Freight can be loaded either through the split rear door or via a right-side door of the Clubvan.
In its latest marketing move for the successful Mini line, BMW is offering a commercial version of the sub-compact small car. With two seats and five doors the Mini Clubvan is said to be the world’s first premium priced delivery van. The concept comes from the original Morris Mini van introduced in 1960, albeit at a down market price point back then.
Whether there is now a market for this extension of the high-priced Mini line remains to be seen. Preferential tax treatment for commercial vehicles in virtually all European countries might create enough of a market, whether or not the Clubvan ever hauls cargo.
Nevertheless there a closed-off load area extending from the rear doors up to a wire partition behind the front seats. Freight can be loaded either through the split rear door or via a right-side door.
Clubvan comes in three versions: the 72 kW/98 horsepower Mini One Clubvan, the 90 kW/121 horsepower Mini Cooper Clubvan and the 82 kW/112 hp Mini Cooper D Clubvan with all models due in showrooms this fall. In the U.S., the Clubvan will only be sold with the 121 hp Cooper gasoline engine option
Clubvan’s dimensions – length of 3,961 mm, width of 1683 mm, height of 1,426 mm and a wheelbase of 2,547 mm – are the same as those of the Mini Clubman.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
