Mini cancels the Rocketman

Mini is suspending work on the Rocketman, the United Kingdom's Car magazine reports. The company has a load of new products debuting, but the mini Mini won't be one of them.

This isn't too much of a surprise. Last June, Mini told Automotive News that it feared that a Smart competitor wouldn't be profitable.

Combine that with the fact that the mini Mini would require some investment from parent company BMW to meet current regulations. Crash performance in particular was a challenge. Stability and handling problems also played a part.

The Rocketman measures 134.6 inches, compared with the regular Mini's length of 146.6 inches. Mini said the car was a design study to exemplify the company's core values in the 21st century.

Mini first showed the Rocketman at the 2011 Geneva motor show.

By Jake Lingeman