MINI Rocketman plan is back: the time is right for a real classic Mini replacement
MINI’s head of design says Rocketman is an ‘exciting project’ that’s still under discussion
The MINI Rocketman city car is an “exciting project” that is apparently still under consideration, 15 years after the concept was shown at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. MINI’s head of design, Holger Hampf, said his team is “studying volumes” and “trying to see what [MINI] can get into such a small, 3.6-metre car.”
The main hurdle MINI’s designers and engineers need to overcome is today’s necessity for complex advanced driver-assistance systems, plus a desire to meet increasingly stringent safety regulations. Despite its size and assumed lower price point versus the current MINI Cooper, any future Rocketman would not sacrifice the maker’s reputation for high-quality small cars fitted with the latest safety technology.
“You have to be conscious about your surroundings,” Hampf told us. “Everything else around the MINI has grown. Then there’s new regulations in terms of pedestrian safety and sensor technologies.
“People don’t want to miss their ADAS functionality, or cruise control and all of that. That has led to increasing the size a little bit. There is so much technology in these cars compared to the classic Mini, or the Rocketman (concept).
“So, certainly we're studying these volumes and we're trying to see what [MINI] can get into such a small 3.6-metre car. It’s not easy,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
As hinted, Hampf gave nothing more away on the potential Rocketman project, but any future MINI city car would inevitably be designed to rival the wave of small EVs due over the next few years. As well as the imminent Renault Twingo, the Rocketman would act as an alternative to the forthcoming Smart #2, as well as Volkswagen’s up! replacement – colloquially dubbed ‘ID. Lupo’.
Given its size, the MINI Rocketman would most likely use a smaller battery than the current Cooper, for around 150 miles of range. Fast charging speeds wouldn’t be a priority, but as mentioned, ADAS features and a strong safety cell are non-negotiable. Hampf told us a MINI “has to be super safe. We meet these five-star NCAP requirements; we have very, very good safety ratings.”
No timeframe for the car’s introduction has been confirmed or even hinted at, but with big lifecycle updates planned for the existing range in 2027 through to 2028, we don’t expect to see a production-ready Rocketman before 2029 at the earliest.
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