Mini Can't Make Up Its Mind On The Manual Gearbox

The newMini Cooper Hardtopwas unveiled last week in three-door guise. This body style will only be sold as an EV, but agasoline-powered five-door derivativewill arrive later. Sadly, it won't have a manual gearbox.

Head of the Mini Brand, Stefanie Hurst, toldTop Gear, "We won't have a manual, unfortunately." In June, company insiders told the media that adecision had not been madeover the manual gearbox in the new Mini. "We obviously are lobbying hard to retain manuals where we can. It isn't finalized 100%. We are cautiously optimistic to see what can be done." Sadly, it seems they lost the battle.

Mini reintroduced the manual transmission for the 2024 model year (current generation) and even set up amanual driving school in California. This surprise return gave us hope that the new Mini lineup would retain the enthusiast's favorite, but it was not to be.

The death of the manual-equipped Mini doesn't mean the automaker is saying goodbye to motorsport. "I think meeting Charlie [Cooper, John Cooper's grandson] made me confident about continuing with motorsport," added Wurst. "Performance still helps to sell cars."

We wonder if Mini will use motorsport-tuned dual-clutch or automatic transmissions for its race cars. Perhaps it will press its electric vehicles into racing duty. That remains to be seen, but it's refreshing to know the automaker won't abandon its rich motorsport heritage. Wurst has hinted at going the electric route, though.

"And with [Charlie Cooper's] heritage - being the carrier of the name - but then also being into electromobility, it's the perfect bridge. So, we [also] plan to go with him into electric motorsport."