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2006 MINI Concept Geneva

Mini: great days in the Monte Carlo Rally

From 1964 to 1967 Mini dominated the Monte Carlo Rally, setting the foundation for its legendary reputation as a highly agile and nimble sports car. Now, commemorating the 100th birthday of Sir Alec Issigonis, the creator of Mini in the year 2006, and as a reminder of the outstanding victories scored by the Mini brand some 40 years ago, MINI Concept Geneva offers an up-to-date interpretation of the small British racer in its great days. In particular, this new concept model presents the core idea of the Mini Traveller, Mini Countryman, and Mini Clubman Estate in a highly progressive new model variant.

Powerful and elegant looks
The overall impression conveyed by MINI Concept Geneva is one of strength and muscle, with particular emphasis on individual details such as the car's wheel arches, its shoulder line and powerdome. MINI Concept Geneva is a clear statement – the car has stance, looks strong and powerful, but is also elegant at the same time.

Cleverness typical of MINI in this special concept
One of the fundamental ideas in developing MINI Concept Geneva was to make the entire car easy to enter and load. Accordingly, the driver's/front passenger's and rear doors all come on special mounts with parallelogram kinematics swivelling in one single movement to the side and to the front and thus offering maximum access to the interior. The rear side sliding windows open electrically.

Cargobox in the luggage compartment
The luggage compartment of MINI Concept Geneva features a flexible Cargobox with its lid extending out to the rear whenever required to assist the user in loading cargo. The transparent cover on top of the Cargobox also swivels up whenever required, acting as a partition between the passenger compartment and the lug­gage area.

Sports Útility Box as a multi-purpose storage compartment
The Sports Útility Box is a multi-functional, additional storage compartment clipped on to the opened rear side window. It features flaps on either side facilitating the process of loading and unloading the Útility Box both from outside and from the passenger compartment, and allowing the driver or passengers to pass through objects transported very practically from one side to the other.

Satellite Silver metallic paintwork and neoprene contours
MINI Concept Geneva stands out in its beautiful silver paintwork in the light, all points not directly in the beholder's line of vision being kept in a more discreet grey. Red highlights, in turn, give MINI Concept Geneva a particularly dynamic touch. Soft, resilient neoprene is featured on the black side band so characteristic of the car, extending along the side sills and wheel cutouts.

'Floating Elements' characterising the car's interior design
Rotating seats for easy access to the rear

The 'Floating Elements' concept offers a supreme impression of generosity and open space right from the start. The seats are suspended in 'hovering' arrangement on the centre tunnel, and the free-standing dashboard with its Center Speedo as a swivelling central instrument with both a digital and analogue display further supports and enhances this impression.

Four persons have adequate space in MINI Concept Geneva, with access to the rear facilitated by the front seats swivelling round to the side.
After being tilted down, the rear-seat backrests form a flat surface merging directly into the floor of the luggage compartment.

Leather, chrome and aluminium as the principal materials
Throughout the interior, white leather on various surfaces underines the impression of modern style and generous space, adding a strong touch of sophisticated class and stylish flair. An alumin­ium-coated glass-fibre structure, in turn, accentuates the door panels and linings inside the car, while a special carbon-fibre look highlights the foot area in combination with nylon texture carpeting.

Forty-six years of the Mini Traveller

This special MINI concept made is debut in September 1960 in the guise of the Austin Seven Countryman and Morris Mini Traveller. The term 'Traveller' alone made it clear from the start that this particular Mini was conceived from the beginning for an active target group of connoisseurs and individuals. Total sales between 1960 and 1982 amounted to more than 400,000 units, including the Mini Clubman launched in 1969.

2006: commemorating the 100th birthday of Alec Issigonis, the creator of Mini
Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was born on 18 November 1906 as the son of a Greek father and a German mother in a region that now belongs to Turkey. After studying engineering in London, he later became one of the most successful automotive engineers and designers in Great Britain.

Mini and the Monte Carlo Rally
In winter 1964 a small red David with a white roof proudly showed its tail lights to all the powerful Goliaths, clinching Mini's first overall win in the Monte Carlo Rally. Virtually overnight the small sub-compact from Britain had become a genuine legend.

Great Days in the Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally: the birth of the Mini sports car legend

Dominating the Monte Carlo Rally from 1964 to 1967, Mini set the foundation for its legendary reputation as an extremely fast and above all nimble sports car. Now, commemorating the 100th birthday of Sir Alec Issigonis, the creator of Mini, in the year 2006 and as a reminder of the outstanding victories brought home by the Mini brand some 40 years ago, MINI Concept Geneva is appearing on the scene as an up-to-date interpretation of that small British racer in its great days.

In the process the core idea of the Mini Traveller, Mini Countryman and Mini Clubman Estate is being carried forward progressively into a new model variant.

MINI Concept Geneva thus combines sporting engine power and an equally sporting ambience within the interior through its flexible and clever use of space. So apart from the Team Manager and Service Engineer, all the equipment for the toughest racing requirements fits perfectly inside the car.

Role model from the 1960s
Únusual, nimble, clever – from the very first day Mini was the ideal companion for the genuine trendsetter. Then, in the early 1960s, the particular class and style of Mini was further enhanced by sporting outdoor activities, special models allowing the enthusiast to enjoy wonderful trips to the countryside or a glorious day on the beach: the Mini Traveller, the Mini Countryman and, somewhat later, the Mini Clubman Estate, all with a longer wheelbase, a slightly higher roofline and practical rear doors were exactly the right companions at the time for this special feeling of life. They combined the unique chic of Mini with extra space, the Mini Trav­eller thus guaranteeing stylish transportation at all times and all places.

With 2006 marking the one-hundredth birthday of Sir Alec Issi­gonis, the inventor of Mini, MINI is presenting a special Concept Car at the Geneva Motor Show re-interpreting the core idea of a vehicle for the travelling enthusiast in appropriate style for the early 21st century.

Many features are familiar, but in reality everything is new
The unique overall look of the car, its design at the front and from the side, as well as numerous design features now acknowledged as genuine icons are all typical of MINI. But the innovative features boasted by the car are equally characteristic of the MINI world – for example the wide-opening doors with intelligent parallelogram kinematics as well as the specially developed Silver metallic paintwork and the exquisite materials used inside the car. MINI Con­cept Geneva bears tribute to its forerunner also through its elegant design, the symmetrically split double door at the rear, and the split side windows for the passengers in the second row.

In all, MINI Concept Geneva excels by combining all its functions with clearly defined benefits for the user and by refining its design features to the last detail. At the same time the name alone is a commitment: MINI has its roots in an urban world, which is why every issue of the MINI International Magazine is dedicated to an exciting city.

MINI Concept Geneva, therefore, is an homage to the host city and venue of the International Motor Show.

Always different, always stylish. New surfaces and materials for MINI Concept Geneva
Satellite Silver as the car's multi-layer exterior paintwork interacting in silver and grey, white and red leather with different surfaces and a different touch, innovative glass-fibre fabric for the inner linings on the doors and a metallic carbon look within the footwells – all this clearly shows what sporting and individual style means to MINI at the beginning of the 21st century: an exceptional ambience and clever use of space presented authentically in the guise of MINI Concept Geneva.

This also means ample space for up to four occupants travelling in generous and luxurious style to their sporting activities and in their leisure time. New ideas for making optimum use of the space available range from the Cargobox in the luggage compartment all the way to the driver's and front passenger's seats 'hovering' in suspended arrangement.

Typical in Design, but New in Every Inch
Únmistakable: MINI all the way

Just one look is sufficient: Like the 'regular' model, the Concept Version of the MINI is 'as small as possible and as big as necessary'.
Particularly this was the special challenge facing the MINI Design Team, with MINI Concept Geneva being a truly unique car all the way from its characteristic hexagon grille to the very functional split-door rear end.

MINI Concept Geneva naturally boasts numerous highlights which have made MINI design a genuine hallmark in the course of many years and decades: These include the straight shoulder and roof lines with the shoulder line rising up gently to the rear to give the car the exciting wedge shape of a genuine MINI further accentuated especially on this model by the extra length of the car.

The wheels positioned far to the outside, the very wide (more than 160 cm or 63.0´´) driver and front passenger doors relative to the overall length of the car, and the characteristic joints around the side direction indicators all bear out the enhanced, upgraded design language so characteristic of MINI Concept Geneva.

The diagonal joint between the side direction indicator and the side door is a genuine icon which has developed consistently over the years, originating from the welding seam on the classic MINI. The glazed window line extending all round the car and the omission of a B-pillar creates the impression of a 'free-standing' roof again characterising the Concept Car just like the door handles so typical of MINI.

Firm, sporting, masculine
Many features of MINI Concept Geneva are familiar – but in actual fact everything is different: In its overall look and appearance, the car is firm, sleek and smooth, with features such as the wheel arches, the shoulder line and the powerdome standing out as particularly striking details. At very first sight, MINI Concept Geneva makes a clear statement – the car has stance, looks muscular and elegant all in one. This impressive appearance is further accentuated by the headlights integrated directly in the engine compartment lid and by the hexagonal grille sculptured in one single piece to give the Concept Version a particularly alert, performance-oriented, likeable and charming appearance.

Engine compartment lid hinged at the front
This sporting look is further enhanced by the engine compartment lid hinged at the front, the wheel arches and radiator grille forming one homogeneous component without any seams or dividing lines in between. And like on a classic sports car, the engine compartment lid swivels to the front and upwards when opening, with only the headlights remaining in their original position.

A further benefit of this particular configuration is optimum access to the engine compartment at all times.

Sophisticated design and top-quality materials also give MINI Concept Geneva its particular qualities beneath the engine compartment lid: The wheel arches and all visible parts on the engine are finished consistently in Satellite Silver, the exterior colour of the car, the engine thus standing out almost as if it were being presented in a display cabinet.

Sporting drivetrain, sporting features
To ensure that the car accompanying the rally is always there when needed, MINI Concept Geneva comes with a MINI Cooper S power unit clearly characterised by the additional air intake scoop on the engine compartment lid and the dual tailpipes. Right in the middle above the air intake scoop, the engine compartment lid proudly bears a graphic reminiscent of the classic symbol of the Monte Carlo Rally.

Further ingredients ensuring that go-kart feeling so typical of MINI are the long wheelbase, the wide track and short overhangs both front and rear.

The grid in the radiator grille is finished in black acting, just like the integrated chrome-plated additional headlights, as an indispensable attribute of a genuinely sporting car. The logo on the radiator grille of MINI Concept Geneva reminds the beholder in the year 2006 that the creator of Mini, Sir Alec Issigonis, was born exactly 100 years ago.

All doors with parallelogram kinematics
Extra space inside naturally calls for good access from outside. Ensuring easy access and loading was one of the fundamental philosophies in developing MINI Concept Geneva. So through the driver and front passenger doors as well as the two rear doors, MINI is introducing a design configuration simply ideal for much easier and more convenient entry to and exit from the car, as well as better loading and unloading even under confined conditions: All four doors run on 'intelligent' hinges and pivots in kinematic parallelogram arrangement, the doors swivelling in one single motion with minimum movement to the side and maximum movement to the front. This significantly reduces the space required all around the car when opening the doors while nevertheless offering the user generous access to the interior.

Coupé-like appearance for convenient access. Long side doors, split side windows at the rear

Through their parallelogram kinematics, the long coupé doors turn the occasional disadvantage of a smaller opening angle into a significant advantage ensured by the concept of the car – especially because the side doors on this design concept are more than 160 centimetres or 63.0´´ wide. And a further important point is that the side doors, like on every MINI, come with frameless windows.
MINI's new cosmopolitan athlete takes up the elements of a two-door coupé also in many other respects, at the same time offering particular practical value through easy access and loading.

Further highlights are the two split side windows at the rear merging directly when closed with the side windows at the front and the front section moving electrically beneath the rear section when opened. This prin­ciple of split windows at the rear incidentally comes straight from the classic Mini Traveller and has been re-interpreted on the MINI Concept Geneva.

Longer wheelbase for extra space inside
MINI Concept Geneva quite simply offers more space for the team accompanying the rally with all their equipment, fully prepared for any eventuality. The long wheelbase, for example, guarantees particularly ample space on the rear seats of the car. An important contribution to the excellent driving characteristics so typical of MINI, on the other hand, is the particular position of the wheels 'right at each corner' of the car.

Deliberately maintaining this important feature so typical of the brand, MINI Concept Geneva – like all other MINIs – boasts an extra-short and compact body overhang at the rear. And last but certainly not least, the two wide-opening rear doors hinged at the side make loading and unloading very easy and convenient.

Querying the conventional and offering unconventional answers – proceeding from a high level of technology and emotion, MINI Concept Geneva reflects precisely these expectations. And this also applies to the interior design of the MINI Concept Car, offering an entirely new feeling of space with clever solutions for new ideas you can experience together with MINI time and again.

The car's concept of colours and materials consistently continues the exterior message within the interior, focusing on sporting function, practical use of space and genuine value. Clearly, this makes MINI the small and fresh luxury experience for the whole day giving each and every day that special something.

Despite numerous innovations in terms of functions, materials and design features, many highlights of the 'regular' MINI's interior design are also to be found in the Concept Car, from the evolutionary enhancement of the large central instrument through the paddle switches so typical of MINI all the way to the far larger door panels on the driver's and front passenger's doors in their characteristic, ellip­tic shape: The joy of detail remains clearly in focus, with new features borne out time and again.

'Hovering' seats for the driver and front passenger. Free-standing suspension and integrated belt system.

Opening the driver's and front passenger's doors, the enthusiast en­joying MINI Concept Geneva will immediately experience a truly generous and open impression: The seats for both the driver and front passenger appear to hover in space, being mounted directly on the front centre console by means of special load-bearing extensions. This not only offers additional footroom for the passengers at the rear, but also provides particular benefits in terms of open space along the floor of the car.

This impression is further enhanced by the slender construction of the seats basically reduced to two buckets similar to an open shell. To make access to the car as easy and convenient as possible also for the passengers at the rear, the front seats come with an unprecedented, truly unique Easy-Entry System, the seats moving forward with the help of an electric motor and at the same time rotating inwards.

Turning away (but not folding down) the backrest on the driver's and front passen­ger's seats, this provides much more room and freedom in entering the rear. Then, once the passengers have taken their seats at the back, the front seats automatically return to their original position.

As a further feature the driver's and front passenger's seats come with a fully integrated seat belt system, consistently keeping the belts exactly where they are needed and avoiding any obstruction when entering the rear.

Room for comfort and convenient loading also at the rear
The long wheelbase of the car gives two passengers at the rear adequate space in every respect or, alternatively, provides more than ample loading room for lots of equipment. The rear-seat backrests fold down individually to form a flat surface flush with the floor of the luggage compartment. This facilitates the process of loading the car from all sides, either through the rear doors or the driver/front passenger doors, with the further advantage of being able to conveniently move around and place bags and luggage in position.

The extra-large and flat loading area also provides ample space for large and bulky objects, the centre armrest between the two seats being fully integrated in the flat surface and offering additional storage space.

Opening up extra-wide, the two rear doors provide convenient access to almost the complete cross-section of the interior, with the loading sill kept particularly low, again in the interest of extra convenience. And even with the two rear-seat backrests in vertical arrangement, the passengers enjoy loading capacity most acceptable for a car of this size.

The cupholders: keeping your drinks in easy reach and at a pleasant temperature
Two things which would certainly not be accepted by a 'classic Mini team' are luke-warm Coke as a 'refreshment' and luke-warm tea on the winter roads in the mountains around Monte Carlo – which is precisely why MINI Concept Geneva offers the right solution also for ideal 'on-board service': The chrome surrounds on the side air vents fold down to form cupholders at exactly the right point in the car: First, this keeps drinks within very convenient reach at all times. Second, this keeps your Coke cool on a hot day with fresh air from the air conditioning flowing straight to the cupholders. And on cold winter days the warm air coming out of the nozzles serves not only to de-mist the side windows, but also to keep your tea at a pleasantly warm temperature.

Rotating Center Speedo complete with digital display and classic sports instruments
The large central instrument on the dashboard of the MINI has a special status among the design icons of those fresh little cars from Britain – indeed, it is an absolute cult object. Full of self-confidence and right in the middle of things, therefore, the rotating Center Speedo in MINI Concept Geneva presents displays on both sides. The digital side incorporates the Cruise Mate complete with the info display for the navigation system and a tuner easily conceivable in future as the central control instrument for numerous functions inside the car.

Turned 180° around its vertical axis, the Center Speedo presents the classic displays on its other side virtually indispensable in a sporting car of this calibre: the coolant and engine oil temperature gauges as well as engine oil pressure. To turn the Center Speedo, all you do is activate a control unit on the transmission tunnel. The fire extinguisher is fitted right in front, lying down in the footwell.

Over and above the usual features of a multi-function steering wheel, the steering wheel used in MINI Concept Geneva adds an additional function: A third spoke in the steering wheel in the six o'clock position serves to take up a stopwatch or a Tripmaster with an analogue display clipped into position.

Only the best inside. Leather, chrome, aluminium – the principal materials
Inside the car, white leather enhances the flair of modern style and the ample space available, creating a sophisticated ambience at the same time. Indeed, the colour white quite generally accentuates the clear lines of MINI Concept Geneva, with red serving as a particular highlight colour, like on the exterior.

Top-quality leather is used on different surfaces: Grained cowhide accentuates the headrests as well as the inner lining on the side and rear doors.
Through its clear surface structure, this special leather conveys a feeling of lasting, sporting quality and contrasts convincingly with the soft leather featured on the seat backrests and the steering wheel. And last but not least, the roof lining comes in extra-soft alcantara providing a feeling of smooth silk.

Particularly soft and 'velvety' leather featured on the dashboard almost hovering in position and on the armrests on the side doors is highly attractive in terms of both its looks and surface touch.

Red inserts in the seat bottoms and backrests, red armrests, red inserts in the floor and red rings on the cupholders provide a powerful highlight clearly contrasting with the interior colour white. Above the passengers' heads, in turn, silver trim features form a regular pattern on the perforated, red alcantara of the roof lining.

The soft and natural surfaces in pure white are supplemented by cool-looking, metallic surface trim. One example is the aluminium-coated glass-fibre structure on the oval lining within the doors, carbon-fibre mats in the same look accentuating the footwells.

Numerous further features within the interior are made of solid aluminium, such as the load-bearing arms holding the driver's and front passenger's seats in position.

Driving tomorrow: the key serving as a multi-functional man/MINI interface
The 'island' element on the centre console between the front seats forms what you might call the backbone of MINI Concept Geneva, holding the driver's and front passenger's seats in position and providing an exceptional highlight through its elements in white porcelain look.

This is also where all the car's 'nerves' come together, MINI Concept Geneva possibly featuring a start/stop key unit as an integrated clock fitting smoothly and comfortably into the driver's hand as a multifunctional interface between the user and the car. Then all you would have to do is place this key on to a receiving unit in the front part of the centre console, using the combination provided in this way as a push button.

This little 'genius' might then serve to mastermind numerous functions within the car ranging from the engine start/stop function through various car settings (seats, air conditioning, audio system) all the way to the function for operating the MP3 player. So obviously, the MINI Design Team has great ideas.

Source - BMW AG

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2006 MINI Concept Geneva

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