What does the future hold for Mini? Instead of driving performance, the brand wants to set itself apart with an interior design that offers the spectacle of a great opera. It’s not realistic.
Alongside the Fiat 500, the rebirth of the Mini is one of the few cases in which the return to the past has been successful. With a brand with a retro touch, the question arises as to how it intends to get in the future.
With a life-size model, Mini’s head of design Oliver Heilmer wants to make his vision concrete. Vision Urbanaut makes one thing clear: one of the two brand pillars will not be continued. The Urbanaut is anything but a driving machine with a go-kart feeling. That leaves the design. At least in detail, because the basic idea is as obvious as it is unoriginal.
With electric drives and autonomous controls, there will no longer be a humane driving experience, the rally train and the sports car image have had their day. The human driver becomes unemployed. Instead of a workplace for the pilot, the passenger must now be given a living space. The car is thus transformed into a moving lounge in a reduced children’s room size. Instead of a sleek shape, the shape of a rounded hand soap rises above the skateboard, in which the technology is housed. This basic idea has been seen hundreds of times in recent years. Ultimately, the designs differ in the interior decor and the quality of the materials. It makes sense that a start-up that is planning a type of robot Uber would rather opt for a washable and non-destructive interior. Mini apparently has its eye on solvent private customers and does not skimp on ingredients. All the niceties and trivialities that the guest can expect in the suite of a design hotel are realized here in small format.
The car as a spectacle box
Function and style change in different modes. When it comes to “Wanderlust”, people are allowed to take the wheel again, at least as far as the automatic safety system allows. In the chill mood the vehicle is transformed into a relaxation room, in the vibe mode it opens up to the outside world and becomes a social space. The interior, light and colors change – the car becomes a stage of changing, pre-staged moods. Light, scents and sound put the passengers in the mood. When the car is parked, the dashboard is transformed, for example, into a cocktail couch as we know it from the 1950s. That looks great without a doubt, the whole thing looks seductive and coherent. Instead of the very light pastel colors, you can also think of other color palettes.
Whether the urbanaut takes a realistic path is another question. Today it is already clear that there will soon be less space for cars in the big metropolises. In the dynamic cities of Asia, it can even be expected that the remaining traffic will be relocated mercilessly under the surface of the earth. Or that the roads are given a concrete cover.
It is at least bold to believe that in the future, with a vehicle the size of a full-fledged mid-range car, you will be able to stop lively in the most beautiful places and then enjoy the vibe mode around the rolling living room with your friends. Already today you can probably enjoy the Vive in the parking garage. The question also arises of how much money the costly sensory seduction will be worth to the consumer. Today it is the case that many of these gimmicks are acknowledged with a “wow” during a short stay in a hotel, but in the rooms in which one lives permanently, such spectacles are thankfully foregone.
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
