Mini to get new-five door variant by 2014 end

The Mini Cooper five-door variant is likely to get a year-end launch. Company expects the five-door Mini hatchback to significantly outsell the three-door model when it launches. Company officials say that if the new Mini follows the same sales path as other hatchbacks, the five-door variant could outsell the three-door by a factor of three to one soon after its launch. 

 

The latest spy shots show the five-door Mini is now nearing its final stages of development. The five-door Mini sits on the same platform as the bigger new Clubman, which is due to go on sale at the start of next year. Styling wise, the five-door Mini is almost identical to its three-door sister car, which goes on sale in March. The addition of centre-mounted twin exhausts and a bonnet scoop to this test mule suggest this is the sportier Cooper S model.

 

Five-door Minis will borrow their engines directly from the three-door. That means a 134bhp, 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol in the standard Cooper, while Cooper D variants will get a 114bhp, 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel. Top-end Cooper S models will feature a 189bhp, 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. A six-speed manual transmission will come as standard on the front-wheel-drive car, while a six-speed automatic will be optional on all models. 

 

The three and five-door Mini hatchbacks will be joined by a new cabriolet model, due in September, as well as updated versions of the Countryman and Paceman in 2016.