Wooden You Know It.

A car I saw tonight reminded something I had mentioned a few months back. It was a comment I had made on a blog post about the Austin Mini Countryman, a nifty little extended version of the original Mini:

Buoy Oh Buoy

Seeing that old original model with the wooden detailing had me wondering how the modern version would look with the same treatment...

Okay, so it's not exactly the same thing. This stretched modern Mini Cooper is called a Clubman (the Countryman name is used for a different small crossover model), and this brown one that I saw had stickers instead of the real wood additions of the original. Up close the effect is quite disappointing, where there is no doubt that they are simply stickers.

From a distance, however, once can more or less picture what a proper 'woody' would look like, and I think that it would be a nice addition to the Clubman, especially in this dark brown color. With some actual thin wood paneling with a bit of texture, I really think that this new Mini could pay homage to the original.  I can't be the only one who thinks that, so I will continue to keep my eyes peeled for my next Mini sighting...

EDIT:

A friend sent this photo of a REAL woody Clubman, and I quite like it! I don't know how much it might cost, but it's fun to see that an option exists:

This modification may not be to everyones taste, but I applaud this wink to the history of Mini and their excellent wood-clad version.