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MINI Clubman
MINI Clubman - Past and Present

We take a look at the development of the MINI Clubman.

November 2007

The new MINI Clubman has been one of the year's most eagerly anticipted new motors. With it's practical estate looks and Club rear door it has certainly attracted a lot of attention.

However, the story of the load lugging supermini actually started 46 years ago when the concept first appeared. Using the iconic original Mini as a base it became the family hold all of choice for nearly twenty years, finding over 200,000 homes.

Here we trace the wagon's roots from classic 1960 model, right up to the spoty, lifestyle orientated 2007 Clubman.
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Countryman   Swinging Sixties   Seventies style   Clubman collection
1. Countryman
Launched in 1960 the original load-lugging Mini was called the Traveller if you bought a Morris, and Countryman if it was an Austin.


  
2. Swinging Sixties
During the Sixties the Mini Wagon featured an ash wood framework at the rear. However, this wasn't structural - it was just for show.


  
3. Seventies style
By the next decade the ash had been removed. In its place was a vinyl side stripe with fake wood grain. All models were badged British Leyland.


  
4. Clubman collection
The Clubman name first appeared in 1969. Cute Mini front end was replaced with more angular nose. Available as saloon, wagon and hot 1275 GT.
 
Design sketches   Production line   Roof presses   MINI Clubman
5. Design sketches
When the parent company BMW wanted a new MINI estate, it had something much more sporty than the original in mind.


  
6. Production line
The new Clubman is built on a hi-tech production line at the Oxfordshire plant. A total of 230 robots are used in various roles around the factory.


  
7. Roof presses
Humans are still important in getting fnished models out through the factory gates. Over 4,500 are employed at the Cowley facility.


  
8. MINI Clubman
Nearly thirty years after the last of the original Clubmans rolled off the line, the MKII makes its debut.
 
Club door   Double rear doors   Interior sketches   Clubman interior
9. Club door
This is the controversial Club door design. The single rear opening means that passengers in RHD cars exit into the road.


  
10. Double rear doors
Like the first Mini wagons, the 2007 version features a twin rear tailgate. It's practical but robs drivers of rear vision.


  
11. Interior sketches
Initial sketches used wood decking for the floor - a nice nod to the ash exterior frame of the classic Sixties models.


  
12. Clubman interior
The finished article was much more convential, using many parts already found in the standard hatchback version.


 
 
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