Speaking with Australia’s GoAuto, Robertson said “I can assure you it won’t be known by that name.”
When asked if the vehicle could be called the ‘Maxi’ – a name used by British Leyland for a five-door hatch that shared a number of features with a Mini project from the late 1960s – Robertson neither confirmed nor denied the name. He did, however, reveal that a FWD ‘Estate’ version of the new crossover will follow the AWD model, which is scheduled to appear sometime in 2011.
Production of the new Mini crossover will likely be outsourced to independent vehicle manufacturer Magna Steyr, which is expected to build up to 80,000 units per year.