Photo: Craigslist
With its unique door arrangement, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Clubman is the most innovative car that BMW has released under its Mini marque. Let’s see if this well-equipped and low-mileage example is worth opening the door to one’s wallet.
A vexing problem faced potential buyers of last Friday’s 1977 Porsche 924. That was the seller’s acknowledgment that the car suffered from what they assumed to be a worn and clogged catalytic converter. That might not be such a big deal, except that the car was being sold in California and that state, like several others, requires an emissions test upon title transfer. Per the seller, the car’s price had been set at $6,650 as a result. Fortunately for the seller, a lot of you agreed with that assessment, and that ended up giving the Porsche a solid 62 percent Nice Price win.
Photo: Craigslist
Today’s 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman S suffers no such mechanical issue. In fact, it looks to be in terrific condition for its age. It also has some funky doors that make it unique amongst modern Minis
Mini currently offers five different body styles and enough powertrain and package permutations on those to account for [checks notes] 2.76 million different model iterations. I’m exaggerating, but Mini’s profusion of models is something that even parent BMW admitted had gotten totally out of hand. In 2014, the marque chose to focus on a smaller set of models, and this year, it has decided to contract that model line even further by killing off the Clubman.
That’s not that big a deal, though, since the company still sells the similar Mini five-door and near-doppelgänger Countryman. In fact, other than its barn-door back end, there’s not much to differentiate the Clubman from the two other models. When the Clubman was introduced — or more accurately re-introduced — in 2007, that was not the case. The Clubman name goes all the way back to 1969 when British Leyland (parent to Austin and Morris at the time) used it to denote a redesign of the Mini that featured a somewhat nondescript squared-off nose.
Photo: Craigslist
When BMW sought to add a larger model to its resurgent Mini brand in the early aughts, it resurrected the Clubman name and applied it to the new, more capacious model.
The new Clubman debuted for the 2007 model year and featured a body that was nine inches longer than the standard Mini, and about 140 pounds heavier. That weight gain can be attributed to the extra space and to the extra doors (for a total of five) that make the first-generation Clubman such a unique design. The extra portals are comprised of a rear-hinged half-door on the car’s right side that allows for greater ease of access to the rear seats, and a pair of barn doors in the back that wrap around the tail lamps and block the center view of the rear-view mirror. Those latter doors also have independent wipers giving the car a bit of an alien eyebrow look from the back. And yes, you may use alien eyebrow as the name of your band.
Photo: Craigslist
Interestingly, the right-side suicide door on the Clubman was the only way the car came, irrespective of the market. That was a cost-saving measure and made the door of little value in RHD markets like that of the Mini’s home market, the UK.
This Clubman offers the funky bunch of doors and, at just 59K, appreciably low miles. It comes painted in Chili Red with silver accents on the roof and rear pillars, along with black fender arches. Chrome factory alloys underpin and add a little bit of bling. Despite its 15 years of age, the car appears in the pictures to be in almost as-new condition.
Photo: Craigslist
That extends to the two-tone biscuit and black interior that features leather seating surfaces and a slew of comfort and convenience features all under a panoramic moonroof. One feature of the cabin that I’m sure will appeal to many of you is the shifter for the six-speed manual that sits right below the retro-styled center stack. That gearbox is bolted to a 1.6-liter 16-valve turbocharged four that, in the Cooper S, offers a stout 172 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. Even with the Clubman’s added weight, that drivetrain pulls with authority.
Photo: Craigslist
Per the seller, the car has a clean title, an accident-free history, and has enjoyed a recent service. It not only looks new, but according to the ad’s description, it also drives like new. The asking price is $7,500.
Photo: Craigslist
What’s your take on this odd-door Mini and that $7,500 asking? Does that make for a deal for a car that’s both unique and reasonably practical? Or, is the Clubman too big in both size and price to rightfully be called a Mini?
You decide!
Miami, Florida Craigslist, or go
if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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Keyword: At $7,500, Is This 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman a Maxi Bargain?