The war of the cute city cars has heated up with the release of the first official pictures of the new Mini Clubman. The estate version of the iconic supermini will be available throughout Europe from November. The announcement comes a month after Fiat released details of its Mini competitor, the cute 500.
The original Mini, launched in 1959, came in a number of variants including station wagon and pickup body styles. This new estate shares the vertically-split tailgate of the original, with two doors opening outwards from the center. Confusion over trademark ownership means that the new Mini estate isn't known by its original name, "Traveller". Instead it is named "Clubman" after the long-nosed variant of the Mini intended to keep the model fresh through the 1970s.
The car was cheekily previewed at this year's Geneva motor show. Rather than taking an official stand at the show, a largely undisguised Clubman was driven through the streets of the Swiss city bearing the graffiti "stop staring at me" and "just teasing".
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