It has been announced that theMINICooperPacemanwill be launching in South Africa in the second quarter of 2013. Two models will be available in South Africa namely the MINI Cooper Paceman and the MINI Cooper S Paceman. A MINI John Cooper Works Paceman is in the pipeline and will be available at a later date.

MINI Cooper Paceman – Specification and Features

Engine Capability

The MINI Cooper Paceman is fitted with a four cylinder, 1.6-litre petrol engine with fully variable valve management based on BMW Group’s VALVETRONIC technology. This unit produces 90kW at 6000rpm with a maximum torque figure available from 4250rpm. All variants are fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard with a 6-speed automatic gearbox available as an option.

Acceleration to 100km/h is achieved in 10.4 seconds for the manual and 11.5 seconds for the automatic with top speeds of 192km/h and 184km/h respectively. Fuel consumption for the manual version is rated at 6.0-litres/100km while the automatic consumes 7.2-litres/100km. The corresponding CO2 emissions are 140g/km for the manual and 168g/km for the automatic.

The MINI Cooper S Paceman is fitted with a four cylinder 1.6-litre petrol engine with a twin-scroll turbocharger, direct injection and fully variable valve management based on BMW Group’s VALVETRONIC technology. This unit produces 135kW at 5500rpm with a maximum torque figure of 240Nm available between 1600 and 5000rpm. An overboost function increases the torque to 260Nm for short periods of time.

Acceleration to 100km/h is completed in 7.5 seconds for the manual and 7.8 seconds for the automatic with top speeds of 217km/h and 212km/h respectively. Fuel consumption is rated at 6.1-litres/100km for the manual while the automatic consumes 7.1-litres/100km with corresponding CO2 emissions figures of 143g/km and 166g/km respectively. The ALL4 all-wheel drive system will be available for this model.

Styling Features

The front-end of the MINI Cooper Paceman features a hexagonal radiator grille with a broad chrome surround and black bordering on the lower edge of the body. The Paceman features a downward sloping roofline and flared wheel arches which house standard 16” light-alloy wheels, while the MINI Cooper S Paceman gets 17 inch alloys. 18” and 19” light alloy wheels will be available as an option. The roof can be specified in body colour, white or black.

The interior is distinctly sporty with two slightly raised front sports seats, while the two individual back seats follow a lounge character with ample space and armrests in the side panels. The sports seats are covered in Diagonal Track cloth as standard but customers can opt for the Hot Cross cloth and leather combination, Gravity leather or the exclusive Lounge leather variant.

Standard and Optional Features

Standard features include air-conditioning, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, Centre Rail, door sill lettering and the MINI CD audio system. Optional features include a sports leather steering wheel with multifunction buttons and cruise control, heated seats, automatic climate control, electric glass roof, Comfort Access, xenon adaptive headlights, automatic dimming mirrors, Park Distance Control, front fog lamps and a rain sensor.

Customers can also choose between the radio MINI Boost CD, MINI Visual Boost, Harmon/Kardon hi-fi loudspeaker system or the MINI Navigation System. A voice control system, hands-free system/mobile phone preparation and DAB tuner will also be available on request.