BMW-owned Mini unveiled the Vision Urbanaut concept in late 2020. At the time, the design study existed merely in a series of digital renderings. But the company wasn’t ready to approve the production, but now we are able to recently, it has been transformed into a real concept car that people can experience.
Executives argued the idea of an electric Mini minivan isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. “We have developed an idea of how we can take the Mini attributes — as here, with the focus on the clever use of space — into the future of mobility and interpret them in a typically Mini way,” said the company boss Bernd Körber.
The cleverly used space was the original Mini’s claim to fame thanks in part to an ingenious drivetrain layout, and the Urbanaut takes it to a new level. Longer than a Countryman and shaped like the box it came in, it offers a lounge-like cabin that can be configured in a variety of different ways depending on the number of passengers it’s carrying, and whether someone is driving. Mini created three profiles called Chill, Wanderlust, and Vibe, respectively.
The Urbanaut doesn’t look like a traditional Mini. For the first time, Mini is linking its brand identity to a fragrance. We can’t convey a smell over the internet, there’s not an app for that yet, but we’re told it is refreshing and discreet. It’s accompanied by a welcome sound that greets users as they enter the cabin.
Mini will present the Urbanaut concept to the public for the first time at the Digital-Life-Design (DLD) Summer Conference opening on July 1 in Munich, Germany.
Source: Autoblog
