Global cars and parts sharing are the way of the future. It could go great (Ford is showing a good example of this in design) and it could go wrong (Toyota failures across multiple vehicles), but one thing is for sure. It is the future and the only way to be competitive. Another area needed to be competitive is the new premium small car bubble which is blowing up. Mini has developed and owned this spot but now Audi is getting into the mix. So who would be next to enter into this class? BMW of course, oh and by the way they own Mini. Do you see where I am going with this?
The next Mini platform will be designed so it could be shared with BMW producing a vehicle below the 1 Series. This sketch from MotoringFile shows a nice interpretation of the new design language led by the new 7 Series. So as Mini gets bigger, BMW is getting smaller. There will be no rear wheel drive and mostly likely will not make the swim over here. So look for it in pictures come 2013.
[source & pic MotoringFile]