The MINI Vision Urbanaut sets to blur the lines between a car + van, work + leisure, nature + architecture, and real + digital worlds.

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When BMW relaunched MINI back in 2001, the modernized wee car was lauded for recapturing all the best parts of the delightful puckish attitude and styling cues that made the 1959 original an icon. Today the BMW Group is hoping to establish a new expression of the MINI brand, one that takes that minimal footprint, stretching it in every direction into a spacious concept , taking advantage of the space-saving benefits of an all-electric platform. VR headsets help visualize what the spacious four-seat layout might look inside the MINI Vision Urbanaut during #NEXTGen. Photo: BMW Group
The experience proposed by the MINI Vision Urbanaut is made possible by the migration toward the skateboard-like platform of an electric drive system; without all previous required trappings of a gas fuel engine, the MINI Design team was able to create an interior experience more like a living room than car cabin. In fact, the team of designers began plans for the MINI Vision Urbanaut’s interior before any exterior detailing was developed, using floor plans, pieces of furniture plus wooden scale models to provide an indication of size, with augmented reality employed to create a digital model acros...