Mini may drop Paceman, Coupe, and Roadster

Mini may discontinue the Paceman, Coupe, and Roadster models as it seeks to trim its lineup, following the introduction of the third-generation Mini Cooper three-door Hardtop.

Instead, the company plans to focus on three "pillar" models: the Hardtop, the Countryman, and the Clubman. The third model, the Clubman, is technically still speculative as the company presented a Clubman only in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but given the amount of real-world testing of Clubman prototypes observed, coupled with the production-ready appearance of the Clubman Concept, this model is virtually assured to reach production in its current form.

The decision to drop the Paceman and the Coupe/Roadster is likely based on the models' individual sales, which have lagged behind that of the Countryman and the three-door Hardtop. According to researchers at IHS Automotive, Mini sold 47,177 Countrymans and 78,102 three-door Hardtops in Europe last year, while selling just 2,678 Roadsters and 8,229 Pacemans.

"Our first priority is to roll out a portfolio that has strong pillars and to be absolutely clear what each stands for,'' said Mini's head of product management Oliver Friedmann, speaking with Automotive News Europe. Friedmann cited the Coupe/Roadster and Paceman models as not being priorities for the brand.

Currently, the five-door Hardtop is expected to debut in June of this year, going on sale in the fall of 2014, with the new six-door Clubman debuting in production form in the last few months of the year to go on sale in early 2015.

By Jay Ramey