Here’s our best look yet at the upcoming five-door version (codenamed F55) of the new generation Mini hatchback series, spied completely uncovered while being transferred on a trailer by a poster over at the Dutch Newminiclub forums.
It’s hard to tell from these night shots, but previously spied prototypes of the car appear to sport shorter front doors and a slightly longer wheelbase than the traditional three-door version (F56) of the BMW Group’s third generation “New Mini”, which premiered at the Tokyo and Los Angeles motor shows in November last year.
The Mini-loving crew over at Motoringfile says the five-door F56 should be at least 50mm (2+ inches) longer than the three-door F56, with the newly found space aiding (mainly) rear passenger legroom and to a lesser degree, the cargo area. Mini may offer both a two-seat and a traditional three-seat bench layout for the rear compartment.
Under the hood, the F55 will be offered with the same engine lineup as the F56, centered on the new 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged units.
The F56 three-door model will be the first of the new Mini hatch series to launch in the market this spring and will be followed by the F56 five-door version towards the end of the year or early 2015, and the Cabriolet (F57) next year.
Photos courtesy of Newminiclub
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