Friday, August 19, 2011

Mini Paceman Concept


While news of the latest Mini variant – a cross-coupe based on the Countryman – may have been met with skepticism, viewing the Paceman Concept first hand proves it to be one of the more impressive cars unveiled in Detroit.

Sitting on the Countryman's wheelbase, and identical ahead of the A-pillars, the Paceman successfully avoids that car's slightly teetering tall and narrow stance by cutting 20mm height out of the top of the windscreen and introducing a much more horizontal design theme. The upward-swept shoulder line and ‘reverse baseball-cap' roof (from Frankfurt 2009's Coupe Concept), which crowns ahead of the driver, combine with the wrap-around glazing to endow the Paceman with an impressively planted stance, somewhat reminiscent of the Range Rover Evoque.

The biggest change comes at the rear of the car, where Mini has finally broken free of the vertical taillight stack, enlarging the unit and re-orientating it horizontally, visually widening the rear of the car. There's some subtly impressive surfacing on show too, with a gently blown rear fender surface creating visual interest in the shoulder line highlight and a particularly elegant resolution of the lower light-catcher in the base of the door. The details are cartoonishly oversized, but work in the overall design theme and a context of the Paceman being aimed at a youth-orientated American market that doesn't need four doors, for whom the Mini hatch is just too small.

Speaking with Head of Exterior Design at Mini, Marcus Syring, we learned that the Paceman, which was shown without interior, was developed in Mini's Munich studio in four months and that a 1950's Jaguar XK inspired the jade green exterior paint color. Beautifully complemented by the brushed-copper finish of the fender detail and leather of the touch points, we're hoping it's a sign that Mini's about to become a little less jingoistic in its personalization options.

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