Mini will not provide a handbook transmission in its redesigned Cooper hatchback, which suggests the transmission is formally useless at a model that till now was one in every of its strongest proponents.
Talking with Top Gear at this week’s 2023 Munich auto show, the place Mini confirmed off its new Cooper in electric guise, model boss Stefanie Wurst confirmed neither the electrical model nor the yet-to-be-revealed gasoline model will provide the choice of a handbook.
The brand new Cooper arrives as a 2025 mannequin however actual timing for the beginning of gross sales within the U.S. hasn’t been introduced. A redesigned Countryman has additionally been revealed for the 2025 mannequin yr, and a smaller crossover to be called the Aceman can be on monitor to reach for the 2025 mannequin yr to finish the next-generation Mini lineup.
The demise of the handbook at Mini is not an enormous shock because the model in Might rolled out a special 1to6 Edition model of its outgoing hatch as a celebration of the handbook transmission.
2024 Mini John Cooper Works 1to6 Version
A senior govt at Mini’s BMW mum or dad firm additionally stated in June that each the handbook transmission and dual-clutch computerized are on their way out, as standard torque converter-based automatics are higher fitted to the EV transition.
Mini earlier this yr printed the results of a survey, which confirmed that just about half (49%) of all Gen Z respondents indicated they did not know the best way to drive a handbook. When requested in the event that they had been prepared to study, 53% of the Gen Z respondents indicated they had been considering studying the best way to row their very own gears. That proportion grows when all ages as much as 34 are counted; on this case 67% stated they had been wanting to study.
To cater to people seeking to learn to drive stick, Mini has been working a handbook transmission driving course since final fall on the BMW West Coast driving college situated on the Thermal Membership personal racetrack in California. It is not clear whether or not the course will stick round now that the model is ditching the handbook.
