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New Mini to bow on Nov. 18, on Alec Issigonis' birthday

Miniacs, note November 18 on your calendar. That's when the all-new Mini Hardtop will debut. Now, this might not be a great deal of news, after all, we already showed you the car, codenamed F56, a few weeks ago. But this full unveiling should bring with it even more detailed exterior images, a full look at the cabin and if we're lucky, performance numbers.
History buffs will also note that November 18 is the birthday of Sir Alec Issigonis. It was Issigonis that penned the original idea for the Mini on a cocktail napkin, envisioning a car with a transversely mounted engine, the wheels pushed out to all four corners and plenty of cabin space for occupants. That car had a remarkably small footprint and was quite efficient, perfect for tackling the fuel shortages brought on by the Suez Crisis in 1959's Great Britain. An unintended side-effect of its design was that it was also an absolute hoot to drive.
The November 18 debut will take place at Mini's home, Plant Oxford, in the UK. Following that, November 20 will see a near-simultaneous debut at both the Tokyo Motor Show and Los Angeles Auto Show. We'll be on hand to bring you all the details.

Mini Countryman Panamericana PHEV will tackle 16,000-mile trek

In addition to the electric version of the classic Mini, the cheeky British BMW subsidiary has another battery-powered offering to electrify attendees of the New York Auto Show. This one is a special version of the Mini Cooper SE Countryman ALL4, slated for a particularly impressive journey. The Mini Countryman Panamericana Plug-In Hybrid — or, rather, three of them — will traverse the world's longest north-south roadway route, traveling from North America to Tierra Del Fuego, at the very southernmost tip of South America. The biggest Mini gets a just a couple of upgrades for the high-mileage adventure, including tires with "emergency running characteristics" and a roof rack to carry a spare. The trip is meant to serve as a demonstration of the plug-in Mini's durability and performance, highlighting the benefits of a car combining electric mobility with traditional gasoline versatility. Its electric and gasoline motors provide a total of 224 horsepower, putting power to the front and rear wheels as needed. Mini notes that the Pan-American Highway, or the Panemericana, covers a total of about 16,000 miles, and requires a boat ride to cross the incomplete inter alia near the border between Panama and Colombia. The journey covers a number of different climatic zones, mountains and jungle and a range of surfaces ranging from smooth highways to gravel roads. Mini will be documenting the journey to the bottom of the world on its Instagram account. We'll be watching. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mini Countryman Panamericana Plug-In Hybrid View 19 Photos News Source: Mini Green New York Auto Show MINI Crossover Hatchback Electric Hybrid 2018 new york auto show panamericana

Mini might build a sedan because it's running out of shapes

Rumors suggest we could soon see a Mini with a trunk to haul your junk. Autocar cites unnamed insiders who claim the sedan is part of the brand's plan for upmarket growth. There's even a possibility the new model could use the Riley moniker in reference to the Elf (pictured above) from the 1960s, which was a Mini with a tiny trunk. The Mini sedan would use BMW's front-wheel-drive platform that underpins the X1 and Clubman and might share the wheelbase and frontend styling with the Clubman as well, according to Autocar. Mini's execs think the four-door would perform especially well in North America and China, where there's less demand for hatchbacks. Ralph Mahler, vice president of Mini's product management, hinted at the possibility of the four-door to Autocar. "For example, in Asia and the US, the sedan segment is very big. This is very interesting to us, of course," he said. Mahler admits that many people don't know about the Mini-based vehicles with trunks from the '60s, like the Riley Elf, so it would be hard to market the new model on that heritage. This could be the perfect time to add a Mini sedan to the lineup, and it might not be a completely new idea for the brand under its BMW stewardship; a rumor from 2012 shows that Mini's bosses considered a four-door at least once before. The company launched new versions of its Hardtop, Convertible, and Clubman, and even added four-door and all-wheel-drive versions of the Hardtop to further blur the lines between that car, the Clubman, and the Countryman. The next-generation Countryman crossover should debut later this year, and the brand reportedly cancelled the Superleggera Vision roadster and Rocketman compact, as Mini has chosen to go big with its new models and its lineup breadth. There are only so many versions of a hatchback a company can make, and the short-lived Mini Coupe wasn't exactly a huge success. If Mini is going to try a new body style, a sedan actually makes some sense, even if we'll probably prefer the look and practicality of the hatches. Related Video: