Next-gen MINI Cooper Drops MT, 5-Door Version Confirmed

The MINI Cooper has entered its fourth generation recently, as MINI unveils the all-new MINI Cooper EV hatch at the 2023 IAA Mobility auto show. Aside from the three-door EV hatch guise, the next-gen MINI will also get an ICE-powered version that omits one key feature MINI fans adored for years – the manual transmission.

Previous-gen MINI ICE models like this MINI JCW Special will be the last few MINIs with a stick shift option

Speaking to Top Gear, MINI managing director Stefanie Wurst has confirmed that the next-gen MINI Cooper, as well as other future MINI ICE models, will not be offered with the stick-shift transmission option, making the previous-gen offerings the last ICE-powered MINI models to get the manual gearbox.

Aside from the stick-shift omission, MINI has unveiled very little about its next-gen ICE model lineup. However, numerous reports suggest that all new MINI ICE models will be assisted with partial electrification, with the 48-volt mild hybrid (MHEV) setup being the most probable choice.

2024 Mini Cooper EV hatch

On top of that, the British marque also confirmed that the MINI Cooper five-door will live another generation, as its next-gen iteration will be coming soon. Set to be offered with both all-electric and ICE guises, the five-door MINI will be part of MINI’s next-gen lineup, with the souped-up John Cooper Works and topless variations following suit in years’ time.

“We have so much to do with the roll-out of the family we’ve just announced. The Aceman is still missing, the John Cooper Works variations are all to come, we only speak about the three-door but we actually have a five-door coming, and we have a convertible as well,” the MINI boss said to Autocar UK about the marque’s future lineup outlook.

Fortunately for Malaysian MINI fans, they don’t have to wait too long to see the next-gen MINI five-door hatch in the flesh, as renowned local render artist Theophilus Chin – also known as Theottle – has given us a glimpse of how it will look.

Rendered next-gen MINI Cooper 5-door hatch by Theottle (left) & the current-gen MINI Cooper 5-door hatch (right). Photo credit: Theottle

Using the next-gen MINI Cooper EV as the base, Theottle managed to reimagine this hatch in its five-door form. Putting this rendered model side by side with the current-gen MINI Cooper five-door hatch, you’ll see that both models strike a very close resemblance, with the new model getting a slew of new design elements like the triangular-shaped taillights derived from the newly-unveiled MINI EV hatch.

Both the newly-unveiled MINI Cooper EV Hatch and MINI Countryman EV SUV will spearhead the marque's next-gen lineup

The next-gen MINI Cooper five-door hatch will be part of MINI’s revamped next-gen lineup, with the automaker taking the more simplistic route. Aside from the five-door hatch, both the newly-unveiled MINI Cooper and Countryman will be joined by other upcoming MINI models, including the much-anticipated MINI Aceman compact EV SUV. 

This also means that the two current MINI models – the Clubman wagon and the Paceman three-door SUV – won’t live to see a next-gen redux, with the latter model being replaced with the aforementioned Aceman instead.

“Mini has to be simple. A Mini range cannot be complicated to understand. Maybe that’s why Paceman was not a successful offer. If we wanted to do a bigger Mini, it would not be a bigger Countryman but a different body type. It’s always about simplicity and making it easy to understand”, Wurst continued.