI Clubman. It’s being reported that BMW only plans to provide US dealers with four — that’s right, four — MINI Clubman’s “for the first few months of US production.”

The Dodge Charger is going into limited production its first year in order to keep the car exclusive. The Malibu Hybrid is only being sent to certain dealers in order to make the best attack on its competitors. The MINI Clubman will make its way here in so few numbers not just for exclusivity’s sake, but because BMW apparently makes more money on a MINI sold in Europe than one sold here, and Italy has been identified as the largest market for the little big MINI. For those of you interested in the 3.5-door, do you hear that? Yeah — it’s the sound of a long wait…

[Source: Motoring File]

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