Would Anyone Buy This Paceman Pickup if Mini Built It?

BOLD RIDE

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Posted by Zach Doell

 

 

Pickup trucks are handy; sporty little cars are fun. Combine the two and you’d seemingly have a best-of-both-worlds situation. Just look at Australia’s popular utes. 

 

Last year, Mini must have thought the same thing, because to the glee of fans, it carved a pickup truck bed into the rear of its zesty little Paceman crossover. It looks mean, rides high, and with the moniker “Mini Paceman Adventure” – its mission is fairly obvious.

 But here’s a question. If Mini actually built this Paceman concept, would anyone really buy it? Share your thoughts below.

If the Paceman Adventure concept feels like a young, hip product, that’s because it is. The concept evolved from a collaboration of Mini apprentices at BMW’s Munich and Dingolfing plants. The budding engineers began with a standard Paceman Cooper S, equipped with Mini’s ALL4 all-wheel-drive and turbocharged 184-horsepower engine, and then set about giving it some utilitarian chops.

 

As a result, the passenger compartment ends behind the front seats, leading into a diamond plate bed in the rear, and the Mini Paceman’s suspension gets a lift and overhaul. A roof rack complete with tire carrier and headlight bar find a home up top, and join a full-functioning snorkel intake in driving home the off-road looks.

Mini made it fairly clear at its debut that the Paceman Adventure concept had no future plans for a series production. Despite a questionable market for the vehicle, I doubt that I’m the only one left a bit saddened by that. What say you, Internets? Would you buy one if Mini built it?



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