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That's awful.

 The spinning sound is coming from Sir Alec's grave.....

 I'm trying to think why i never get excited with the news of a new mini! is it because its just goin to look the same in some way shape or form! I think the mini/bmw honeymoon is coming to an end! not as exciting as few years back

It's stretching a point to describe this as a leak.

The UK Intelectual Property Office is a legitimate public domain source of information. Nobody forced BMW  to file the patent early. Once published by the IPO, it's in the public domain.

It does seem that few professional journalists are prepared to take the time to look at what the IPO publishes.  It is left to amateurs like myself to scour the IPO database.

BTW  I was the source of this story, first revealed on Twitter, then picked up by Jalopnik.com, from where it spread across several US websites before crossing back over the Atlantic to appear in Autocar.  I was also the originator of the recent story on the Lotus twin clutch gearbox

www.twitter.com/RacingPuma

If Mini has a 4x4 under design why is Audi taking out the Quattro from its highly anticipated Audi S1? Audi should reconsider their decision not to include this fundamental feature of the Audi S series. However, an S1 Quattro will have significant advantage over the Mini Cooper S. When considering the current cold snap I know what I'll be going for.

Read the story on the S1 here http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/246135/

Is it wrong to secretly like the Moke concept but to detest the look of the SUV?

Uh, no--they don't. Those sketches are clearly of the original Mini Crossover concept--hence the weird door arrangement. Given that we've heard the Beachcomber is essentially the Countryman without doors, you can see some clear differences between the Beachcomber surfacing and details compared to these drawings.

The patent docs actually show 3 versions - 3 door, 4 door (suicide door on 1 side), and 5 door (conventional doors).

 www.twitter.com/RacingPuma

Am I the only one that's getting fed up with this 'leaked' image nonsense?  I may be being a bit too cynical but as far as I'm concerned there is only one place these images are 'leaked' from and that's the BMW marketing department.

All car makers seem to be doing it at the monent.

oaffie:

Am I the only one that's getting fed up with this 'leaked' image nonsense? 

These are not 'leaks'. They are registered designs published by the UKIPO (what used to be the Patent Office). Once you have filed a registered design application, it will normally be registered within a few weeks, and registration involves publication of the designs so that the rights conferred by the registration are visible to all.

I don't know why they are filing UK registered designs, though. You can file an EU-wide registered design covering the UK for similar cost. And OHIM (the EU registry) takes much longer to register, and hence publish, applications.

Incidentally, registered designs protect the appearance of an article. Patents protect inventions.