MINI, a brand that never fails to delight with their creative concepts, has come up with three (one-off) holidaying vehicles, providing three different approaches to camping, glamping and festivals – “premium home-from-home options for the enthusiastic traveller”, in other words.
The MINI Clubvan Camper is billed as the world’s smallest luxury caravan, the MINI Cowley is a compact towing caravan for two and the MINI Countryman ALL4 Camp has a tent on its roof – perfect for an adventurous couple on a weekend away.
While none of the cars are production vehicles, they showcase the creativity of the historic brand and remind customers of the depth of the existing range. MINI says they have developed the cars according to a “maximum touring pleasure with minimal footprint” philosophy, with luxury features, creative use of space and dynamic driving experiences.
Andreas Carell, who is the brain behind these ideas, says: "With our camping vehicles, MINI shows that creative use of space means you can get into your car and out into the wild. We wish to inspire people to spend time outdoors and take their MINIs with them."
The MINI Clubvan Camper
A very bijoux travelling companion, the MINI Clubvan Camper actually has everything you need for a solo expedition and overnight stay – a sleeping berth, a pop-out kitchenette (complete with propane stove and chest fridge) and a storage rack, as well as Sat Nav (useful for those tricky journeys), a TV and an auxiliary heater.
The roof has a glass panel that provides the perfect viewing window on the sky above, and it can be opened for ventilation. Most impressively, the car boasts an integrated hand-held shower (the water tank is underneath the load floor) for keeping yourself clean and fresh on your camping trip.
We’ve already explored the world’s smallest non-luxury caravan and the most expensive caravan in the world– and this appears to be a happy medium.
MINI Cowley
Described as a “new style benchmark in compact towing”, the MINI Cowley is a little caravan that houses two comfortable sleeping berths, a gas stove, a fridge, TV/DVD/audio equipment and a sink.
Named after the historic MINI manufacturing plant in Oxford, the Cowley is full of typical MINI design elements. From its curvy shape to its sliding windows (standard in all MINIs til 1969), the vehicle is MINI through and through.
Only 12 inches wider than a MINI Clubman, the MINI Cowley weighs just 300kg and offers superb maneuverability, so you can tow your home-from-home around the country without losing any driving enjoyment.
The MINI Countryman ALL4 Camp
Found yourself somewhere remote… but you don’t want to leave? The MINI Countryman ALL4 Camp allows you to get out of your car and head upstairs, thanks to a roof-top tent. The tent is kept in a storage box and is easily assembled to provide sleeping space for two. And you can even carry bikes on the back of the car – so it’s perfect for an adventurous getaway.
Although the tent addition is probably best suited to a MINI Countryman– it does have a clever all-wheel drive system that can take you over any terrain – the tent could be fitted on to other MINI models. But what we like about the ALL4 Camp pictured here is that the tent box has been painted Absolute Black metallic with white stripes – matching the car below.
It’s these little touches that make MINI such an enduring and well-loved automotive force. It’s making me want to buy a MINI, even if it won’t have a TV, a shower, a Jacuzzi or a tent on top. Sadly, these little beauties were shown to media in Croatia and there are no plans yet to bring them to any trade shows or events in the UK. But you can search our range of MINIs now, remembering the endless possibilities when it comes to MINIs and camping.