Bored of concept cars that are just next season’s production cars masquerading as futuristic flights of fancy? Then you’ll love the Mini Vision Urbanaut, a genuinely crazy design study that’s helping MPVs recover their cool.
Looking like a space-ace reboot of a classic Volkswagen camper van the boxy Mini imagines a time when cars are essentially lounge spaces we’ll pass the time in on our way from one location to the next.
The new face features hidden headlights that only appear when switched on, and illuminated wheels that change colour depending on which driving mode you’ve selected.
But with the Urbanaut, it’s what’s inside that counts. The single sliding door opens to reveal something that looks more like a bijou studio apartment than a car interior. When the fully electric and autonomous Urbanaut is parked up, you can swivel the front seats to face the rears, lower the dashboard to create a daybed, and even open the windscreen outwards creating a balcony feel.
The look and layout of the Mini changes depending which one of three Mini Moments you’ve selected. And no, they’re nothing like the Comfort, Sport and Race driving modes we’re used to. Instead, you get to choose from Chill, Wandlerust and Vibe.
Chill configures the interior with lounge-like seating and soft lighting for an intimate, relaxing feel, while Vibe opens the doors and windows to let passengers connect with the elements and other people.
The final mode, Wanderlust, is all about the driving experience. Driver’s can choose to activate an autonomous driving mode or take control, in which case they’ll be able to monitor driving info and navigation instructions by looking at an image projected on to the space beneath the windscreen – you won’t find anything so old fashioned as a dashboard here.
Mini says some of the design themes explored in the Urbanaut will appear on the next Mini due in 2023, and it’s possible that something similar to this concept might make it to showrooms at the end of that decade.
Keyword: Mini Vision Urbanaut is a futuristic living room on wheels