6:15 am, June 25, 2012
MINI has announced its Oxford plant will build a van variant of the Mini Clubman.
When the van – called Clubvan – appears in the autumn, it will be the seventh model of the Mini currently in production, and marks the first commercial variant for the New Mini.
Based on the Clubman platform, Mini says the Clubvan is ‘the world’s first premium compact delivery van’ and the vehicle translates the brand’s ‘hallmark driving fun and inherent charisma to new applications aimed at the urban user’.
It will be aimed at trendy commercial users not ‘White Van Man’ and will set new standards of style, quality and driving fun in the small car-based van segment.
While it may be based on the Clubman, Mini has tried to make the Clubvan fit for purpose. Consequently there’s a closed-off load area, and cargo can be accessed either through the rear doors or by the right-side ‘Clubdoor’.
There’s a fixed partition between the passenger compartment and load area, and features blocked-out rear side windows.
Trendy business owners will be able to choose between the 95bhp One Clubvan, 120bhp Cooper Clubvan, and the 109bhp Cooper D Clubvan, while, like all other Minis, they’ll be a large options list for owners to spend their cash on.
Mini says the van’s inspiration was the classic Morris Mini Van of the 1960s, and when it hits showrooms in the autumn, it’s expected to cost from £11k excluding VAT.
