Mini reveals the all-new Crossover

The Mini Crossover Concept is a design study for a fourth variant in Mini"s current model range. With four doors, four drive wheels, four single seats and at four metres in the length, the Crossover Concept claims to combine versatility and style. The Mini concept is packed with new design details and practical solutions. It seeks to retain Mini ownership as a unique prospect and features many of the typical Mini characteristics. More than just an all-wheel-drive, however, the Mini Crossover offers flexibility. With four doors, two on each side, it may look to have a conventional feel. But it"s not. Two conventional doors can be found on the passenger"s side (front and back), with a third for the driver. The fourth door, for the rear passenger on the driver"s side, slides back along the outside of the car for convenient access and loading. The rear door has a frameless, retractable window and, when open, swivels to one side to facilitate the loading of long items, such as skis, snowboards and surfboards. But it doesn"t stop there; the capacity can be increased even further due to the folding roof cover which extends across the whole length of the roof and there"s even a transport case which can be fitted on to the outside of the rear door. With more storage space than ever seen before in a Mini, the Mini Crossover Concept offers additional capacity and the opportunity to personalise the layout of the interior. The four seats are individual, single seats which can be adjusted forwards and backwards by up to 13 centimetres in the rear, allowing more legroom to the rear passengers. The front and rear seats are linked visually by the new Mini centre rail, a matt-polished aluminium fastening rail which extends from the dashboard through the middle of the car, to the rear. A unique fastening system can be used with the centre rail to attach cupholders, storage units and entertainment consoles which can be passed between the front and the rear passengers. The Mini Crossover Concept features a new display and control console which hosts all major entertainment, telecommunication and navigation functions in what is called the Mini Centre Globe. This three dimensional globe can be personalised independently by both the driver and passenger as the display is shown in two hemispheres - for example, allowing the passenger to surf the net whilst the driver follows the navigation. Operated by a touch-sensitive surface, the Mini Centre Globe can also be programmed by a trackball situated on the steering wheel, buttons or slide controls in the lower section of the globe, or even by a keyboard which extends out from the dashboard on the passenger"s side.