Mini Rocketman Concept Car

[SKY]

When you see this car´s proportions you realise how MINI this is, and how wrong the current MINI ones are. Fantastic.

 

[Human]

Costs put Rocketman at risk

BMW execs fear the Mini Rocketman would not be profitable.

June 20, 2011

MUNICH -- BMW is not ready to commit to building the Mini Rocketman, a minicar concept that debuted in March at the Geneva auto show.

The reason? Executives say privately that they fear that the Smart competitor would not be profitable.

The Rocketman is barely longer than the original 1959 Mini. It measures just 132 inches, about 12 inches shorter than the current Mini and just 26 inches longer than the tiny Smart ForTwo.

As a production vehicle, the Rocketman would have to be considerably more affordable than the standard Mini. But the shortened version would cost nearly as much to produce, company sources said.

"It is not going to be easy to make a profitable business case out of the Rocketman," a BMW executive said. Another consideration is that "we currently don't have any free capacity in our Oxford plant."

Mini's new Countryman crossover is being produced in Graz, Austria, by contract manufacturer Magna Steyr. Production of the Paceman two-door crossover is expected to be launched in Graz in late 2012.

BMW is spending $814 million on its British production complex to prepare the facility for the next generation of the Mini.

Automotive News

 

[SKY]

BMW cancels MINI Rocketman.

Mini cancels the mini Mini, aka the Rocketman | Automotive & Motoring News | Car Magazine Online

Nice, we might see some additional nasty models like the MINI-Van or another crazy variant as the MINI-Cargo we have today. But hey, how are you gonna launch a real MINI? Same strategy than with the BMW brand. Sick.

 

[klier]

OMG, the best mini concept ever is cancelled?

Really, really, really bad news. And with the Mini Cooper mrk III growing even bigger, I don't understand why they don't make it ;/

Oh wait I just read the above post by Human.....that all makes it perfectly clear, it's way too expensive to produce. The sad part is, that they must have known this ever since day one....So the Rocketman was cool because it was freaking expensive. I see no point in this at all. Every car maker can do this.

 

[SKY]

OMG, the best mini concept ever is cancelled?

Really, really, really bad news. And with the Mini Cooper mrk III growing even bigger, I don't understand why they don't make it ;/

Oh wait I just read the above post by Human.....that all makes it perfectly clear, it's way too expensive to produce. The sad part is, that they must have known this ever since day one....So the Rocketman was cool because it was freaking expensive. I see no point in this at all. Every car maker can do this.

The Rocketman has the perfect proportions, is the best look a MINI could get. I wouldn´t even look at a MINI (and now even more, as the mkII is growing and growing) with that tiny hottie on the market.

 

[SCOTT27]

I do not think it is cancelled , all I have heard is that it is on hiatus until a solution is found. There is a saving grace for the MINI Rocketman in the guise of BMW and it's new partnership with Toyota and existing partnership with Peugeot-Citroen PSA. Who are working on a small platform to replace their city cars such as the Aygo, 107 and C1.
BMW could come in and use that initiative to bring the Rocketman on that platform as they will be of the same dimensions.
Another option is using the platform from Toyota being developed for the next generation IQ which is more equipped for hybrid powertrains.

MINI Rocketman has huge support especially from the designers and the BMW Board to hopefully see it become a reality , and Toyota could help BMW do it.

Rumor points to further deals with Toyota and Geneva could be the venue.

 

[braaf]

^I had high hopes for this new partnership with Toyota, so I hope you're right Scott cos I really loved the concept. By the way, why did you leave BMW, who will be our new insider.

 

[martinbo]

Hey Braaf, long time no post - where you been man?

 

[braaf]

Hey Braaf, long time no post - where you been man?

Hey Martin. Been busy hey. Got married, moved, went on holiday and had no internet access for a while. But I'm back now and have been busy catching up.

 

[martinbo]

Hey Martin. Been busy hey. Got married, moved, went on holiday and had no internet access for a while. But I'm back now and have been busy catching up.

Bliksem! Congrats man - wish you everything of the best for many many years to come!

It's good to see you posting again. GCF needs to chivvy up some love for poor ol' BMW of late. Too many naysayers looking to talk smack about your favourite brand.

So, good to see that it starts back here in the Rocketman thread - welcome back.

 

[braaf]

Lol, thanks Martin. I sure have mised this forum. I see even the fans are giving them stick, I'll try my best.

 

[martinbo]

More on the MINI Rocketman being axed by BMW AG:

Sourced from PistonHeads:
BMW AXES MINI ROCKETMAN PROJECT

Mini has cancelled its plans for a production version of the diminutive Rocketman concept, which it unveiled at last year's Geneva motor show.

So why has BMW decided to kill the mini Mini? After all, the will was evidently there to create a proper city car-sized Mini, rather than an outsize version of the Issigonis original.And, judging by the reaction on PH to the original unveil of the Rocketman, the buyers would have been there too.

The problem, it seems, came in getting the car to meet stringent modern safety regulations. And in making it handle with the sort of chuckable sportiness that Mini buyers expect. The result? The death of a car that, according to Car magazine's Georg Kacher, who broke this story, could have been in Mini showrooms around 2016.

The shelving of the Rocketman project also begs another interesting question: if Mini is to introduce three new models by 2020 (giving it a 10-model range), exactly what are they going to be if the Rocketman isn't one of them?

From Car Magazine: Mini cancels Rocketman according to Car UK

Mini cancels the mini Mini, aka the Rocketman
By Georg Kacher

Motor Industry
23 January 2012 17:06

The Mini Rocketman, aka the mini Mini, has been shelved, CAR understands.
BMW has recently signed off a slew of new Minis, many of which are revealed in the new February 2012 issue of CAR Magazine, but the baby Mini was not one of them.

Why BMW has canned the mini Mini

Mini showed the Rocketman concept as design study to show what a shrunken Mini true to the brand's core values could look like in the twenty first century. It was dubbed internally the MiniMini or Mini City.
What killed the charming yet extremely short-wheelbase 3050mm urban runabut was not marketing or costs but the fact that the radically shrunk new platform threw up all sorts of new problems.

Such as...

Munich would have had to invest considerable amounts to make a Mini Rocketman-sized city car meet current regulations.
Chief among the problems were the stability, handling and crash performance of a baby Mini.

Mini originally showed the Rocketman concept car at the 2011 Geneva motor show. CAR's sources suggested a shrunken Mini could have been pencilled in for production around 2016.
The Rocketman concept was just 3419mm long (versus 3723mm for a current three-door Mini hatch) and 1907mm wide.

 

[mini_cooper4]

God bless BMW !!!! I so much needed a MINI truck they might build one now

 

[EnI]

MINI Rocketman is NOT dead!

Refreshed MINI Rocketman Concept on display in London: A tribute to the capital of Britain: The new-look MINI Rocketman Concept.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

That's a huge, huge relief.

 

[Rainer271]

MINI wants a smaller model, but only if they find a partner to borrow a chassis


When MINI wants a mini
Ironically, MINI has expressed its desire to launch a smaller model but they can't do it without assistance from another automaker.

With each passing generation, the MINI has gotten fatter and fatter up to that point the company is now playing around with the idea of launching a smaller model. Although development of a production version of the Rocketman concept has been halted, MINI still wants a smaller model for their new range.

However, the BMW-developed UKL platform which underpins the new MINI is not compatible with a smaller model and as a result the company is currently trying to find a partner from which they can borrow a chassis. In an interview given to AutoGuide, MINI product boss Pat McKenna said feedback on the Rocketman concept was very good and as a consequence the company believes a smaller MINI would be in high demand all over the world.


Source: autoguide.com

Link: MINI wants a smaller model, but only if they find a partner to borrow a chassis

 

[Centurion]

They could borrow the chassi of the Toyota IQ or Renault Twingo.

 

[Giannis]

They could borrow the chassi of the Toyota IQ or Renault Twingo.

The Twingo is out of the question, because of the Renault - Mercedes-Benz alliance. MB will use the next Twingo chassis for Smart, with tons of spyphotos in the next Smart spy pics and info thread proving that.

 

[SCOTT27]

I

The Twingo is out of the question, because of the Renault - Mercedes-Benz alliance. MB will use the next Twingo chassis for Smart, with tons of spyphotos in the next Smart spy pics and info thread proving that.

It will be Toyota.

 

[SCOTT27]

Ongoing discussions at Geneva regarding BMW-Toyota collaboration of the use of a small model architecture to base for a production version of the MINI Rocketman. BMW realise that they need this car.