MINI Losing its ‘Go-Kart’ Character: Cooper May Soon Become Rear-Wheel Drive

Analysts are discussing a possible revision of the technical concept of MINI. With the increase in size and weight of the cars, the brand is gradually losing its famous ‘go-kart’ feeling, which has been a hallmark of its models for many years. Previously, compact cars weighed around 680 kg, but the modern MINI Cooper reaches a mass of over 1,360 kg. As dimensions increased, so did power, leading to an increase in the characteristic understeer of front-wheel-drive models. All-wheel drive solves the problem, but distances the car from the brand’s original philosophy. Against this backdrop, there is the idea of transitioning to rear-wheel drive. Utilizing the Neue Klasse architecture from BMW could bring the handling of larger MINIs closer to the dynamics of BMW models, while retaining compact dimensions. However, there are no indications of the project being implemented yet. The electric MINI Cooper has already been released, and a change in layout in the near future seems unlikely.