Au revoir, Clubman.
The veddy British Mini mannequin that discovered a loyal following within the UK and elsewhere for greater than a half-century has folded its spilt rear “barn doorways” for the ultimate time. The final word Clubman — assuming there received’t be one other sequel, and Mini says there will not — rolled off the manufacturing line Monday at Mini Plant Oxford in England.
The Mini “property” model bows out after 17 years of construct at Oxford and greater than a half-million items churned out for deliveries to greater than 50 nations. The heritage of the Clubman — and of most Minis — is value recalling as a result of the model has spawned such affection amongst its followers.
One has to deep-dive again to the early Sixties, when Mini’s proprietor, British Motor Company (BMC), launched two property variations of the unique Mini: the Austin Seven Countryman and Morris Mini Traveller. In 1967, the traits of present Mini wagons had been mixed to kind the primary Clubman.
lt was axed in 1982 — after it was as soon as renamed because the 1000HL — and the Clubman would not return till 2007, with the model then beneath the auspices of BMW. Trendy car security requirements offered a problem for these rear doorways. “We would have liked to make sure that each doorways would all the time open absolutely with out obscuring the taillights, which was a authorized requirement,” mentioned Man Elliott, who was a part of the event group for the doorways on the time.
The reborn Clubman was up to date in 2015 for a second era. It adopted Mini’s signature round daytime operating lights, a function nonetheless seen at the moment, and ditched the bizarre rear doorways for a extra typical setup.
Final 12 months Mini launched the “Remaining Version” of the automotive, with a particular grille and alloys and restricted it to a run of 1,969 items, paying homage to the launch 12 months of the unique.
The BMW Group says it expects to take a position about $750 million within the subsequent few years in realigning the Oxford plant to accommodate meeting area for the upcoming electrical Aceman crossover and new Cooper variations later this 12 months.