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BMW is actively considering introducing a new super high-end Mini that will be re-trimmed by Rolls-Royce’s Goodwood operation.

Autocar understands from well-placed sources that the project is close to getting the green light.

The Rolls-trimmed Mini caught in these scoop pictures is not a one-off, according to the source but is a late prototype for what’s intended to be an established premium custom version of the Mini.

Buyers of the high-end Mini will be able to visit the Ro...Read the full article

Why does this put me in mind of the Allegro Vanden Plas?

Substitute affluent for effluent in your last paragraph and I can see where you are coming from.

Agreed. Find it difficult to summon up much more of an enthusiastic response than "meh" to this...

 

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I bet Posh & Becks will get one, and all the other mugs who have more money than sense...

I think this is a fab idea, for the sustainability of UK Mini production if nothing else.

One of the reasons the original Mini didn't make much money was that the many upgrades and accessories owners fitted to their cars were provided by third party after-market specialists - BMW has been wiser with the post-2001 car and by offering lots of options it has kept most of the upgrade market and the associated cash for itself.

Riley Elf?

roadtester:

Riley Elf?

 

What? A three-box Mini? Surprised US buyers haven't insisted on one already tbh. They could put the engine in the back past the rear axle and call it the Hillman Imp?

 

I'm showing my age now...

roadtester:

I think this is a fab idea, for the sustainability of UK Mini production if nothing else.

One of the reasons the original Mini didn't make much money was that the many upgrades and accessories owners fitted to their cars were provided by third party after-market specialists - BMW has been wiser with the post-2001 car and by offering lots of options it has kept most of the upgrade market and the associated cash for itself.

Absolutely agree - an innovative idea from BMW and a proposition which I think could gel rather well.  I could easily imagine such a car could appeal to a worthwhile market.

Sounds like smart thinking to me.  Shame so many people seem to get pleasure from slating anything that doesn't seem designed specifically for their own little world view...

TegTypeR:

Why does this put me in mind of the Allegro Vanden Plas?

Was thinking exactly the same thing!  Will they put picnic tables on the back of the front seats?

Great idea. If there are enough people who are prepared to pay for this type of thing, why not ? BMW are showing initiative to keep skiled craftsmen in work as I'm sure they must need the work at RR facility. Several people have mentioned the Vanden Plas 1300 which was a lovely little car (apart from the grille, maybe). When I was a teenager we had some American neighbours move in next door to us, they bought their whole household contents with them in a 40ft container that was air-freighted over as there was a dockers strike in New York, and we expected them to get cars that matched the California life-style they had left behind, but they actually got a Rover 3.5lt Coupe and a Vanden Plas 1300. They thought they were fabulous "quaint" little cars !

 BMW seem to be able to manage the MINI brand quite effectively despite the wails from some quarters. I don't see why this won't work either.

The comparisons with the Vanden Plas was not the VP, it was the Allegro. This MINI is based on a sound platform. The similarly-themed ones from the 60s were not Vandens Plas, but were a much different animal.

I'm no great fan of BMW, but sound engineering and design deserves its plaudits, and these I'll happily give. I hope it does well.

What I was reminded of straight away was not the VP, but the forthcoming DS3 from Citroen. Maybe that is pitched somewhere between the MINI and this custom version.

Phinehas:

What I was reminded of straight away was not the VP, but the forthcoming DS3 from Citroen. Maybe that is pitched somewhere between the MINI and this custom version.

 

The DS3 is pitched against the MINI, as the C2/C3 are too "cheapy" to compare.

Learning the lesson from BMW, Citroen simply decided to opt for a new brand, instead of trying to convince people that a C2/C3 can be upmarket.