Coming in 2011: Mini Crossover

"After going over the large amount of feedback from experts and the public, we approved the Crossover for production just four weeks after it debuted at the Paris show," says head of Mini brand management Wolfgang Armbrecht.

Armbrecht and Mini Development Chief Friedrich Nitschke spoke with IL at a recent event in Austria to shed light on plans for the Crossover.

The big Mini, Armbrecht, said, "had to be a true 4x4, carry four adult passengers, and be four meters long [157.5 inches] maximum." At the same time, he stressed, the Crossover had to retain the brand's beloved "go-kart drive quality, be immediately recognizable as the Mini SUV, and possess unlimited clever flexibility on the interior."

Along with cost-related changes to the showcar's fancy rear end, the front's appearance will be improved for the production model. Mini exterior design boss Marcus Syring says the production design will be revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show in September, promising: "It will look very much like a Mini SUV needs to look."

Armbrecht said the Crossover will launch first as a front-wheel-drive urban mini SUV; an optional BMW-Xdrive-derived four-wheel-drive system will go on sale later. Both are set to be built by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.

The Crossover in Cooper trim with front-wheel drive will start just above the base price for a Cooper S convertible: around $29,000. A Cooper S four-wheel-drive Crossover should be priced at or above $34,000. Since style and functionality are more the point than sportiness, there will be no John Cooper Works edition of the Crossover.

Mini says the 1.6-liter engine could be twin-turbocharged at some point for a future top version beyond the Cooper S. Europe will get diesel engines capable of up to 45 mpg but, as usual, North America won't. All markets will receive the four-wheel-drive version with a serious lower range of crawling gears.

Mini assured IL that the options list for the Crossover will be even more extensive than the company's already full menu of add-ons.

Inside Line says: Mini puts its perfect marketing machine to work on the Crossover and promises to set the standard for all competitors in development elsewhere. — Matt Davis, Correspondent