New Mini models

Over the next couple of years, that number is expected to double.  The first to arrive in Australia early next year will be the Countryman compact SUV, followed by the Coupe and the Roadster, but don't hold your breath for the Beachcomber.

The doorless and roofless four-seater Beachcomber, which harks back to the 1960s-70s Mini Moke, has the same all-wheel-drive drivetrain and chassis as the Countryman.

BMW Group Australia product communications manager Michelle Lang says it is a "very interesting concept".  "However we don't anticipate that this will be coming to Australia, we have no knowledge of it even going into production," she says.  "We are more focused on the impending Mini Countryman, Coupe and Roasters hitting our shores."

The BMW Group expects the Countryman to represent 30-40 per cent of global sales.  Mini corporate communications manager Piers Scott says the compact SUV segment is one of the fastest growing.

Countryman is built on a new platform that is wider and longer than the hatch, cabrio or wagon.  It features a new AWD system that operates in front-wheel drive until the wheels slip, then power is directed to the rear wheels via a rear differential, rather than a centre diff.

The Cooper S model will be available in AWD and 2WD, but the Cooper will come in 2WD only.  "It won't cannibalise sales of the X1," Scott says.

"We'll more likely get customers from the Japanese compact SUVs like Subaru and Toyota."  The vehicle has 350 litres of cargo space and a 20-40-20 split rear seat with a two or three-seat option in the rear.

It will arrive with a petrol engine at launch, but a diesel - likely the coming two-litre BMW engine - will arrive later.  "It doesn't have the go-kart drivability of the hatch, but it is very chuckable for a high-set vehicle," Scott says.

The Countryman will be followed by the Coupe two-door model with the "helmet" roof.  It is expected to arrive here in August.  A convertible version called Roadster will follow early in 2012.

"And that's not the end of it (new models)," says Scott.  However, Mini Australia boss David Woollcott says the electric Mini is not yet on the drawing board for mass production.  "We'll have a full electric maybe in four or five years," he says."We're also looking at a hybrid."