Take my money, please! This long-awaited news from Britain's Autocar magazine bodes very good tidings for people who like to drive MINI Coopers powered by batteries. Unfortunately, how long we will have to wait to drive a RWD Neue Klasse R50 (or where it will be built) is not revealed.
Clips from the Autocar article:
Mini has started work on the next-generation Cooper, which is due in the coming years bearing the most significant transformation since BMW took charge of the marque three decades ago: a shift from front- to rear-wheel drive.
"We have started to work on the next generation of Mini, and what follows now is a look at the entire portfolio," new design chief Holger Hampf confirmed to Autocar, explaining that he will use a wave of facelifts and new derivatives in the meantime to set the tone for the British brand's future.
For the next generation, the hatchback is being lined up for a move onto parent company BMW's new, natively rear-driven Gen6 platform, which underpins the firm's new Neue Klasse electric cars - beginning with the iX3 SUV and i3 saloon.
The Gen6 doesn't currently accommodate front-driven cars. The rear motors used in the iX3 and the forthcoming i3 saloon have gearboxes, but the smaller drive units mounted on the front axles of those cars' four-wheel-drive variants don't.
As previously reported by Autocar, the BMW 1 Series hatchback - which currently shares the petrol Mini's UKL platform - is set to return to rear-wheel drive as it gains an electric option on the new platform, and BMW's development boss Joachim Post has previously told Autocar the Mini could follow suit.
Regardless of any technical revolution, Hampf is resolute in his commitment to maintaining the brand's signature look.
"You can ask a Brit or a German or an Italian, you can ask a five-year-old, and they will recognise a Mini based on the proportions of the car," he told Autocar.
"Especially when it comes to the three-door hatch, it's a very short car with wheels at its corners, short overhangs, with some signature elements such as the facial impression. This is the most important to me: the combination of round headlights and grille."
Referring to future versions of the flagship hatch, he added: "Every five-year-old will know this is a Mini. It's my job to treat it with respect."
Hampf said his "number-one" priority is maintaining the Mini's proportions and "this is non-negotiable".
Mini's long-running commitment to retro design will also become a virtuous circle with the next generation of the hatchback. Hampf suggested this will take inspiration from the 'R50', the first of the BMW Minis.
Clips from the Autocar article:
Mini has started work on the next-generation Cooper, which is due in the coming years bearing the most significant transformation since BMW took charge of the marque three decades ago: a shift from front- to rear-wheel drive.
"We have started to work on the next generation of Mini, and what follows now is a look at the entire portfolio," new design chief Holger Hampf confirmed to Autocar, explaining that he will use a wave of facelifts and new derivatives in the meantime to set the tone for the British brand's future.
For the next generation, the hatchback is being lined up for a move onto parent company BMW's new, natively rear-driven Gen6 platform, which underpins the firm's new Neue Klasse electric cars - beginning with the iX3 SUV and i3 saloon.
The Gen6 doesn't currently accommodate front-driven cars. The rear motors used in the iX3 and the forthcoming i3 saloon have gearboxes, but the smaller drive units mounted on the front axles of those cars' four-wheel-drive variants don't.
As previously reported by Autocar, the BMW 1 Series hatchback - which currently shares the petrol Mini's UKL platform - is set to return to rear-wheel drive as it gains an electric option on the new platform, and BMW's development boss Joachim Post has previously told Autocar the Mini could follow suit.
Regardless of any technical revolution, Hampf is resolute in his commitment to maintaining the brand's signature look.
"You can ask a Brit or a German or an Italian, you can ask a five-year-old, and they will recognise a Mini based on the proportions of the car," he told Autocar.
"Especially when it comes to the three-door hatch, it's a very short car with wheels at its corners, short overhangs, with some signature elements such as the facial impression. This is the most important to me: the combination of round headlights and grille."
Referring to future versions of the flagship hatch, he added: "Every five-year-old will know this is a Mini. It's my job to treat it with respect."
Hampf said his "number-one" priority is maintaining the Mini's proportions and "this is non-negotiable".
Mini's long-running commitment to retro design will also become a virtuous circle with the next generation of the hatchback. Hampf suggested this will take inspiration from the 'R50', the first of the BMW Minis.
