New MINI Small SUV to Add New Gas Powered Option Below the Countryman

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For the past several years, MINI has framed its future around electrification. But if you have been following our reporting, you know the story is evolving. Now, MINI appears ready to expand its lineup with a gas-powered MINI small SUV positioned below the Countryman.

Yes, you read that correctly.

According to sources, MINI is actively working on an internal combustion SUV to be positioned below the Countryman and will likely be called the Aceman. The original Aceman, launched a year ago as an EV-only crossover was envisioned to eventually be MINI’s best selling model globally. However with EV sales cooling in some markets due to lagging infrastructure and elimination of subsidies, MINI is rethinking its ICE model strategy. With Chinese tariffs in North America and now Europe, MINI is also looking at more cost effective ways to bring the Aceman to the masses.

Expect a gas powered Aceman to be roughly the same size as the current Aceman EV and the F65 five door Cooper.

Where This New MINI Small SUV Fits in the Lineup

The current Countryman has grown in size, price, and ambition. It is no longer the quirky outlier it once was. It is a proper compact SUV, with pricing that reflects its maturity.

That growth leaves room beneath it.

A new MINI small SUV, slightly smaller and more affordable than the Countryman, would give the brand a true entry point in the crossover space. For many buyers, especially in North America and parts of Asia, that sweet spot matters more than whether the powertrain runs on electrons or octane.

Why a Gas-Powered MINI Small SUV Makes Sense

When MINI introduced the Aceman, it did so as an EV statement. The message was clear: urban, electric, forward-looking.

But as we detailed in our coverage of MINI’s next five-year product strategy on MotoringFile, EV adoption is not uniform. Incentives fluctuate. Charging infrastructure remains inconsistent. Consumer confidence is uneven.

A gas-powered MINI small SUV is not a retreat. It is a hedge.

BMW Group’s flexible architectures allow for multi-energy platforms, making it possible to add combustion power without starting from scratch. That keeps development costs in check while broadening global appeal.

In practical terms, it means MINI can sell the same design language and core package to both EV-friendly cities and regions that still rely heavily on internal combustion. However it’s unclear what platform the gas powered Aceman would be built on. It would be logical to base it on the revised UKL platform that underpins the Cooper. That would likely align well with the Aceman EV in terms of size and cost. However that would also mean it would be front wheel drive only as the Cooper’s platform wasn’t engineered for AWD.

The alternative would use the Countryman’s more modern FAAR platform. However that might make the gas powered Aceman too close in size and price to the Countryman it would sit below.

The other question would be production location. If the gas powered Aceman is indeed based on the Cooper platform, it would likely mean we’d see production at MINI’s Oxford Plant. If MINI goes with the larger FAAR platform, there would be more options on the table which might be rather appealing.

the new gas powered Aceman will likely be about the same size as the original R60 Countryman

A Smaller MINI SUV vs Countryman

Just how small will this new SUV be? If the new gas powered Aceman is intended to align with the current EV version, we have a good idea. The current J05 Aceman is very close in size to the original R60 Countryman originally released in 2010 and slightly larger than the current four door Cooper.

This means this new model would be slightly shorter, narrower and lower than the Countryman. Specifically expect a bit less room in the year seats and boot.

The gas powered Aceman will likely be similar in size to the five door Cooper but offer a higher, crossover seating position.

As with the rest of MINI’s gas range, we’d expect a Cooper and Cooper S. Unlike the current F65 Cooper five door, we’d be surprised in MINI didn’t offer this new gas powered Aceman in full JCW form.

Perhaps the biggest distinction (beyond the size difference) between this new SUV and the Countryman would be which wheels are driven. We expect MINI to only offer this new gas-powered Aceman as a front-wheel-drive model to keep costs low and create more space between it and the Countryman.

In other words, this would not cannibalize the Countryman. It would complement it.

The Bigger Picture

MINI once suggested it would become an all-electric brand early next decade. That timeline now looks more flexible than fixed. The reality is simple: global markets move at different speeds.

Adding a gas-powered MINI small SUV acknowledges that truth without abandoning the brand’s electric ambitions.

If executed properly, with the sharp handling and personality we expect, this model could become one of the most important vehicles in MINI’s next chapter. Not because it is revolutionary, but because it is realistic and what the market is looking for.

And in today’s market, realism may be MINI’s boldest move yet.

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