So bitte nicht lachen.... es ist kein 1ster April... sondern eine Meinung von Peter Schwarzenbauer.
Bei BMW/MINI ist man ernst am Überlegen, ob der 5te Superhero nicht ein MINI Sedan (=Stufenheck) sein sollte...
Diese Karrosserieform wird in manchen Märkte stark gefragt...
http://www.autonews.com/articl…-could-be-a-compact-sedan
Mini's 5th 'superhero' could be a compact sedan
Superleggera-based halo car still on the table
February 22, 2016 - 12:01 am ET
LOS ANGELES -- Mini is considering a premium compact sedan as its fifth volume model -- one of several options to grow the brand, says a BMW AG board member.
"It is a question you have to look at economically, and around the world you could say the sedan has the biggest potential, volumewise," said Peter Schwarzenbauer,
BMW board member in charge of Mini, said in an interview here at the launch of the 2016 convertible.
A car based on the Superleggera electric roadster concept is still on the table as a halo vehicle for the brand, he said. Making a business case to greenlight Superleggera is proving harder --
the volume would be low, but the price would be considerably higher than Mini's current vehicles, he said.
"Economically it is easier to put a sedan on paper than a great halo car," Schwarzenbauer said. "We have to look at all the options.
"As you know, halo cars are economically not always great. It is a trade-off: How much does it do for the brand, and how do you make it feasible?" he said.
But compact sedans, "that is a huge segment," Schwarzenbauer said. The car would be another step in Mini's effort to move part of its lineup from subcompact to compact.
The redesigned Clubman wagon that went on sale in January grew about 12 inches in length and 4.6 inches in width and is Mini's first foray into the compact segment.
Schwarzenbauer said a decision on the fifth volume, or "superhero," car will be made this year, but he declined to give a firm timetable. A small pickup is off the table, he said.
The four volume cars are the three- and four-door Cooper Hardtop, the redesigned Clubman wagon and the Countryman.
The redesigned Countryman is expected to debut this year and go on sale in the United States in 2017.
It will not grow substantially in size, just a few inches like the redesigned hardtops and convertible, Schwarzenbauer said. "People are happy with it."
It wasn't so with the previous-generation Clubman, he said: "We got a lot of feedback saying, "I like the design and the concept, but give me more room and four doors so I can get into the back seats more easily.'"
Mini will launch a plug-in hybrid in the next two years, he said. Schwarzenbauer would not say which car would get the plug-in hybrid variant, but added that "we have the technology available."
An electric car is also in the planning stage, but much depends on progress in battery technology, he said. "Mini is the urban brand," he added.
"Long term, we will see a lot of electric mobility in the urban environment. Mini definitely needs one."
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