The latest badly kept secret from BMW/Mini is the creation of a new Mini van. Dubbed the Cargo, it's due to be launched at the Geneva Show in March and will follow the pattern of the original 1960 Mini van. It will be based on the Countryman, with the back seat footwell replaced by a flat floor, beefier rear springs and solid panels instead of rear side windows.
The side panels are more likely to be dark glass instead of metal, as in the old days, to preserve some kind of rear visibility. That was always a problem in the first generation, but 521,494 were sold between 1960-1982.
Small vans have a huge following in Europe and Mini is adopting the format of Opel and Peugeot in "Plain Jane-ing" a popular subcompact. It will go head-to-head against the new Fiat 500 MPV wagon, which will probably be called the Giardinera, like the original Nuova 500 wagon made in the 1960s. I totaled outs when I was 17 years old and it was barely five months (sorry, Dad).
The Mini Cargo will undoubtedly have pizza and flower delivery capability in Europe where small size is critical in old towns but it will be interesting to see how it fares against the new Ford Transit Connect van, which adopted taller, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter proportions, and is considerably more useful as a result. The Transit Connect seems to be about as small as delivery trucks get in the U.S., unless they represent vanity projects (like balloon-bedecked party clowns), where image is valued over practicality.
Kudos to Mini for seeking new avenues to profit. Can a pickup be next? There are enough Red Bull chop jobs running around already and 58,179 original pickups were sold between 1961-82. They were undoubtedly cute, if only semi-useful, and I can remember being grateful to hitch a ride in the back of one, during a snow storm. Unlike the originals, any new pickup would have 4X4 capability as well, which opens up yet another market.––Paul Duchene
