Mini Clubman Estate (1980) – Into the Wild

Ask someone to draw a classic Mini and chances are they will draw the regular two-door prototype on paper. It’s significantly less likely to be a Countryman or Traveler, with the station wagon butt and the two rear folding doors. Even less is the chance that someone will draw the Mini Clubman with its ‘more modern’ nose, but it is completely unlikely that it will be a mix of both models and the Mini Clubman Estate will appear. The Mini Clubman Estate is a remarkable member of the Mini family for several reasons and therefore a very nice spot! Again we can thank AutoWeek forum member Johan82 for sharing the photos.

Although you might expect the Mini Clubman to be the station wagon based on the primal Mini because of its modern equivalent, it was slightly different. The Mini Clubman of the past was not much more than the regular two-door with a different nose on it. Only as the Mini Clubman Estate, the station wagon, was it a forefather of the modern Mini Clubman, although you can actually see (however strange that may sound) the primal Mini Traveler as the forefather of the modern Clubman. After all, it had the classic nose that inspired the front of the current Clubman. The primal Clubman and the Clubman Estate had a remarkably different nose. A more angular design and also a longer nose.

Mini Clubman Estate.

That fairly thorough facelift was done in the late 1960s with the aim of making the Mini look more modern and to give it a larger engine, but above all to be able to place it higher in the market. A nice idea, but the Mini Clubman was never so popular with its somewhat contrived appearance. Especially the regular Clubman, the model looked a bit uncomfortable, because the butt just kept its classic lines. On the Clubman Estate, the facelift worked a bit better thanks to the more angular lines.

We have a Clubman Estate from the last year here, because after 1980 it stopped for the most spacious Mini and the two-door Clubman also came to an end. Someone in the Netherlands wanted to put such a Mini Clubman Estate in front of the door at the last minute and on March 7, 1980 this copy received its yellow plates. Remarkably enough, it would take until 2020 before it was time to say goodbye, because only then did the Mini end up with its current and second owner. It seems that the little Briton has stood the test of time very well. The MOT expired earlier this summer, so hopefully that will be rectified soon. We would be surprised if a new apk becomes a major challenge.