Bangers and Mash in the Land of Sashimi?

Motoring Channel Staff- 25/10/2005

Mini is keen to test the waters in Asia in relation to it's new design concept, a modern take on the 1960s Mini Traveller from Britain, after having already recorded European reactions to a similar concept car.

The versatile design is a further evolution of the Traveller-inspired Mini Concept Frankfurt, which first appeared at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show. This new concept meanwhile was exhibited at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.

The current Mini models, such as the Cooper S and Cabriolet, are generating a lot of business for owner BMW, and concept studies like this one indicate that the company is keen to expand the model line-up in certain regions - and what better way to do it than celebrate a popular classic model?

The second 'Traveller' inspired concept car from the BMW-owned company lends more weight to the chances of Mini building the van-like vehicle for mass consumption, as Mini says the design study is taking up the basic philosophy of the "travelling" Englishman at the beginning of the 21st century under the motto "Go British".

The four-door Mini with an extra-large luggage compartment made its debut in September 1960 in the guise of the Austin Seven Countryman and, respectively, the Morris Mini Traveller. The term "traveller" alone showed that this very special Mini Estate was targeted even back then at an active group of purchasers with genuine lifestyle needs.

Total sales by 1982 amounted to more than 400,000 units, including a special version of the Mini Clubman launched in 1969.

The Mini Concept Tokyo will measure showgoers and critics responses to the design, which has been finished in a brilliant silver colour, while all sections not exposed to light from the beholder's perspective stand out in a discreet shade of grey. The characteristic black side stripe along the sills and wheel cutouts, in turn, are made of soft, resilient neoprene.

White leather inside the car enhances the impression of modern style, conveying a sophisticated ambience and accentuating the clear lines of the concept car says Mini, with green surfaces and brass highlights such as the seat upholstery (in Chesterfield design) standing out elegantly.

Mini explains that the general interior philosophy was to combine warm, high-quality leather with various surface structures further supplemented by cool-looking metallic surfaces.

One example is the aluminium-coated glass-fibre structure along the inner door panels, a carbon-fibre look accentuating the footwells and combining well with woven nylon carpets underlining the sporting character of the car.

Numerous innovations both inside and outside are also characteristic of Mini design, says the car company, including features such as wide-opening doors (with parallelogram kinematics), a coupé-like look without a B-pillar, exclusive silver metallic paintwork and a new look interior.

Powered by the Mini Cooper's 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine, the Mini Concept Tokyo outputs 85kW (115hp) via the front wheels, making for a fuel efficient lifestyle vehicle.

Mini says that its new concept bears reference to the classic traveller in every respect, also through its elegant Estate design, a symmetrically split double door at the rear, and split side windows at the back of the car.

An important aspect in developing the concept car, says Mini, was to make entering and loading the car as simple and straightforward as possible. This is precisely why all four doors (driver/front passenger/rear doors) come with suspension points and hinges with parallelogram kinematics swivelling in parallel to the side and to the front in one single movement, thus offering maximum access to the interior of the car.

The sliding side windows at the rear open electrically, the front section moving back parallel beneath the rear section. Thanks to the omission of the B-pillar, the Mini Concept Tokyo generates a particularly generous, coupé-like impression. The long wheelbase and the Easy Entry System with swivelling driver and front passenger seats provide good and convenient access to the two seats at the rear, plus the windows in both rear doors retract electrically.

Another clever feature of the Mini Concept Tokyo is the odd-looking roof: it houses both a table and two chairs, with the appropriate section of the roof folding down when required from outside in front of the rear window.

The loading area in the concept car comes complete with an adjustable Cargo Box with various functions integrated in the floor of the car, including the most basic ability of it being able to hold things. Extending out to the rear, the cover on top of the box also serves as a loading aid and swivelling up when required, and a partition between the passenger area and the loading compartment, useful in keeping the dogs in the cargo area.

Mini has also incorporated what it calls the 'Floating Element Concept', which is aimed at keeping the floor of the car completely free and uncluttered. Only the central "island" forming the centre console covers the foot area, with the seats appearing to hover in space suspended from the centre support.

The dashboard with its rotating central speedo also appears to hover in space, which Mini says helps accentuate the impression of increased room. The rear-seat backrests, in turn, fold down individually, forming a flat surface flush with the floor of the luggage compartment.

BMW/Mini has yet to make an announcement regarding the Mini Concept Tokyo's future, but speculation is increasing that a production model may be formed around what is the second such concept vehicle, which itself is modelled on the Morris Mini Traveller of the '60s.

Click here for the report on the Mini Concept Frankfurt.