Exclusive: 5-door Mini Cooper hatch in the works for North America

According to our source, BMW Group is planning a five-door version of the Mini Cooper for the United States. The source said that BMW recently held a consumer study group around the United States where they showed visitors a prototype of what a future 5-door Mini Cooper would look like.

We’re not sure if Mini plans on using the standard chassis for the new 5-door Mini or plans on sharing components with the new Mini Countryman crossover. However, like the Mini Countryman, the 5-door Mini hatch is expected to remain a four-seater.

It was reported last year that Mini is planning a 5-door Volkswagen GTI fighter. If given the green light, the 5-door Mini hatch would be built alongside the Mini Countryman at the Magna Steyr factory in Austria and won”t appear much before 2012.

– By: Omar Rana