MINI Paceman Adventure Concept – it’s a Countryman Pickup

The MINI Adventure Concept has been revealed as a pickup based on the MINI Paceman and put together by students and instructors at BMW plants.

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It’s always hard to decide if a MINI concept – and they’re not exactly as rare as hens teeth – is a real one-off or a pointer to a future production MINI.

A good example of that is MINI’s April Fool in 2012 for ‘Camping MINIs’ which turned in to a fully-blown official concept in 2013 as the MINI Clubvan Camper, Countryman All4 Camp & Cowley Caravan.

Now we get the MINI Paceman Adventure Concept, a pickup based on the Pacemena (itself based on the Countryman) put together by BMW students and instructors at plants in Munich and Dingolfing and built as an exercise to show the skills and talent of the apprentice programme.

The Adventure Concept is even more odd-looking and strange than the Paceman it’s based on, and apart from the mad flatbed at the back it gets new suspension, special off-road tyres and even a snorkel breather so it can wade through rivers.

BMW say there are no plans to build a Countryman/Paceman Pickup, but the Mk 1 Mini offered a pickup version, and MINI now has the  Cubvan in its range (even if it didn’t last long in the US), so it’s not too much of a stretch to see this concept turning in to a production MINI at some point.