2004 - Mini Cooper S on 2040-cars

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Car designer Frank Stephenson wants to show you something ... smaller

Influential car designer Frank Stephenson has often thought small. Now he’s thinking smaller. Throughout the past three decades, he has shaped — literally — some of the most indelible designs in automotive history: the modern Mini, the Ferrari FXX track star, the Maserati Gran Sport, a range of stunning McLarens and down to the funky 21st-century version of the Fiat 500. Now heÂ’s turned his pen to fashioning watches. His Cosmos analog piece, made to mirror “a black hole in space” and detailed “with an orange pinstripe which simulates the supernova glow of a neutron star,” features a Japan-built quartz movement and was created in concert with the Time Concepts company. “ItÂ’s the age-old adage ‘car people are watch people,Â’ so it was a natural step for me to get creative with timepieces too,” Stephenson said in a statement. “The collection showcases the love I have for exceptional and emotionally charged design, just like what is required in designing world class cars.” While Stephenson, who is 64, may be best known publicly for his vision of “affordable style” with the Mini and the Fiat, his ethos also translated to the utilitarian. In the case of BMW in the mid-1990s, the company was hustling to market an SUV, and turned to him for inspiration. His team had six months to complete the project. The result was the high-end X5, which Stephenson sketched during a two-hour flight. In 2018, Stephenson established the independent design company, Frank Stephenson Design, based in London. Related video: Design/Style BMW Ferrari Fiat Maserati McLaren MINI Gadgets watch frank stephenson

Next Mini Clubman disguises all six doors

After revealing the new Mini hardtop in various guises, the next new model in the pipeline from the retro British marque is the Clubman. And here it is. Though still wearing some swirly camouflage, this Clubman prototype - previewed by the concept showcased last year - is clearly nearing production readiness. Since it'll have to differentiate itself from the four/five-door version of the new hardtop, the Clubman is expected to be even longer than the model it replaces. And this time, it'll have rear doors on both sides; and from these spy shots, it looks like they'll be conventional, full-size, front-hinged portals, instead of suicide doors. Around back you can also see the taillights peeking through the camo, on split rear portals instead of the one-piece, top-hinged tailgate on the standard-wheelbase model. At this stage, we wouldn't be surprised to see the new Clubman appear for the first time at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Whenever it does bow, it'll serve as the second pillar of the brand's reconfigured product lineup, following the new hardtop and preceding the upcoming next-gen Countryman crossover, Superleggera roadster and Minor city car.

Next-gen Mini Hardtop spy shots show dramatic changes

We've seen the next-generation Mini Hardtop a few times, but under significant amounts of vinyl camouflage. But apparently Mini got careless, and someone snagged photos of a completely undisguised prototype, which were shared by Twitter user Greg Kable. While the front end is a pretty predictable update, the rear end and interior are major departures. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The face will be familiar to anyone who has seen a current Mini. The grille is quite large and composed of a large contrasting frame and a body color filler in the middle, with a couple small openings at the top and bottom. It does appear to be a bit smaller overall compared to the current model, and with a thinner frame. The headlights are still round as ever, but appear a bit larger, and now they feature little lines at the top and bottom that almost look like cute eyelids. Interestingly, the hood no longer has holes cut out for the headlights, and the cut lines are higher up. The profile, as far as we can tell, is still typical Mini. The only real change there is the replacement of the pull handles with flush-fitting units. At the back is where the major exterior changes take place. The lozenge-shaped taillights of the past are gone in favor of angular trapezoidal units. They feature black-lined overlays, and they blend into the black trim piece that stretches across the hatch. The lights appear to be a part of the hatch, too, and will likely swing up with the hatch when opened. The rear fenders look wider than before relative to the greenhouse, giving this new Mini a lower, wider appearance. This particular prototype has an S badge in what looks like a yellow-green color, so we believe this may actually be an SE electric model. Moving to the inside, the new Mini holds on to some classic design cues, but reimagines them with modern technology and a minimalist theme. The dash is dominated by a huge, thin circular display, which evokes past round displays and gauge clusters from classic and more modern Minis. There's no gauge cluster in front of the driver, either, so the center screen will likely feature driving information in addition to other infotainment functions. The driver does at least get a head-up display, so there will still be the ability to have speed and other info directly in front of the driver.