One of the most unique and eccentric options in the range of MINI and Mini is coming to the end of its journey as in the first days of February the British brand announced the production of the last units of the Clubman at its factory in Oxford.
It is worth noting that the Clubman first appeared in 1969, and given that it came back as a proposal in the new MINI when it was acquired and revived by BMW, it measures 55 years of its presence in the automotive world.
The decision to discontinue its production and its non-resumption is attributed to MINI's new electrification strategy which focuses on the most popular models in the range and on potentially more popular new proposals such as the small Aceman crossover.
On the occasion of the 'exit' of the latest Clubmans from the Oxford factory, the head of MINI's UK factories said: “We are incredibly proud to have built the MINI Clubman at the Oxford and Swindon factories for the past 18 years for our customers across the the world. This departure is expected to be replaced by new members of the Mini range, including a new MINI Cabrio, the production of which will start from the end of the year.”
It should be noted that in these 18 years, the Clubman counts more than 1.1 million production units, half of which were manufactured in Oxford with a destination of more than 50 countries, while the most popular shade for the model has always been Midnight Black.
It is recalled that the new MINI under the roof of BMW decided to revive the Clubman in 2007 after 25 years of “absence” but they had not managed to erase it from the collective unconscious. Its characteristic element was the alternative wagon logic and above all the two vertical doors as a way of accessing the trunk which were responsible for its special character. Of course, although the most practical model of the MINI range, the Clubman was not one of the most popular, although it undoubtedly won the status of a statement choice that stood out from the crowd for all of the above.