New Mini Clubman concept has 6 doors, isn’t very mini

Meet the new Mini Clubman concept. It has six doors and looks like what might happen if an older series Mini were to breed with a Range Rover Sport.

According to the BMW Group, comes over as “sophisticated, cool and elegant” while retaining the marque’s iconic styling. That’s comforting, because at over four metres long and nearly two metres wide, it sure as hell isn’t retaining Mini’s iconic size.

Okay so it’s not small, but it is crammed full of tech. The display area in the centre console, for instance, is meant to adapt according to the content selected or the situation on the road. Three “intelligent” toggles are assigned the relevant content according to selected content or driving functions. Above and beyond this, says Mini, the three toggles can also be freely programmed and assigned particular functions according preference.

Inside, the car is themed around the ellipse. Nubuck leather in a light Sky Blue features heavily, along with patent leather in rich Berry Red and “black soft nappa leather”. There are also a whole load of other interior design features that we can’t really pretend to understand.

Ultimately then, this isn’t a concept that radically re-imagines the Clubman so much as a nod in the direction of where it could be taken to in the next few years. We just hope that future doesn’t actually include bowler hats hanging all over the place.