Mini Paceman gets the nod

Mini recently gave a global green light to the cute Clubvan concept, and has also cleared the way for full-scale production of the Paceman.

The production version of the Paceman should be unveiled at the Paris motor show in September and the first Australian deliveries are likely around April of 2013. Pricing is yet to be set but, since the Paceman body sits over the mechanical package of the Countryman, it's likely to have showroom stickers starting around $45,000.

"Yes, the Paceman has been give a go-ahead. We'll get it early next year," confirms Piers Scott, spokesman for Mini in Australia. "Production is slightly delayed. So it's end of quarter one, start of quarter two, for us."

The Paceman is the latest in a long series of successful motor show teases intended to stretch the Mini brand. But it's not the start of something new on the size or mechanical front, as originally believed, just another stretch of the existing Mini package.

It's the seventh individual model in the current Mini family, although there is no chance of the Clubvan making it to Australia because of the cost of 'Australianising' the cargo barrier set permanently into the space behind the rear seats. This has now emerged as the 'homologation' drama blocking any local certification, although dealers were also only prepared to commit to fewer than two-dozen sales.

"Clubvan is definitely not on the radar for us," Scott repeats to Carsguide. "We believe we would only sell a very small number here. It doesn't warrant the cost associated with local homologation." The Paceman plan is much more aggressive for Australia because of its sporty looks and, thanks to the Countryman chassis, two adult-sized rear seats.

It's upscale position means it is only likely to be sold in Australia with the Cooper S and John Cooper Works engine packages, together with sports chassis tuning. "It's a sportier two-door model. It's based on the Countryman, with the longer wheelbase, but with very sporty tuning. "Yes, it will have a slight price premium over an equivalent Countryman," Scott says.

He says Range Rover has proven, with its city-focussed Evoque, that there is a strong customer base for two and four-door versions of the same basic body. "In the case of Paceman, there will be greater visual differentiation from the Countryman than is the case with the land Rover models. It's wider and squatter."

So, who is a potential Paceman buyer? "Where Mini customers in the past were constrained by size, we're now able to tick all the boxes for driving and the ability to put two people in the back or chuck a surfboard on the top. It meets the lifestyle needs. We're taking it into more sportier territory than the Countryman," says Scott.

And what about engine choices? "There will certainly be more than one engine, but the engine line-up is yet to be confirmed. We see the main demand in the sportier models, so in a Cooper S and JCW package, if those are made available."