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The creation of innovative concepts for
urban mobility has seen MINI grow into the successful brand we know
today. A constant stream of new ideas from its beginnings more than 50
years ago to the present day have ensured that driving fun has continued
to grow even though space on our roads has become ever tighter.
Underpinning this success has been the creative use of space, a
principle that enters new territory with the MINI Rocketman Concept. The
study car, which will be revealed to the public worldwide for the first
time at the International Geneva Motor Show (3 – 13 March 2011), harks
back to the classic Mini in terms of its exterior dimensions, while its
technology points to the future of automotive design. A 3+1-seater with
3 doors and a length of just over 3 metres (approx. 10 ft.), the MINI
Rocketman Concept responds to the fundamental requirements of mobile
lifestyles in the big cities of the future by pooling the brand’s core
values in concentrated form. Ingenious functionality, smile-inducing
agility, exceptional efficiency and irresistible design come together
into an extraordinarily attractive and groundbreaking, yet typically
MINI, subcompact car concept for the premium segment.
Displaying both an awareness of tradition
and talent for innovation, the MINI design team developed the vision of
a car that takes up impressively little space on the road but boasts an
enviably spacious interior. The MINI Rocketman Concept therefore carries
over the classic virtues of the brand into a path-breaking vehicle
concept. It offers a fresh interpretation of unmistakable MINI design
features, and uses cutting-edge construction and manufacturing
technology to create unique solutions in body and interior de-sign.
The innovative character of the study
is defined by the systematic application of lightweight design
principles and a pure-bred interior geared to maximum driving fun and
unbeatable variability. A carbon spaceframe construction, whose striking
surface structure is visible at the front end of the car, around its
doors and in the interior, forms the basis for a weight-minimising
construction. Indeed, the MINI Rocketman Concept offers the ideal
platform for achieving outstanding efficiency. To this end, it is
designed to allow the integration of a drive system which combines
further enhanced sprinting ability with average fuel consumption of just
three litres per 100 kilometres (94 mpg imp).
Wide-opening doors with double-hinge
joints and integrated sills facilitate en-try into the MINI Rocketman
Concept. The lightweight seats are contoured in customary MINI style and
can be arranged in a variety of different positions. This allows owners
to choose between maximum driving fun two-up, a comfortable amount of
room for three occupants, or even an exceptionally efficient division of
space accommodating four seats.
The capacity of the luggage compartment
can be adapted to passenger requirements just as flexibly. The two-part
tailgate consists of one section which is attached to the roof and opens
extremely high, and a lower section which extends out of the body in the
form of a drawer.
The operating logic of the MINI
Rocketman Concept is also geared to the multi-layered demands of a
contemporary target group, whose mobility needs are shaped by their
desire for driving fun, flexible usage possibilities and extensive
connectivity with their lives outside the car. The central control unit
can be taken out of the car and configured on a computer before the
journey begins to update navigation destinations, the music playlist or
contact details for mobile communications. |
