Photo by Marc Urbano
When BMW introduced the “new” Mini brand back in 2001 it promised it would develop different variants in the coming years. It has certainly followed through with a variety of styles derived off the ubiquitous platform. Every time Mini shows a concept you can almost bank on it appearing as a production vehicle not long after.
No surprise then that Magna Steyr has signed a contract with the BMW Group for the development and assembly of the Mini Paceman, which was first shown at the Detroit Auto Show back in January.
Photo by Marc Urbano
The two-door Mini Paceman Concept was powered by a John Cooper Works 1.6 liter turbocharged engine delivering 211 hp with a maximum torque of 207 lb-ft. The Paceman Concept had the ALL4 permanent all-wheel-drive system, which uses an electromagnetic center differential.
As expected, the Paceman will be built alongside the Countryman at the Magna Steyr assembly facility in Graz, Austria. There is no word yet on specs for the production Paceman but we suspect it will stay faithful to the Concept. Ironically, this means it will look somewhat similar to the recently launched Land Rover Evoque. The Paceman is also only a few inches smaller than the Evoque. Who’d have predicted a decade ago that Mini and Land Rover would be competing head-to-head with similar sized and similar looking AWD vehicles?
Photos: Mini Paceman Concept >>
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