{"id":2958,"date":"2012-02-22T09:28:01","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T09:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=2958"},"modified":"2012-05-03T19:56:31","modified_gmt":"2012-05-03T19:56:31","slug":"mini-announces-clubvan-van-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/2958","title":{"rendered":"MINI Announces Clubvan Van Concept"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MINI

The MINI Clubvan concept van<\/p><\/div>\n

MINI is to reveal a new van concept – the Clubvan – at the Geneva International Motor Show 2012.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Update: <\/strong>The MINI Clubvan will go into production<\/a>, according to Autocar. Production should start later this year.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

More than fifty years ago, the first Morris Mini Van rolled off BMC’s\u00a0Birmingham<\/a>\u00a0and Oxford<\/a> production lines. Today, MINIs are still being made at Cowley and BMW is set to add a new variant to the mix – the MINI Clubvan.<\/p>\n

Currently only a concept, the MINI Clubvan is based on the MINI Clubman, the current estate car version of the MINI.<\/p>\n

Although I am not too keen on the standard MINI, I am a big fan of the Clubman shape, which lends itself superbly to becoming a small van and to other customisation options, as BMW points out in its press release…<\/p>\n

Premium Van Would Be Promotional Gem<\/h3>\n

BMW says that the MINI Clubvan would be “a compact van for business and leisure, and the first premium model in the small car-based van segment.” That’s certainly true – although it says something about my powers of foresight when less a month after\u00a0I questioned the future of car-derived small vans<\/a>, the sexiest car-derived van of all time arrives on the scene.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that a van like this would create an excellent promotional effect for certain types of business – whether used as a delivery or work vehicle or simply as a promotional tool.<\/p>\n

\"MINI<\/p>\n

The Clubvan might also be the ultimate company car for a van hire company<\/a> owner.<\/p>\n

Practical Too<\/h3>\n

To criticise the Clubvan for not being as practical as a Citroen Berlingo would be to miss the point. Despite that, the Clubvan is more practical than you might think, offering a flat load area from behind the front seats to the rear doors, with an integral bulkhead and attachment loops for strapping loads down.<\/p>\n

\"MINI<\/p>\n

The Clubvan also retains the Clubman’s rear-opening rear side doors and van-style rear doors, providing good rear and side access to the load compartment.<\/p>\n

The sides of the van provide a surprisingly large expanse of flat space for signwriting and graphics and the rear windows are dark-tinted for security and style.<\/p>\n

Will The Clubvan Go Into Production?<\/h3>\n

At this stage the Clubvan is just a concept, but I have a strong feeling that it will go into production: it is just too practical and desirable not too.<\/p>\n

Besides, can you imagine jut how much fun a Cooper model would be?<\/p>\n

Scroll down for more pictures, or visit www.mini.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"MINI\"MINI\"MINI\"MINI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINI has unveiled a concept van model, the Clubvan. Check out all the pictures here and start pestering your local MINI deal to see whether it will go into production!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[1355,1353,1352,1356,1351,1354],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2958"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2971,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958\/revisions\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}