Rocketman takes Mini on a blast from the past

The new Mini Rocketman Concept. Photo / Supplied

Mini is going back down memory lane with its Rocketman concept, a time-traveller of sorts that is built on a carbon-fibre space frame and has the same compact dimensions of the original model of the late 1950s.

The design study will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next week and points to Mini developing a small runabout to compete with models like the Smart ForTwo.

Every concept Mini-maker BMW has created since the brand was restarted in 2001 has made it into production.

The concept has been styled in-house by the team responsible for the recent Beachcomber and Paceman concepts.

Rocketman fits between the original Mini and the current Cooper. It is short at 3.4m long, although fairly wide at 1.9m including mirrors.

The original Mini was 3.05m long and 1.4m wide. The Cooper is 3.7m long and slightly narrower than the Rocketman. The four-door Countryman is bigger again.

The concept develops some original Mini design cues. The tailgate is a progression of the original Mini's downward-opening tailgate.

It is a two-piece arrangement. The upper part, fashioned from glass, hinges centrally from within the roof and opens high to provide easy access to the boot.

Below the tailgate is a drawer, which slides out 350mm from behind the rear seat/luggage area for further cargo capacity. It can also be locked in the outward position and used as a cargo tray of sorts.

Designers have also re-interpreted the original Mini's so-called floating roof. The glass structure comes in sections fitted with optical fibres to recreate the look of the Union Jack. The sections glow a neutral white when the fibres that make up the British flag are turned off.

The car's exterior features carbon-fibre reinforced plastic highlights, mostly around the front bumpers and wheel-arches.

At the front is a hexagonal-shaped grille, oval headlamps with the latest LED technology, an upright windscreen heavily tapered at the outer edges, a high waistline and large wheelhouses accommodating 18-inch wheels shod with narrow, low-rolling resistance tyres.

The deep, double-hinged frameless doors pivot outwards in a two-stage process.

The lower edge of the doors carry part of the sill - a design element made possible by the use of carbon fibre.

Mini says the set-up prevents passengers from tripping on the sills when getting in and out of the car.

A production version of Rocketman (the name might have been inspired by the Elton John song of 1972) could be powered by BMW's turbocharged three-cylinder diesel and direct-injection petrol units, although the carmaker hasn't officially confirmed a likely engine line-up.

A report from Europe says another question mark hangs over what platform Mini will use as a base for a production version of Rocketman.