Mini pulls plug on this car, makes room for electric Aceman

Mini may not sell the Clubman in the Indian market, but it is an interesting product from the brand's portfolio that has just ended its journey. The British luxury car brand under BMW AG has pulled the plug on the Mini Clubman after 17 years and making 11 lakh units of the car. The automaker has ended production to make room for its electric successor, the Aceman.

Mini Clubman was first introduced to the market in 2007 and came as a wagon-styled iteration of the Mini hatchback. A key design element of the car is a distinct split tailgate, which the automaker has accepted as kind of a pain designing.

While the modern Clubman was introduced in 2007, the original model was launched in 1969. About six lakh units of the original Mini Clubman were built before it was shelved in 1982. After that, BMW AG resurrected it in 2007 as a longer and bigger take on the car.

The Mini Clubman which just met the end of its production, was the second generation model, based on the BMW UKL2 architecture. It was available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol variants were available in a 1.5-litre turbocharged unit and a 2.0-litre turbocharged unit, while diesel variants were available in a 1.5-litre turbocharged and 2.0-litre turbo unit. Transmission options for the car included a six-speed manual, six-speed automatic, seven-speed DCT and eight-speed automatic units.

Mini is now gearing up for the production of the Aceman EV, which is expected to play a key role in the automaker's electric vehicle strategy. The Mini Aceman EV will be offered in two trim options - E and SE. The E will come as the base model and will get a single front axle-mounted electric motor paired with a 40 kWh battery pack. It will promise up to 300 km range on a single charge. The top variant SE will get a bigger 54 kWh battery pack promising up to 400 km range on a single charge.