Mini's lineup soon to be anything but!

If you ask someone to draw a Mini Cooper, the resulting picture will have two doors, four seats, and a hatchback. Whether or not it'll be one of the new or old ones, well, that's harder to foretell. But, since Sir Issigonis' creation first saw the light of day, that's the Mini that people remember. But there were others. The off-road oriented Moke, longer, wagon-esque Traveller, and elusive Mini pickup truck all sought to satiate the perceived needs of various markets, and although they  all did so with varying degrees of success, none ever saw the same popularity as the original layout. And so it is with the current crop. Sure, the Countryman, Clubman, Convertible, Roadster, and Speedster cover a variety of niches (some larger than others), but it's the regular old two door hatch that remains the brand's best seller. 

So why is Mini announcing that they intend to grow Mini's lineup from its current six car stable to a whopping 10 vehicles? Well, that's anybody's guess, but for a more compelling question, you need to ask how Mini plans to follow through on that promise. With plans for a Countryman Coupe (paced on the Paceman concept) already cemented for eventual production, that leaves three slots still open. Might we perhaps be treated to an open-air, doorless, folding windshield-equipped modern Moke? Or perhaps a Countryman Pickup truck? In any case, there's no denying that although additional Mini models may not make the most sense, it certainly is exciting...