Mini releases official Clubvan details, on sale this August

"Trend-conscious commercial users" isn't a phrase we've heard recently ever, but perhaps we're just fraternizing in the wrong circles. Mini, on the other hand, knows so many of them that it has created the Clubvan, a two-seat, five-door, panel-style version of the Clubman that is "the world's first premium compact delivery van."

As the word "van" might indicate, instead of back seats the Clubvan has a cargo bay and a fixed grate to keep breakables and bulldogs from sliding into the cockpit. According to Mini, those aren't actual panels where the Clubman windows usually reside, it's just that the windows have been blacked out so as to be opaque and further bolstered with an inner layer of polycarbonate. The glass in the rear doors has also been blacked out.

The 860-liter loading area is lined with carpeting and an acrylic roof, has 12-volt sockets, attachment loops, and can handle up to 500 kilograms.

Trend-conscious grunt will come in three flavors: gas options in 98 horsepower and 122 hp, and a diesel with 112 hp. A six-speed manual will be standard, a six speed automatic an option on the diesel. This being classified as a commercial vehicle, your trendiness does get curbed slightly: only four colors will be available outside, and the interior will be black.

It goes on sale this August, and you can find out all about it in the press release below.

Press Release

Handle with care, deliver in style: the MINI Clubvan gets ready to roll up.

Munich, 23.06.2012 -- With two seats, five doors and wall-to-wall MINI style and personality, the MINI Clubvan – the world's first premium compact delivery van – has it all. With this groundbreaking model, based on the MINI Clubman platform, MINI is translating the brand's hallmark driving fun and inherent charisma to new applications aimed at the urban user. As the first premium vehicle of its kind, the MINI Clubvan sets new standards of style, quality and driving fun in the small car-based van segment. For the first time, trend-conscious commercial users can now make a stylish and sophisticated statement when carrying out deliveries to their equally discerning customers.

The enhanced functionality offered by the MINI Clubvan is based on a closed-off load area extending from the rear doors right up to the driver's and front passenger's seats. Cargo can be easily accessed either through the wide-opening split rear door or via the right-side Clubdoor. With its two-seater configuration, its fixed partition between the passenger compartment and load area, and its opaque, blocked-out rear side windows, the MINI Clubvan is classed as a commercial vehicle and therefore taxed at a lower rate. So as well as being the world's only premium model in its segment, the Clubvan is also the first MINI commercial vehicle.

The MINI Clubvan comes in three model versions: the 72 kW/98 hp MINI One Clubvan, the 90 kW/122 MINI Cooper Clubvan and the 82 kW/112 hp MINI Cooper D Clubvan. This charismatic cargo carrier will hit the showrooms in autumn 2012.

The MINI Clubvan: unique concept with historic roots.

The MINI Clubvan is built at the MINI plant in Oxford. Its roots, too, are firmly in the British Isles. They can be traced back to 1960, when the original Mini – just one year after its launch – was followed up by a further creative and space-efficient solution in the form of the Morris Mini Van. This van model, with a wheelbase extended by ten centimetres, a closed-off load compartment and split rear door, offered exactly the sort of extra functionality urban commercial users of the time were looking for.

Now the MINI Clubvan is poised to follow in the footsteps of its early forerunner and carry this tradition forward into the 21st century – in the same way and with the same panache as the MINI Clubman is already reprising the success of the fully glazed, four-seater Morris Mini Traveller, also from the 1960s.

First-class styling coupled with premium-class cargo transport.

The MINI Clubvan is a versatile choice both for upmarket commercial applications and for non-mainstream leisure and lifestyle use. It is in its element whenever special cargo-carrying jobs need to be handled in style. Its dimensions, with a length of 3,961 mm, a width of 1683 mm, a height of 1,426 mm and a wheelbase of 2,547 mm, are the same as those of the MINI Clubman. Its tailored and functionally minded design has been achieved by taking out the rear seats and adding a range of customised features. The blocked-out, opaque rear side windows are body-coloured, with an interior polycarbonate reinforcement. In combination with tinted glass in the rear doors, this keeps the load compartment well concealed from prying eyes.

In the interior, the flat loading floor and the side walls are trimmed in high-quality carpeting, while an anthracite roof liner runs the full length of the vehicle. 12-volt sockets in the cargo area can be used to power electrical equipment. Six attachment loops recessed into the floor at the edge of the load area can be used to secure cargo of all shapes and sizes, preventing items from sliding around when the vehicle is on the move.

The partition behind the driver's and front passenger's seats, comprising a lower solid aluminium section and an upper section of stainless steel mesh, is firmly attached to the vehicle body. The partition prevents objects in the load compartment from slamming forward into the passenger compartment under heavy braking. It also allows loading right up to the roof, so that full use can be made of the rear compartment's 860 litres of load space. The cargo area is 115 centimetres long and, even at its narrowest point just behind the rear doors, is 102 centimetres wide. Maximum payload capacity is 500 kilograms.

Typical MINI driving fun in three different power ratings.

The MINI Clubvan brings an unprecedented level of driving enjoyment to delivery assignments. The powertrain and chassis technology is familiar from the MINI Clubman: the Clubvan boasts powerful but efficient four-cylinder engines, the familiar MINI front-wheel-drive set-up, Electric Power Steering, MacPherson strut front suspension, multi-link rear suspension and powerful brakes. An extensive range of MINIMALISM features including Auto Start/Stop, Shift Point Display, Brake Energy Regeneration and on-demand operation of ancillary units keeps a tight rein on fuel consumption and offers unbeatably low running costs. For example, with average EU test cycle consumption of 3.9 litres/100 km (72.4 mpg imp), the MINI Cooper D Clubvan offers better fuel economy than any other model in the compact delivery van segment, despite delivering up to 20 hp more power.

For all three engines, however, it's not just from a cost point of view that the balance between driving fun and fuel consumption is so attractive. Even the entry-level MINI One Clubvan offers trademark lively MINI performance. Its 1.6-litre engine with fully variable valve timing produces maximum power of 72 kW/98 hp and provides 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration in 11.1 seconds, with a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The MINI One Clubvan's average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 5.5 litres per 100 kilometres (51.4 mpg imp), with CO2 emissions of 129 grams per kilometre. The MINI Cooper Clubvan, which develops maximum power of 90 kW/122 hp, is livelier still. This model has a 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time of 9.8 seconds and a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph). Once again, average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are 5.5 litres/100 km (51.4 mpg imp) and 129 g/km respectively.

The most fuel-efficient model in the line-up is the MINI Cooper D Clubvan, whose four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with common rail direct injection delivers 82 kW/112 hp, accelerating this model from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 10.2 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 197 km/h (122.4 mph). EU fuel consumption is 3.9 litres/100 km (7.4 mpg imp), corresponding to CO2 emissions of 103 grams per kilometre.

As an alternative to the six-speed manual transmission which is standard specification for all three models, the MINI Cooper D Clubvan can optionally be supplied with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Distinctive style and personality as standard, personalisation by request.

The MINI Clubvan is available with a choice of four exterior paintwork shades: Pepper White, Ice Blue, British Racing Green metallic and Midnight Black metallic. The roof, rear side window area, C-pillars and exterior mirror caps are body-coloured on all model versions. Optionally, the standard 15-inch wheels, with exclusive MINI Clubvan Delta Spoke styling, can be replaced by 15, 16 or 17-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, black seats with Cosmos fabric upholstery, a black interior colour scheme and Fine White Silver trim strips are standard. This combination stresses the functional, clean and uncluttered character of the vehicle. At the same time, the interior design can be customised to suit individual requirements, for example with black sports seats (available in the versions Ray Leather, Punch Leather and Lounge Leather), optional alternative interior trim strips, three different interior Colour Lines and a leather-trimmed instrument panel. Like the other model series, the MINI Clubvan too can be supplied with an extensive range of optional extras to enhance convenience, driving enjoyment, safety and practicality. These include xenon headlights, black headlight shells, Adaptive Headlights, Automatic Climate Control, Park Distance Control, automatically dimming interior and exterior mirrors and a trailer hitch. In place of the standard MINI CD radio, the MINI Boost CD radio and MINI Visual Boost radio are also available. The optional MINI navigation system, which keeps the MINI Clubvan heading in the right direction on its delivery runs, is a further useful option.

The MINI Clubvan lends business an individual and exclusive touch.

The MINI Clubvan's innovative blend of clean and uncluttered practicality and exclusive premium characteristics makes for a distinctive presence around town. This innovative vehicle concept is tailored in particular to the needs of commercial users such as fashion designers, event caterers, architects or photographers whose businesses supply exclusive products and services to discerning customers and who are also looking to express their appreciation of premium quality and individual style in their choice of vehicle. Whether as a mobile calling card for small businesses or as a stylish addition to a wider vehicle fleet, the MINI Clubvan makes a bold and innovative choice of delivery vehicle for commercial users, and one whose typical MINI driving fun and instantly identifiable charisma are guaranteed to make a winning and lasting impression.

Source : Autoblog