Rumor: MINI to build a four door GTI fighter

More news coming down the Munich pipeline, but this time, they’re all about the England based brand, MINI. Rumor says that MINI is actively looking into the possibility of building a competitor for the popular(at least in Europe), Volkswagen GTI. Following the same ideas found in the BMW 5 Series GT, the MINI GTI will be based on the upcoming Crossover, a 4 meter long, five door platform.

The MINI GTI will be manufactured at the Steyr factory in Austria and will launch sometimes in 2012. The GTI is rumored to deliver from 180 horsepower and up, but we  believe that at this moment, the engine specs are pure speculations.

Rendering by Autocar

Also, if we look at the 5 Series GT idea, we envision the new MINI GTI as being a more interior luxurious car, very efficient but in the same time, still very much into performance. We cannot wonder if the MINI GTI will be somewhat related to the SpaceBox Concept we talked about recently.

BMW sources have also told Autocar that the they are looking at eventually designing three new models based on the same Crossover platform, a move similar to the strategy implemented by BMW with the upcoming 1 Series platform.

As things develop, we will continue to keep you informed and hopefully we will learn more at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

[Source: Autocar ]