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Home » Spied! A five-door Mini decked out for paint job

Spied! A five-door Mini decked out for paint job

December 2, 2013 by Alastair Sloane

Mini five-door ... with bonnet vents

Mini has built a five-door hatchback, a stretched version of the new three-door model unveiled at the Los Angeles motor show.

Mini five-door
Mini five-door

Anonymous pictures of a prototype taped up for painting at the Mini factory in Oxford, England, are doing the rounds of the internet.

A hint that a five-door might be in the mix came at the Los Angeles motor show where Mini unveiled the three-door.

Mini product executive Dietmar Zimmerhackl told reporters: “You can see from looking at the standard hatch that we will need to expand the wheelbase just to fit another set of doors in.

“Some people want a Mini with the ease of five doors but they don’t want it to be as big as the Countryman. That’s our market here,” said Zimmerhackl.

The car pictured is a Cooper S, identified by the bonnet vent. It will use the new 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine in a line-up of more powerful but cleaner burning engines.

The 1.6-litre family has been replaced by 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol and diesel units for the Cooper and Cooper D (diesel), and the 2.0-litre Cooper S.

Buyers now have a choice of three six-speed gearboxes: manual or automatic, or a dual-clutch unit that comes complete with shorter shift times and rev-matching downshifts.

The five-door hatchback will be aimed at buyers in love with everything Mini but needing extra space.

The three and five-door versions will comprise a new-look line-up for Mini that could total eight separate models, all based on the flexible new UKL1 platform.

Replacements for the Cabriolet, Clubman, Countryman and Paceman are guaranteed, while a sporty Mazda MX-5 rival could replace the slow-selling Roadster and Coupe models.

• See ‘New Mini grows in every direction’

Filed Under: Industry news, Latest news Tagged With: latest news, mini

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The Good Oil

French carmaker Renault has won the 2025 European Car of the Year award with the all-electric R5 supermini (pictured). It’s the brand’s second win in a row, following the new Scenic’s gong in 2024. The R5 led the vote count from start to finish from the 60 jurors in 23 countries. It received 353 points, beating the Kia EV3 (291 points) and the Citroen C3/e in third place with 215 points. It’s Renault’s eighth win in the 62-year history of the Coty award. The R5 goes on sale in the UK this month. There are two main drivetrains: a 90kW motor/40kWh battery model with a 300km range, and a 112kW/52kWh example with a 400km range. The R5 starts in price at £22.995, or $NZ50,000.

EU carmakers seek trade deal with Trump

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are among carmakers urging the European Union to get a favourable trade deal with US President Donald Trump. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) wants to keep open trade with both the US and China. It fears Trump, who promises heavy tariffs on Chinese imports to the US, will look unfavourably on countries that continue to trade freely with Beijing. Ola Kallenius, president of the group and chairman of the management board of MB, said in a letter to EU leaders:  “Overall, it is essential to recognise that trade with China and the US is most vital for the prosperity of the European economy.The EU should seek a grand bargain with the US and attempt to avoid a potential trade conflict.”

Diesel fuels EV concept for US military

A  go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move.  The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque.  The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

We are the World

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.

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Electric G-Wagen takes you for spin

https://youtu.be/NwHbJ7HN1sU

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