Holger Hampf, MINI’s design chief since October 2024, says the brand has “almost finished” work on its upcoming facelift updates and will reveal his influence on the range sooner than expected. Hampf, who joined from Designworks, BMW’s California-based design consultancy, in October 2024, told Autocar that “you will see my work in an upcoming LCI.” The Cooper and Countryman launched in 2023, the Aceman in 2024, so facelifts for the first two are expected late next year, with the Aceman following in 2028.
Beyond the facelifts, Hampf confirmed work has started on the next full generation of MINIs, due in the early 2030s. He also flagged an off-road-focused variant of an existing model. “We’ve witnessed the trend of the outdoor lifestyle and driving out of the city to spend some days in nature,” he said. The Countryman is the only MINI currently offered with four-wheel drive, and its ride height makes it the obvious candidate.
On JCW, Hampf said there is “air to the top” of the performance range and drew a comparison with the gap between BMW’s M and M Competition cars, suggesting a more extreme variant is in development. This is not expected to be a revival of the track-focused GP.
Hampf pointed to the Deus Ex Machina collaboration — The Skeg and The Machina concepts, with bigger tyres and larger spoilers — as “one experiment” in that direction, and suggested toned-down production versions are possible given the “positive response” the concepts received.
JCW sales reached 25,630 units last year, a 59.5% increase over 2024, driven by strong results in the UK, Japan, and Australia. [Source: Autocar]
