The 2008 Detroit Auto Show came just in time for MINI to show off their Clubman before it goes on sale in the US on the 19th of February. The new MINI Clubman has MINI DNA all over it but, at the same time, incorporates unique redesign. The Clubman also featured full integration for the Apple iPhone into the car’s control system. If the MINI is fitted with a navigation system, the joystick serves to conveniently control the iPhone’s telephone and audio functions.
Key design aspects to the MINI Clubman are its unprecedented split door at the rear which is made of up two door panels hinged right at the outside and opening up sideways to a wide angle and the Clubdoor that is located on the right-hand of the car and hinged at the back which offers access to the surprisingly roomy backseat.
The MINI Clubman offers new opportunities while also retaining the qualities so typical of the Brand. In particular, this means the car’s incomparably agile handling,the MINI Clubman – like all the other models in the range – guaranteeing a unique standard of driving pleasure based, first, on suspension technology unusually demanding in the small car segment and, second, on the car’s truly powerful, high-torque but exceptionally efficient power units.
The MINI Cooper Clubman is powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder, 120 horsepower engine. 0-62 is just shy of 10 seconds, squeaking by at 9.8, but makes up for the sluggish start with fantastic average fuel consumption at 42.6 mpg. For a little more speed, upgrade to the MINI Cooper S Clubman and you’ll do 0-62 in 7.6 seconds with the four-cylinder 175 horsepower engine with a twin-scroll turbocharger and direct fuel injection that still gets a decent 37.2 mpg.
