Mini announced a year ago that it would launch its last combustion-powered car in 2025 before becoming a fully electric brand. The company has already startedthe transition to embrace the new propulsion technology. It has plans to launch two all-electric crossovers, and one could be a new take on the discontinued Mini Paceman.
A new report from Car has sources that say that Mini will resurrect the Paceman nameplate, which the company used for the three-door crossover from 2013 to 2016 (pictured above) The new Paceman, which will allegedly debut next year for 2024, will get a traditional four-door crossover design to broaden its appeal in the competitive compact crossover segment. A three-door crossover is cooler, but it’s not something most customers want.
Gallery: 2023 Mini EV spy photos
According to the publication’s sources, the new Paceman could arrive with all-wheel drive. It’s unclear what electric powertrain Mini will use to propel the new Paceman, but Car’s sources did say that the crossover could get a battery of around 60-kilowatt-hours in size. Mini CEO Bernd Körber also told Car that the company would use a bespoke EV platform and an evolution of its current architecture to underpin its future vehicles.
The Paceman will also allegedly borrow its styling cues, picking bits from the next-generation Mini Cooper. That includes both exterior and interior touches, though we expect similar interiors featured throughout Mini’s refreshed lineup. The report also says the new Pacemen’s roofline will be less rakish than the previous iteration, and it will wear an extra-large body-colored grille, too. Spy shots of the next-generation Cooper show the brand will keep many of its trademark styling cues, which we should expect will find their way onto the new Paceman.
Until 2030, Mini will offer combustion cars and EVs together as it navigates the next few years of change within the auto industry. Battery-electric powertrains have many advantages, but they are also large and heavy, and that makes cramming them into smaller vehicles, like those in Mini’s lineup, a bit of a challenge. Still, the technology is continuously improving, which will help make Mini’s transition easier in the coming years.
