Woodcliff Lake, NJ – September, 2009
* More Room, More Utility, More Fun in the Latest “True”
MINI:
Stretching the wheelbase nearly nine and a half inches in comparison to the MINI Hardtop significantly enhances interior room and utility, as well as driver/passenger comfort and convenience for those who want more of this iconic British brand. And – in true MINI fashion – mixing the traditional with the modern results in both the car’s unmistakably MINI appearance and unique ways to access this interior: The tailgate carries forward the twin, outwardly hinged “Split Rear Barn Doors” found on the Clubman’s ancestors, while rear-seat passenger ingress and egress is eased through the rear-hinged “Clubdoor” incorporated in the car’s right side.
The 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman mirrors the latest MINI Cooper hardtop – both inside and out, in terms of equipment – from the radiator grill to the B pillars. This means the two variants share the 172-horsepower turbocharged engine of the MINI Cooper S and the 118-hp, naturally aspirated four-cylinder powerplant of the MINI Cooper, both driving the front wheels. Inside, the instrument panel, seats (with the exception of some upholstery colors and materials as well as interior trim colors), comfort and convenience features and switch gear that have already been made familiar. And they share the chassis components, as well as the soul, which have earned the MINI accolades on its fun-to-drive, go-kart-like handling characteristics.
Exclusive to the MINI Clubman is the area behind the front seats and the number of doors providing access to the interior. Stretching the Clubman 9.4 inches and the wheelbase 3.2 inches results in a very different environment for passengers and all of life’s precious cargo. Almost all of the extra wheelbase is translated into additional leg room for rear passengers, and the revised body work provides a bit more shoulder room for them as well. The most dramatic transformation comes in terms of luggage space: the Clubman offers 61 percent more space (9.18 versus 5.7 cubic feet) with the rear seats up, or 37 percent more (32.8 versus 24 cubic feet) with both seats folded. And the Clubman offers an optional flat-luggage-floor system which also brings a covered storage bin between the Split Rear Barn Doors and the seatbacks.
Those rear split-doors offer the most striking visual differentiator for the Clubman from the MINI Hardtop. In keeping with the marque’s heritage, the 2010 MINI Clubman’s rear look is modeled along the design of the rear doors found in the Austin Mini Countryman, Morris Minor Traveller and the Mini Clubman Estate from the 1960s. The MINI Clubman eschews the more common hatch for a pair of Split Rear Barn Doors hinged on the outer edge of the C-pillars, thus providing a wide, open access to the luggage area. Opening/closing operation of the doors is very specific: the right, or main, door must be opened prior to the left one (and closed in reverse order) and the doors effortlessly glide open with the aid of a pair of gas struts.
A similar sequential operation allows for the opening/closing of the Clubdoor which provides a more convenient means for rear passengers to enter or leave the MINI Clubman cabin. Hinged at the rear on the right side, the Clubdoor is integrated into the right-side B-pillar. Compared to the MINI hardtop, with the Clubdoor open, passengers have four times more space to enter the rear seats of the Clubman (when the front seat is in the easy-entry position).
Once inside, all four occupants have their own three-point seatbelts and are further protected by six standard airbags. Strong, stable body construction provides the MINI Clubman with a platform for a high level of crash protection. In the event of a collision, optimized load paths within the body structure serve to effectively divert forces acting on the car, despite the short overhangs front and rear.
Active safety is enhanced in critical driving situations by the standard anti-lock brakes (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Corner Brake Control (CBC) and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), standard on both Clubman models. Additionally, Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), a sportier mode of DSC, is optional on both models.
The Brake Assist on both models detects emergency operation of the brakes and builds up maximum brake pressure very quickly. MINI’s Hill Assist start-off assistance is featured in conjunction with DSC. The system continues to hold the brakes for a maximum of three seconds after letting off the brake pedal and before the clutch is engaged. This feature is beneficial when setting off on an uphill gradient to prevent the car from rolling back.
Driving Fun Remains Centerpiece of MINI Clubman’s Mission
A low center of gravity, wide track and the wheels moved to the extreme corners of the car guarantee agile and nimble driving behavior. The structure of the body shell, beyond providing the basis for superior crash protection in this segment, creates a solid platform for the suspension pieces. The front suspension features MacPherson-type springs over struts, ensuring excellent wheel guidance, keeping the steering smooth and responsive, and remain unaffected by engine power both in accelerating or braking. The five-link central-arm rear axle offers optimum road contact, again regardless of conditions.
Compared with the MINI Cooper Clubman, the MINI Cooper S Clubman has a more sporting suspension, and as an option, both models are available with sports suspension for an even higher standard of driving enjoyment.
The EPS (Electrical Power Steering) helps to make the MINI Clubman even more nimble and agile on the road. Speed-related assistance ensures low steering forces when parking and precise control at high speeds. In conjunction with the standard Sport button, EPS even offers a special sport mode specifically increasing steering feedback for an even more direct driving experience.
The two four-cylinder engines carried over from the hardtops provide the performance to enhance the driving experience. The turbocharged 1.6-liter version in the Cooper S Clubman produces 172 horsepower, eclipsing the magical “100-hp-per-liter” measure revered by enthusiasts. This translates into zero-to-60-miles-per-hour acceleration in 7.0 seconds and the same top speed, 139 miles per hour, as the six-speed manual hardtop version. The naturally-aspirated engine in the Cooper Clubman, also 1.6 liters, features variable valve control and accelerates this agile athlete to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds with a top speed of 125 mph.
These engines are designed for overall efficiency, which means high performance, low weight, low emissions and very competitive fuel economy. Both MINI Clubman models offer superior fuel economy, with the MINI Cooper S Clubman having 2010 fuel economy ratings of 34 mpg Highway, 26 mpg City and a combined rating of 29 mpg. The MINI Cooper Clubman is even more efficient with preliminary ratings of 36 mpg Highway, 28 mpg City and 32 mpg combined.
Composite – instead of conventional cast – camshafts and a weight-optimized crankshaft are part of the lightweight concept of the aluminum alloy power units. Fuel consumption, in turn, is optimized by a volume flow-controlled oil pump and an electronically controlled water pump for the coolant circuit – two technical features previously limited to larger and more expensive model segments.
The MINI Cooper Clubman and the MINI Cooper S Clubman both come standard with a six-speed manual transmission, but can be ordered with an optional six-speed automatic transmission controlled by either a console-mounted selector, or on the Cooper S, with Formula 1-style steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
Unique, characteristic design with striking MINI features
The two versions of the Clubman are virtually identical in their design and body structure to the MINI Cooper Hardtop up to the B-pillar, all the classic design icons of the MINI coming through in the model. At the front these include the large, round headlights supplemented by the round parking-light units (which include, when fitted, the optional fog lamps) and hexagonal radiator grill. On the front flanks are the distinctive side direction indicators.
Seen from the side, the MINI Cooper Clubman retains the firm, taut and striking look of the Cooper Hardtop, despite the added length and revised C-pillar design, resting powerfully on its wheels in a look well-known to friends and aficionados of the brand as the “stance on the wheels.” Another characteristic is the seemingly uninterrupted “flow” of windows around the car, adorning the MINI with a look of having a complete, 360-degree band of glass, which is accentuated by a chrome band extends around the entire car at shoulder level, helping to create an impression of a greenhouse “floating” above the lower section of the car. Measuring the same width and virtually the same height as the Hardtop, the MINI Cooper Clubman, with its low-slung overall appearance and compact proportions emphasized by the tires-at-the-out-edge design, creates the same nimble and dynamic impression as all other members of the MINI family.
The rear-light clusters are kept as small as possible to maximize the opening of the split-doors as well as complementing the overall style of the car. Thoroughly unique amongst the MINI models, the Cooper Clubman is nonetheless a MINI; there is no other car offered with a rear appearance like it!
MINI Clubman drivers who are looking to transport their sports equipment in style (bicycles, snowboards, surfboards etc.) or simply wish to have an extra sporty look on their car, can include optional factory Clubman Roof Rails or a Rear Roof Spoiler (options cannot be combined together). In addition, for those that want to stay connected to their smartphone, MINI is offering a Smartphone Prep option that allows full access to a USB-enabled smartphone as it sits in the center armrest’s cradle.
To further distinguish the look of the MINI Cooper Clubman, the buyer can specify one of 40 color combinations for body and roof paint. Ten colors are available for each model, eight metallic and two non-metallic.
Interior design reflects both MINI standards and an owner’s tastes
The interior of the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman combines traditional MINI elements – like the large, central speedometer, clear, round dials and toggle switches – with a palette of colors, trims and upholsteries to allow complete personalization within the familiar cabin.
The central element is the MINI-signature center speedometer, which features a maximum speed of 160 mph/260 kmh. The displays for the entertainment system as well as the display for the optional navigation system are integrated in the speedometer, while the tachometer remains a separate unit positioned, as befits a sporting car, behind the steering wheel in the driver’s line of sight.
The vertically arranged rotary knobs for the ventilation, the two cupholders integrated in the bottom section of the center console and the racing-inspired toggle switches are typical of MINI. Indeed, these characteristic chrome toggles, operating the fog lamps, the power windows – with express, one-touch up and down – and central locking functions, are joined by similar switched in the roof console for sunroof and interior-lighting control.
A round transmitter finished in typical MINI style serves as the Clubman’s key, with the driver controlling engine operation with a start/stop button. All instruments and controls are very smooth and easy to operate, positioned at the right point for optimum ergonomics.
Background illumination in five colors
The Clubman interior lighting reflects typical MINI style and class, including ambient lighting which can be varied in five stages from warm orange to sporting blue. Serving as discreet “waterfall illumination” from above and as indirect illumination of the roof lining, the door storage bins and the door handle recesses, this illumination scheme creates a unique atmosphere inside the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman.
Typically MINI, Unique Design:
The “godfather” was the Shooting Brake. This is the term applied in Great Britain, the home the MINI, to sports cars combining the flair and character of a coupe with a hatchback, thus offering more functions than a “regular” coupe.
The 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman takes up this shooting brake concept, an authentic and unconventional re-interpretation of MINI’s brand values. Based on the MINI Cooper Hardtop with its extremely agile performance and typical go-kart feeling, the MINI Cooper Clubman is a unique and emotional concept taking typical features of MINI design and carrying them to a new and different segment of the market.
Unique proportions underline the individual, sporting, active and masculine character of the MINI Cooper Clubman. The rear-hinged Clubdoor, the two-piece split-door at the rear and wheelbase extended 3.15 inches beyond the standard MINI, make the Clubman quite unmistakable.
A wide track and very short body overhangs underline the typical posture of the car, its “stance on the wheels” characteristic of the brand. Indeed, it is fair to say that the MINI Cooper Clubman “stands like a rock” on its wheels at all four corners. This overall impression is further enhanced by the plastic frame extending around the entire body and bordering on the front and rear air dams as well as the wheel arches and side-sills at the bottom.
The almost vertical C-pillars and the body overhang at the rear extended by 6.3 inches versus the Hardtop highlight the greater functional value of the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman and create proportions nevertheless still typical of MINI. The C-pillars, in a different and conspicuous color, help create a look of balance throughout the car from front to rear.
The rear end: split-door and rear lights integrated into the body
The rear end of the MINI Cooper Clubman is characterized by parallel, horizontal lines appearing clearly and distinctively from the vertical C-pillars. These lines serve to split the body into individual sections, becoming more slender and narrow, step-by-step as they move up. Such an arrangement of contours, referred to by the designer as a “waterfall line,” highlight the car’s low center of gravity, guiding the eyes of the beholder towards the wheels.
This horizontal stratification of elements at the rear is further accentuated by the large third brake light integrated in the roof strip, the two wipers on each of the rear door windows, the chrome-plated door handles, the separate reflectors and the trim on the bumper finished in a contrasting color.
The horizontal lines at the rear are barely interrupted, at least visibly, by the center joint of the split-door. The frame formed by the C-pillars together with the upper edge of the bumper generates a clear visual signal design statement. Complementing the body color, this rear frame or surround is finished in black or silver metallic; the C-pillar frame and the split-door giving the MINI Clubman an absolutely unmistakable look from behind.
The MINI Cooper S Clubman has three distinct rear features differentiating it from the Cooper Clubman. The hood scoop, appliqués flanking each side of the license-plate holder are in a grid pattern (mimicking the radiator grill) and the dual tailpipes are split, with one on either side of the body.
The front end: distinguishing the individual model variants
Seen from the front, the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman is virtually identical to the MINI Hardtop, the lone difference being the contour of the roofline. This means the MINI Cooper Clubman, complete with the homogeneous hexagon radiator grill and large round headlights, has the distinctive “face” of the brand. Other common features are the direction indicators integrated in the headlights as well as the parking- light units beneath the headlight units, which also accommodate the optional fog lamps.
The front end of the car serves to distinguish the individual Cooper and Cooper S models. The MINI Cooper S Clubman stands out through two design features visualizing the power and performance of its turbocharged engine. First, the powerdome – the curved section of the engine compartment lid – is 20 millimeters or 0.79-inches higher. Second, the size of the bottom air intake is highlighted by a hexagon grid net paralleling the look of the radiator grill with its chrome surround. A further differentiator is the air-intake in the hood of the MINI Cooper S Clubman.
On the MINI Cooper Clubman, the radiator grill boasts a chrome frame and three horizontal chrome-plated crossbars. The edges of the lower air intake are slightly curved upward slight, almost giving the MINI Cooper Clubman a smile on its face and creating an elegant, likeable touch at the front.
Chrome features emphasizing the premium character of the car are common to both variants of the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman. These design elements include the headlights, the radiator-grill surround, the strip extending around the entire car at the shoulder line and the door handles.
* The Interior – Sporting Cockpit, Lounge Ambience at the Rear:
The MINI Cooper Clubman, like the MINI Hardtop, boasts the same avant-garde, sporting cockpit including the circular instrument in the middle so typical of the brand.
The high shoulder line of the body creates a sporting cockpit ambience within the interior, concentrating the overall look and impression of the car on just a handful of distinctive highlights which again serve to emphasize the and even more striking character of the interior.
Round air vents moved to the outside serve to accentuate the greater width of the dashboard, emphasizing the horizontal orientation of the cockpit and at the same time acting as a transition leading over smoothly and harmoniously to the door linings.
The car’s developers attached utmost importance to simple and ergonomic control by the driver. Hence, all control elements are in strict hierarchic arrangement as a function of their frequency of use and need for operation.
Beyond the front seats: a space for passengers and life’s cargo
The interior of the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman takes on a unique personality behind the front seats. The three-plus inches of increased wheelbase benefits rear passengers by adding to rear-seat leg room for nearly 42-inches, virtually the same as in the front. And the subtle change in the body’s roofline brings nearly an additional inch in shoulder space.
Utility is vastly improved with the design of the Clubman. The modular configuration of the rear compartment is enhanced by a split folding rear seat, and to add even more room, the flat loading floor can be lifted to reveal a small bin below it (behind the bottom of the rear seats). Overall, luggage space can go from 9.18 cubic feet with both rear seats up to 32.8 cubic feet with the seats folded.
Authentic and sophisticated: materials in premium quality
Different seat upholstery also serves to distinguish between the MINI Cooper Clubman and MINI Cooper S Clubman: “effect-yarn” seams enhance the lifestyle ambience within the MINI Cooper Clubman in the “basic” upholstery. The seat covers on the MINI Cooper S Clubman come in a design reminiscent of the checkered flag in racing and serving as a graphic element.
The checkered cloth used for this purpose emphasizes the sporting touch of the MINI Cooper S Clubman, and may be replaced by a classic pinstripe design combining an elegant and fine woven look with leather (available in four colors) on the side panels of the seats.
The wide range of cloth materials, leather, interior colors, panels and trim options offers each and every aficionado of the MINI exactly the right option to personalize his or her car according to his or her individual taste. The ambience thus created within the car ranges from high-class elegance through outright sportiness all the way to superb extravagance. Regardless of the customer’s individual choice, premium quality and love for every detail is presented in every 2010 MINI.
The optional Color Line enables even the most discerning customer to individualize the cockpit according to his or her personal taste, color highlights in the lower sections of the dashboard continuing into the door linings and providing a particularly effective and attractive combination with the trim materials. Color Line is available in four colors (Dark Grey, Cream White, Pacific Blue and Rooster Red), with trim coming not only in its standard versions on the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S, but also in four exclusive, very special variants: glossy Piano Black, dark English Oak wood, sporty Brushed Alloy aluminum and a glossy Fluid Silver surface inspired by the structure of liquid metal.
The dashboard is made up of two horizontally separated sections with a trim division in between. The plastic surfaces come in particularly fine grain, highlighting the supreme value, class and style of the material.
A further expression of the authentic premium character of the MINI is the use of wood and aluminum, while a fully closed glove compartment or a CD changer may be integrated in the trim surface on the front passenger’s side.
* High-Tech Power Units for Greater Driving Performance:
The MINI Cooper S Clubman and MINI Cooper Clubman are powered by two different four-cylinder engines boasting a wide range of innovative details. Both power units are made of lightweight aluminum alloy and displace 1.6 liters, benefiting from the decades of know-how in engine development and racing technology.
The MINI Cooper S Clubman features a 172 hp turbocharged engine with direct gasoline injection, while maximum output of the naturally aspirated power unit in the MINI Cooper Clubman is 118 hp, boasting fully variable valve management based on VALVETRONIC technology.
The 1.6-liter turbocharged power unit featured in the MINI Cooper S Clubman offers impressive performance on the road. The maximum output of 172 hp and specific output of 109.5 hp/liter are impressive figures for a four-cylinder, light-alloy power unit in this class.
The MINI Cooper S Clubman achieves its peak output at an engine speed of 5,500 rpm. Maximum torque is 177 lb-ft and is maintained consistently throughout the speed range from 1,600–5,000 rpm. When accelerating, torque is briefly increased even further to 192 lb-ft by the “overboost” function, an increase in boost pressure (from 0.8 to 1.0 bar), which gives the MINI Cooper S Clubman even more powerful “punch.” And overboost acts exclusively on engine torque, not on overall engine output. The MINI Cooper S Clubman responds instantaneously to the driver’s commands, accelerating from 0-60 mph in 7.0 seconds with a top speed of 139 mph.
Like the naturally aspirated version in the MINI Cooper Clubman, the turbocharged power unit offers the highest standard of engine construction. The four valves per cylinder are controlled by two overhead camshafts, roller-type drag arms optimized for minimum friction, and hydraulic valve compensation elements. The outlet valves are filled with sodium in order to meet the greater cooling requirements of a turbocharged power unit. The intake camshaft comes with infinite phase adjustment setting the engine’s valve timing to the driver’s respective power and performance requirements. The result is optimum output and torque on low fuel consumption and emissions reduced to a minimum.
Fuel is injected into the turbocharged four-cylinder by means of common-rail-direct-injection technology. The stainless-steel common rail connecting all cylinders is filled with fuel under high pressure by a pump at the rear of the intake camshaft. Injection valves positioned at the side in the cylinder head deliver fuel within fractions of a second and in exactly the right amounts from the rail directly to the combustion chambers, four valve pockets and the combustion trough in the middle of each piston ensuring optimum stratification of the homogeneous fuel/air mixture with a lambda factor of 1.0. Running in cast-iron sleeves and operating with a compression ratio of 10.5: 1, relatively high for a turbocharged engine, the pistons are cooled by splash oil.
Featuring a twin-scroll turbocharger, the MINI Cooper S Clubman comes with another feature unique in this segment. In both the exhaust gas manifold and the turbocharger itself, the ducts leading to two cylinders at a time are separated from one another. Reducing exhaust-gas counter pressure at low engine speeds, this arrangement capitalizes on the dynamic effect of the pulsating gas columns within the manifold in a special process enhancing the response of the turbocharger and accelerating its charge rotors to an optimum speed of rotation right from the start at low engine speeds.
The charge pressure, limited by a wastegate to 0.8 bar, starts to build at an engine speed of 1,400 rpm, almost eliminating the “turbo lag” typical of conventional turbocharged engines. As a result, the MINI Cooper S Clubman accelerates smoothly and instantaneously; the 1.6-liter turbocharged power unit demonstrating the same kind of response and behavior as a larger normally aspirated engine.
MINI Cooper Clubman: a powerful but fuel-efficient normally-aspirated engine
Also displacing 1.6 liters, the MINI Cooper Clubman engine combines superior driving pleasure with truly outstanding economy. Maximum output of 118 hp comes at 6,000 rpm, with the torque curve reaching a significant 103 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm and continuing to a peak of 114 lb-ft at 4,250 rpm. The wide, useful torque curve is an example this engine combines superior power and performance with equally superior fuel economy in a compact and highly efficient power unit. The 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph.
Variable-valve control based on VALVETRONIC technology is one of the innovative technical features incorporated into the four-cylinder engine. With this valve management, the stroke and opening period of the intake valves are adjusted within fractions of a second to the power requirements; the camshaft acting on the valves not directly via a drag arm, but rather through an additional intermediate lever adjusted in its pivot point by an eccentric shaft driven by an electric motor. Depending on the position of this lever arm, intake valve lift is varied infinitely between 0.2 and 9.5 millimeters, the entire process of changing over from minimum to maximum valve lift taking about 300 milliseconds.
Over and above variable management of valve lift on the intake side, valve timing on the intake and outlet sides is spread out variably as a function of engine speed. Again, this is also an infinite process switching over when necessary from one extreme to the other in 300 milliseconds. This speed and fast reaction is ensured by a high-performance 32-bit processor integrated in the engine control system. Variable valve lift and speed-dependant camshaft control serve to optimize the torque curve and the engine’s power output.
The engines featured in the MINI Cooper S Clubman and MINI Cooper Clubman are built in the BMW Group’s Engine Plant in Hams Hall, Great Britain.
* Manual and Automatic Transmission – Precise, Spontaneous:
Both the 2010 MINI Cooper Clubman and MINI Cooper S Clubman come with a standard six-speed manual gearbox and offer an optional six-speed automatic transmission.
The manual gearbox comes in two different configurations: on the MINI Cooper S Clubman, the first two gears are synchronized by means of double cones, while the MINI Cooper Clubman uses carbon friction linings for the same purpose. All gears on both versions are in helical design and all – including reverse – feature synchromesh, thus allowing for light, precise and efficient gear changes.
The driver of an automatic-equipped 2010 MINI Cooper S is able to shift gears by means of Formula 1-inspired paddles on the steering wheel, allowing him or her to keep both hands on the wheel even during gearshifts. In the automatic mode, the transmission shifts gears according to the driver’s commands with virtually no interruption of power and pulling force for both the Cooper and Cooper S. This is made possible by a torque converter clutch that closes shortly after the car has started to move – an operating mode combining supreme comfort with a sporting and crisp gearshift. Should the driver wish to enjoy even more dynamic performance, all he or she has to do is press the Sport button for an even faster electronically controlled gearshift.
When equipped with the manual transmission, the MINI Cooper S Clubman is available with an optional mechanical limited-slip differential that minimizes the drive wheels from spinning on slippery surfaces or in bends. To set off different frictional coefficients, the differential instantaneously feeds more engine power to the drive wheel with better traction.
Press release via BMW/MINI
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