2011 MINI Minor Concept

Back in the day, the MINI Cooper was the epitome of a small car, so much so that it became Mr. Bean’s official car. The hilarity of that is that the lovable British comedian is a pretty tall and lanky fellow so fitting him inside one of those old Coopers proved to be as difficult a task as trying to sleep inside a Little Tykes playhouse.

Since then, the MINI Cooper has become a lot bigger and with models including the Clubman and the Countryman already falling into the crossover categories, it would seem that the BMW-owned company is slowly leaving behind its small and quirky phase.

Wolfgang Armbrecht, however, begs to differ. According to MINI’s brand chief, the company is already developing a back-to-its-roots mini MINI car that will be smaller in size than the latest model of the Cooper.

Word around the watercooler says that the future car already has a name – the MINI Minor Concept – and that it will be a small three-door model with a small engine and a front wheel drive system. Specific details behind the MINI Minor are still unknown, but Armbrecht made it clear that a new car is already in the oven.

’’We have always been motivated by the idea to build a small spacious car,’’ he told the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper.

He also adds: “There will be a taste of ’’the next spectacular idea from the Mini brand’ at the Detroit Auto Show. Keep a close eye on the coming months.”

You don’t need to remind us about that last part, Mr. Armbrecht. We’re definitely going to keep some tabs on MINI’s potential return back to its Mr. Bean-driving days.