MINI confirms Paceman heading to production
Brand's 7th model will be built beginning in 2013.
MINI has confirmed that its seventh model, currently known as the Paceman concept, will go into production in 2013.Marking the beginning of the brand's sixth annual, 3,900-mile cross-country MINI Takes the States rally, MINI chief Kay Segler announced the news in front of fans yesterday, saying: "The MINI Paceman is the official name of the brand’s seventh model, which will be launched next year in the U.S.,” and adding that the crowd was "the first to hear this, even before the press.”
The Paceman is essentially a sleeker, 3-door coupe version of the Countryman toy SUV. Given the model's progenitor, one could reasonably expect to see the same 1.6-liter inline 4-banger with 121 horsepower -- bumped up to 181 horsepower with a turbo -- under the hood. As with the Countryman, one could also expect to see a John Cooper Works edition follow the base model's rollout.
According to The Detroit Bureau, the production version of the Paceman is expected to bow at the Paris Motor Show in September.
[Source: The Detroit Bureau.]
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