BMW BLOG

Mini Moke was a prototype designed as a light military vehicle in the style of the American Jeep. The Moke was first launched in 1964 and  it was subsequently offered in a civilian version as a low-cost, easily maintained utility vehicle.

The utilitarian Mini Moke became popular as vehicle used on the beaches in Australia, the United States or the Caribbean. The Moke’s construction is simple and the productions costs were fairly low for the times.

The body mainly consists of two box-section ‘pontoons’ or ’sideboxes’ running from the back of the car all the way up to the firewall. These are connected by the floor pan, the firewall and a sturdy torque box that runs under the front seats and stiffens the body in torsion. The left-hand pontoon contains the fuel tank; the right-hand has a compartment for the battery and a small lockable storage area.

The Mini Moke was powered by a straight 4-cylinder engine, 850–1275 cc, and a 4-speed manual transmission. Production ended in 1993 and in the past few years, there were many rumors that BMW might choose to revive the car.

The friends at MotorAuthority through their talented rendering artists at Schulte Design, created a computer generated image of what a future Mini Moke might look like. The rendering is based on the recently launched Mini Mark II Cooper Cabrio and I have to admit that it is quite appealing. The Moke in this photo sports cutaway doors and a slightly taller ride-height.

Now, I’m aware that this is pure speculation and BMW has never hinted at the possibility of reviving the Moke, but with their continuing move towards smaller, efficient cars that reuse an existing platform or parts, might change things in the future.