Final Mini Clubman built after 1.1 million sales

The last Mini Clubman has rolled off the production line at the car maker’s Oxford, England, plant as the brand makes way for an electrified line-up.

The demise of the Clubman – a small six-door hatchback larger than the traditional Mini hatch, with a 'barn-door' split-opening tailgate – was announced by the car maker in early 2023.

The final Clubman – a Cooper S finished in Indian Summer Red metallic – comes 55 years after the original was offered in 1969, with 1.1-million produced since.

Of those, about half were manufactured at the Cowley, Oxfordshire plant that farewelled the last Clubman on 5 February 2024.

Cowley will switch to manufacturing the new-generation petrol-powered Mini range, due in Australia in the third quarter of 2024 (July to September) in three-door Cooper form first.

Mini says it plans to offer only electric cars from 2030.

The streamlined BMW-owned Mini range will delete the Clubman but add the Aceman, a five-door electric hatch. It also includes an all-new Countryman, electric Mini Cooper three-door hatch, and new petrol five-door and convertible Mini Cooper hatchbacks.

The Clubman was produced from 1969 to 1982 – first offered in sedan and then wagon body styles – when Minis were sold under Austin and Morris brands as part of the British Leyland group.

Mini Clubmans were also manufactured in Australia at a Zetland, Sydney factory between 1969 and 1974 owned by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), before moving to a plant in Enfield, Sydney until its closure in 1978.

These used the Clubman name – and unique front-fascia styling – but did not have the six-door body type of the final generations of Clubman made from 2007 to 2024.

After being shelved in 1982, the Clubman name was dusted off in 2007 under BMW ownership, the German car maker having purchased the Mini brand – which it still owns – in 1996.

The return of the Clubman badge saw it applied exclusively to a six-door estate-type body with barn doors, based on the second generation of the BMW-designed Mini hatch.

The Clubman was offered with petrol and diesel engines in Cooper S and John Cooper Works versions, with available ‘All4’ all-wheel-drive models.

With five seats, it also introduced a ’Clubdoor’ back-hinged left-side rear door, with no pillars between the front and rear doors for easier access to the back seats.

Another 1960s name, the Countryman, was used for a new five-door Mini in 2010, easily outselling the Clubman to be a factor in its demise.

The current and final generation Clubman – which switched to a more conventional four passenger door layout, plus the two rear 'barn doors' – went on sale in 2015.

A Final Edition Clubman sold overseas was not offered in Australia, with Mini Australia instead sticking to regular Cooper S and John Cooper Works variants until final production.