The Mini family is going to increase in 2024. With no new models in the remainder of 2022 and 2023, the great landing of will take place from 2024. And that is where the future Mini Aceman 2024 will arrive, whose lines are advanced by the concept of the same name that has made the brand known.
This prototype is very important for many factors. The first is that it advances the new Mini design language that will characterize the next generation of models.
The second because it means covering a niche between the Mini Cooper and the Mini Countryman. And the third, because it also advances what Mini understands by connectivity and personalization and that goes one step further than what you know so far.
How could it be otherwise, the Mini Concept Aceman moves completely electrically, although the brand has not given much information about the propulsion system. It has focused more on introducing us to what they call ‘Charismatic Simplicity’, a clean and minimalist design language that encompasses everything, both outside and inside.
On the outside, the proportions speak of a compact car: it measures 4.05 meters long, 1.99 meters wide and 1.59 meters high. The two-volume, five-door body features short overhangs to maximize space inside, where for the first time, neither leather nor chrome is used.
It does present a special iridescent paint that changes according to the angle of the Light that falls on it and whose ceiling is painted in contrasting green.
The fully faired tin grille and headlights present what will be a new evolution of the Countryman, with less round shapes and slightly annulled. The curious thing is how in Mini they have drawn a large hood, despite being an electric model and that under that hood a combustion block will never hide.
Like the good concept car that it is, the Mini Concept Aceman lets the imagination run wild with a set of LED matrix pixels in the headlights and grille that recreate different and fully customizable shapes.
Above the headlights, the powerful wheel arches give a lot of personality along with 20-inch wheels of an unprecedented design. On the side, a striking luggage rack takes center stage, plastic bottoms that protect the body against impacts and give it a more adventurous image.
we go inside
The interior of the Mini Concept Aceman is also characterized by a very minimalist design with clean shapes and very careful details. The interior of this prototype is basically reduced to the most essential.
From the outset, what is most surprising is the central screen, which combines all the functions of the instrument panel and the infotainment system in a huge round display with OLED technology.
This gives it a high quality look, with powerful contrasts and very deep blacks. The user interface is completely new, with a modern layout of icons and widgets that make it very special.
Just below the large screen, the Mini Concept Aceman has a module with several physical switches that allow you to activate the parking brake, select driving modes, driving programs or adjust the volume of the audio system.
There are several levels for users to interact with this screen and system itself to a level never seen before in Mini. To begin with, there is the so-called ‘Personal Mode’ that allows the user to project the image they want on the OLED screen.
This new form of personalization is complemented by a projection of moving images on the dashboard that can, for example, show cloud formations, ocean waves or the shiny surface of a swimming pool. The selected projection is accompanied by a suitable sound environment.
Second is the ‘Pop-Up Mode’ which provides eventful browsing and amazing moments. How? The system suggests navigation destinations based on a category selected by the user and displays the route on the OLED screen and through a projection on the dashboard.
For example, you can choose a leisure activity within the ‘Adventures’ category, a restaurant in the ‘Tasty’ category or a trendy place if you choose the ‘Trending’ category. For this, specific sounds are reproduced in each category, which provides a greater experiential sensation.
Finally, the ‘Vivid Mode’ offers an interactive design on the OLED screen and the surfaces that surround it. This is an innovative entertainment feature that can be used both during short breaks at traffic lights and while charging the battery.
Simply touch the touch screen on the central interface to create colored ‘letter bubbles’ from the letters ‘Aceman’ and move them from left to right on the dashboard. The letters have their own movement algorithm and interact with each other in the projection by overlapping and creating fluid graphic shapes and patterns.
More stuff: The Mini Concept Aceman’s steering wheel is wrapped in dark green velvet, and like the seats, door panels and other surfaces in the cabin, it’s not covered in leather. Instead recycled materials have been used.
The panoramic glass roof of the Mini Concept Aceman provides a light-filled environment. The brand’s plans go through the gamescom 2022 video game fair in Cologne. It will be there where the general public will be able to see this prototype for the first time, which, as we say, advances the forms of the future Mini crossover and lays the pillars of the design of the 2024 Mini Cooper.