No leather, no fossil fuels, and a new design direction is shown on the MINI Concept Aceman
BMW Group has been stuck in a bit of a design rut over the last decade. They found a formula that worked for all of their brands and now are struggling to break the mould without upsetting fans and potential customers. Even the MINI brand has gone through 3 generations under BMW Group without changing things up radically since the year 2000.
Now the MINI brand is gearing up for a new generation of products that will without a doubt be electrified. BMW Group is previewing what that will look like with the MINI Concept Aceman. Not only will the Aceman give us a glimpse into the next generation of MINI design, it will also show us what technology will go into the new MINI cars.
Three main pillars underpin MINI’s reinvention: an electrified go-kart feel, an immersive digital experience and minimal environmental footprint. The new design language is being called “Charismatic Simplicity”.
MINI has taken inspiration from two of their most successful models (the 5-door Cooper and the Countryman crossover) in creating the look of the new Aceman. I features a 2-box design with short overhangs and minimal surface area. The Aceman features 5-doors, has a lenght of 4.05m, a width of 1.99m and a height of just 1.59m. The new look features a reintepretation of the all-round window graphics and roof, flush body and glass surfaces, removal of al chrome applications, widened surrounds on the lower edge of the body, strongly contoured wheel arches, a unique roof rack, and stylised valance panels to give the appearance of an SUV. Where the radiator grille would be found now stands a clear surface with an octagonal contour bordered by illuminated strips. Matrix LED headlights are integrated into the upper section.
In case you missed it, the Union Jack motif makes its way into this new MINI’s design in the light graphics and roof rack. The rims are a rather large set of 20″ light alloys and the door handles are flush with the body for the first time in MINI’s history.
The cabin of the MINI is made up of a lot of recycled plastics with vibrant colours instead of traditional premium materials like leather and chrome. While it is a fresh take on the MINI design language, it does look more like a child’s playroom than a car.
Purple seatbelts, “Flower Power” fonts, and asymmetrical design elements mean the Aceman’s interior is anything but boring. They’ve even come up with a bunch of artificial sounds that will be pumped in through the speakers depending on which Experience Mode is selected during the drive.
In the centre is a circular OLED infotainment touchscreen with toggle switches below it. These switches operate the parking brake and gearbox and allow Experience modes to be selected. They are also the physical interface for the volume of the audio system. The infotainment system uses the latest generation of MINI OS which will be built on an Android Open Source Project software stack for the first time.
Check out the video below for more.
