Top Secret Mini Colorado Project

BMW is preparing to launch it R57 next generation MINI convertible in late 2008. But this are not the only news coming: BMW is currently looking at making the Colorado (almost surely to be tagged internally as the R58 when finalized) an all-wheel drive vehicle that sits higher and can be used for light off-roading without sacrificing much of the typical MINI performance.

MINI Colorado will be based off an SUV version of the 1-series. If BMW goes down this path, expect the Colorado/R58 to usher in a new and potentially exciting time for the brand, where more is possible than just a simple two-door hatch.

It may be manufactured at BMW’s extremely versatile plant in Spartanburg South Carolina or Magna Steyr, the Austrian company that BMW outsources X3 production to.