2006 MINI Concept Geneva

While I am, and forever will be a fan of MINI, I will readily admit that there are many things I have still yet to learn about the history of the brand. For example, while I knew that MINI was famous for winning the prestigious Monte Carlo rally, fending off everything from Jaguars to Porsches, I did not know that they did it four times in a row from 1964 thru 1967. I also didnt know that 2006 marks the fortieth anniversary of this event, nor did I possess the knowledge that this very year marks Alec Issigonis (the original Minis father) 100th birthday, which, in my opinion ought to be a national holiday, given the many groundbreaking advancements his creation introduced to the modern automobile.

Aside from feeling the direct need to pick up the phone and call a few friends to chat about my newfound enlightened state, the press release that contained this trivia also had some news which even the biggest MINI fan will appreciate, namely a brand new concept car. In the past few months MINI has been at every major auto show worldwide with some pretty creative vehicles on their display stands. Called the Concept Geneva, this latest iteration will be shown for the first time at, yup, you guessed it, this years Geneva Motor Salon.

Concept Geneva is yet another variation on an elongated, so-called tourer two-door wagon version of the MINI. It follows the Concept Detroit, a version tarted up for an active lifestyle, represented through a stars n stripes color theme, while the Concept Tokyo brought quintessential British elements on board, including a nifty tea set. Before that was the car that started it all, the Concept Frankfurt, which laid out a blank creative canvas for which these thematic vehicles followed. By the way, the original car that these concept vehicles are based off of is the old Traveller, Countryman, and Clubman Estate, all two-door Mini wagons with Dutch-style doors at back replacing the standard tailgate.

I take it theyre trying to hint at something new theyll be adding to the lineup.

Given that the Concept Genevas timing coincides with the Monte Carlo rally event, it makes sense that MINI has chosen to do a rally-themed vehicle. However, it makes little sense for MINI to be putting forward a bigger, heavier, and more cumbersome vehicle as a proper race machine. Theyve left that to the John Cooper Works GP, the stripped-out model with two-seats and even higher levels of performance. MINI also hasnt announced what powertrain the Concept Geneva will be using, though the hood scoop does suggest the 1.6-liter 170-hp supercharged motor. Instead, theyve gone and made the Concept Geneva a sort of service, or support vehicle for a team that might be running a MINI in a rally race.

The Geneva Concept looks the part as a mechanics vehicle. It features a special roof rack system with an integrated spare tire, as well as a myriad of spotlights and fog lamps to provide additional lighting for mechanics to perform service work. The Concept Frankfurt features detachable hard window-boxes, filled with useable, handy items, unlike the Tokyos picnic tea hamper, or the Detroits snowboarding accessories. Inside the clip-on red boxes include binoculars, a spanner kit, and storage space for additional components such as oil filters or replacement license plates.

Aside from aesthetic changes, the cabin gains a stopwatch mounted on the steering wheel to ensure timely service, and a big, heavy-duty fire extinguisher for that odd flare up, the cargo bay is where the rally action is happening. The Genevas designers have hollowed out the back end of the wagons floor to allow an entire set of mechanics toolboxes to be carried on board. Theres also a cargo bay divider, which doubles as a work surface for computers or a portable television. Of course, none of this would be as easy to access without the very clever rear doors, which feature a hinge that swivels the doors behind and outwards for ease of use. Similar hinges are used on the cabins side doors.

In scaling down the typical service vehicle (a big cargo van like the Benz/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter, Ford Transit in Europe or E150 here at home) for a rally team, MINI hasnt removed fun or style. The car is painted in similar colors - silver with red accents instead of red with white accents - as the original Monte Carlo rally car, but instead of featuring 12-inch steel wheels, it rides on glamorous chrome-plated daisy spoke wheels. Squint carefully and you can see the special UK-logo radiator grille badge, and Monte Carlo badging on the tailgate. With all this work to give the Concept Geneva so slick and so organized, I doubt that any sane rally team would want to chase a rally car. Inside the cabin, the MINI retains its futuristic-look cabin with mood lighting, but gains red Alcantara inserts on the seat for additional grip and comfort.

Whether you think the Geneva Concept, the Detroit Concept or (especially) the Tokyo Concept are silly ideas, one thing is for sure, MINIs decisions to develop different themes on one vehicle, as opposed to several different unrelated vehicles, is a solid signal that it has something important on its hands. Expect to see many of the clever details that the Traveller series of concepts feature, such as the air-vent drink cooler, the globe-style center stack, the two-door wagon bodystyle and perhaps even the window-boxes in the next-generation Cooper. As for an introduction date, it will only be a matter of time before the new car shows up, as the Cooper Works GP seems to be the current cars swan song.