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After bringing the British baby back from the dead and running through two generations of the new-age Mini, BMW Group is now downsizing in the search for something new. The result is the Rocketman, a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show that could easily point to a new direction for Mini.
The brand is expanding in all directions - from the basic Mini and Cabrio to the Countryman, the Paceman coupe and possibly a born-again Moke - and a smaller car is one of the objectives.
"We've got lots of ideas, some of which won't come to production, but I think there is a lot more potential within a small-size car," the global sales chief of Mini, Ian Robertson, told Carsguide earlier this year.
The Rocketman is only 3.3 metres long, as well as being wider and lower than today's showroom Mini, and has a three-seater cabin to maximise the space inside. It's front doors and roof are motor show trickery - with double hinges for the doors and a full glass roof - but the basic design and approach could easily be morphed into a production car to compete with a range of worldwide babies including the Smart ForTwo and Toyota iQ. There is even talk from the USA of a BMW Group tie-up with Citroen- Peugeot to create a compact car structure that could carry the Rocketman onto the road.
At Geneva, the Rocketman concept is fitted with a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine but it could easily take one of BMW Group's upcoming three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engines or even a plug-in battery power pack. There are more questions than answers about the Rocketman, especially at Mini in Australia.
"Things are still up in the air," says Mini spokesman, Piers Scott. "We've confirmed diversification of the Mini brand, going up in size and down in size. That would indicate there could be room for a future model like this."
"This is a car that has there have been murmours about for some time. So it could be closer to production, but . . . "
Apart from the basic size and shape, the Rocketman is loaded with new ideas from LED tail lamps that look like handles to a central instrument display - still in the 1950s Mini style - using 3D projection technology for a range of readouts and control of the sound and satnav systems.
More on the Geneva Motor Show here
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