Autocar magazine caught up with MINI’s head designer Gert Hildebrand for an insight into the latest concept coming out of the Oxford gates:MINI Beachcomber.
The four-seater concept car was unveiled two weeks ago and many believe it is a preview of the production MINI Crossover that will be unveiled next year at the Geneva Motor Show.
Built on an all new platform, MINI Beachcomber Concept has its roots back in the 1960’s Mini Moke, but with the new concept, MINI is finally moving away from the current round headlamp design. “The face is the first impression you get from a car, but with the Beachcomber, we have convinced the [BMW] board that we could reserve the circular light for the Mini and introduce this five-edge style on the Crossover”, says Hildebrand quoted by Autocar.
The less conventional upright, tall and flat nose has a Moke influence and it has been designed to meet the new strict pedestrian safety regulations.
The new concept measures 4007mm and the 2.6m wheelbase also offers great rear legroom compared with similar-sized cars.
As Hildebrand points out, number “4″ is what influenced this concept: four meter-long, four-door, four-seater with the ALL4 four-wheel drive system.
But let’s have a look at the video above and learn more about this new exciting concept.
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/12/29/video ... ildebrand/