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Mini John Cooper Works Concept heading wide-eyed into production

We now know that Mini will offer a stupendous number of total models over the next few years, so it's fair to assume that most of the brand's concept cars have series production written all over them. So, a 'concept' like this new John Cooper Works Mini is more or less a mortal lock to hit showrooms in very similar trim.
That's probably a good thing for future JCW owners, as this Mini looks decidedly better than the standard car that debuted in Los Angeles late last year. Something about the bigger grille, lowered front fascia and pumped up wheel arches make the car more visually compelling than the weird-nosed 2014 Mini Hardtop. (At least to this author.)
By hey, don't take our word for it - with the official press release down below, and our box-fresh gallery of live images up above, you can make up your minds for yourselves. Tell us what you think in the Comments.

Mini interns turn Paceman into Adventure pickup

With coupes and convertibles, hatchbacks and crossovers, Mini has done just about every bodystyle we could think of, and then a few more as concepts. But it hasn't done a pickup. At least it hadn't until now.
What we have here is a Mini Paceman (that, of course, being the coupe version of the Countryman) which has been transformed into a pickup by a group of BMW interns. It's called the Mini Paceman Adventure, and it's currently on display at the Mini dealership in Munich. According to BimmerToday.de, the project involved not only chopping the roof and installing a makeshift pickup bed, but also reinforcing the body, reforming the underbody and B-pillar, fitting off-road tires (including a spare fitted to a roof rack) and a handful of other minor modifications.
The photos are a little sketchy (although the dealership tells us a better set will be available soon), but from what we can see, it looks like a pretty solid project - one that makes us wonder if the apprentices' bosses might be paying attention. Because next to the Mini Coupe with its oddball backwards-hat roof treatment, this one-off looks as sensible as you'd expect from a group of German interns.

Longer, wider, still a Mini | 2017 Mini Countryman First Drive

Think of the 2017 Mini Countryman as the brand's "ah, to hell with it" moment. At a whopping 8.1 inches longer and 5.4 inches wider than the vehicle it replaces, it is quite obviously the least-mini Mini ever. Yet, that size increase makes it more useful, comfortable riding, and better proportioned. If a compact crossover SUV is what's to be, then this is the size it should be. However, it's still quite mini for a compact SUV, coming in at 3 inches shorter than the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class and 4 inches shorter than an Audi Q3. Neither of those are what anyone would describe as "large." And yet, the Countryman boasts a considerably more spacious and usable interior than either of them. Sit in the new Countryman's back seat and you'll be amazed at the space, with plenty of leg- and headroom for even tall people despite a standard panoramic sunroof. Crossovers of similar exterior dimensions, luxury or otherwise, just don't come close to providing as much passenger space. The cargo area isn't quite as impressive on paper, but its boxy shape and the sliding second-row seat make it far more versatile in practice. So, despite being the least-mini Mini ever, the new Countryman is still in keeping with the brand's ethos from the very beginning when Alec Issigonis created a car that was microscopic on the outside but disproportionately spacious inside. There's far more to this redesign than just dimensional changes – the 2017 Countryman grows up figuratively as well. The original model always felt like a Mini Cooper hardtop that ballooned in size and door count. Compared to SUVs of similar price, and more damningly of lesser price, it was crashy, loud, a bit cheap inside, and relatively uncouth. The base model was also embarrassingly slow. The new version feels more like a proper compact luxury SUV flavored with a robust Salt Bae of Mini spice. Actually, that's pretty much what it is. The Countryman now shares its front-wheel-drive platform with the new BMW X1, which itself benefits from various trickle-down elements from elsewhere in the BMW Group. For instance, processes developed for the 7 Series are in part responsible for the new, stiffer structure that contributes greatly to the 2017 Countryman's other great advancement: the exponentially better ride. The old one harshly crashed over bumps in a way that only Fred Flintstone wouldn't find tiresome.