Meet the Mini Cooper JCW Skeg and Machina concepts — each with their own kind of flair.
There are small cars, and then there are Minis. The brand has long held quirkiness and fun as core tenets of the brand, punctuated by just how far you can go to personalize, say, your Cooper JCW hatch and make it your own. That’s more or less what these two new concepts show off, with gas and electric versions of the new hatch created in partnership with clothing brand Deus Ex Machina.
Driven by the brands’ mutual “passion for machines, innovation and creativity”, Mini says the EV-based Skeg and gas-based Machina concepts bring their own distinctive flair to the equation.
Let’s start with the Skeg
Mini’s announcement notes the Mini EV-based Skeg’s inspiration from the world of surfing. To that end, you get semi-transparent fiberglass panels that aim to not only change up the look, but improve aerodynamics and reduce the electric hatch’s overall weight by 15%. This concept also gets wider fenders, an illuminated front grille and a decently sized roof spoiler, to go with the silver and yellow paint scheme. If you look toward the back, the roof also has two yellow tension straps, as another nod to securing your surfboard after a day of hitting the waves.
Inside, the Skeg concept has a racing-style setup, with pretty much everything stripped out but the essentials. You do still get the circular screen, but the normal seats are replaced by racing buckets with water-repellent neoprene upholstery, and (once again) there’s more fiberglass on the dashboard.
Deus Collection badges and 3D-printed elements adorn the car’s interior, while the electric powertrain offers up a hearty 255 horsepower, which isn’t bad for a car this small. Because it’s based on the Chinese-built EV, though, don’t expect this to somehow make an appearance over here even if Mini decided to put something like this into production. We don’t even get the standard electric hatch thanks to heavy tariffs on cars imported from China, but the Skeg still looks pretty cool, nonetheless.
What about the gas-powered Machina?
Most folks are likely more interested in the Machina anyway, considering its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot putting out 228 horsepower to the front wheels. As you can likely tell by the interior and the outside livery, this one is all about motorsport. Up front, you get four light pods and a mesh-style grille with Deus branding, with the grille and perforated headlight surrounds offering a unique look and adding to cooling performance. Like the Skeg, the Machina also gets widened fenders, and out back there’s a proper rear diffuser and a Can-Am style rear spoiler.
Inside, the same black, red and white theme that makes the exterior stand out continues. This concept again ditches the standard hatchback’s seats, adopting a pair of carbon fiber buckets with five-point racing harnesses, while the driver gets a simple-as-can-be three-spoke steering wheel with a red stripe at the 12 o’clock position. The raw aluminum floor plates, Mini says, echo Deus’ custom motorcycle shops around the world, “grounding the car in a shared language of performance and craft”. In the middle, a hydraulic handbrake gives the driver an opportunity to get the Machina sideways whenever they like.
Now, neither the Skeg nor the Machina are production-bound (unfortunately). This is more of a design study showing how folks can jazz up their Minis, though you will be able to check out the accompanying Mini x Deus lifestyle collection and buy that, even if you won’t be able to buy the cars.
The Mini concepts will debut at IAA Mobility in Munich on September 6. The apparel collection will launch a couple days later on September 8, while the whole collaboration will be part of the Mini pavilion while the show’s going on, until September 14.
