For the longest time, MINI has always catered to a specific compact car audience. But now that car buyers are becoming more and more sophisticated with their auto preferences, MINI has decided to follow suit.

We’ve heard for a while now that the BMW-owned carmaker is working on a Crossover vehicle, but the latest news to come out of the woodwork has MINI in the initial stages of producing a Performance Crossover that we can only expect will bolster the company’s intention of introducing new vehicles to a number of different demographics.

Proof that these guys are serious about branching out from their traditional compact car niche lies in the fact that, in addition to the ‘two’ Crossovers, the company has also been working on producing two other vehicles – the MINI Speedster and the Progressive Activity Spacebox – which, if everything goes according to plan, would be rolled out of the plant sometime within the next two years.

Continued after the jump.

MINI’s aggressive attempt in expanding their product portfolio has been met with mixed reactions from car enthusiasts all over the world. While some are welcoming the new additions, others are sceptical about the idea of veering away from the compact car line that it has dominated since time immemorial.

We’re actually pretty keen on this expansion, only because we’re dying to find out how MINI stacks up against the competition in a market that they’ve pretty much never treaded on.