Mini-Clubman-17

The F56 MINI Clubman, teased last week, will be given a proper unveiling sometime this week before making its world premiere at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. However, leaked photos of the upcoming F54 MINI Clubman have surfaced onto the Internet, giving us a first proper look at the updated maxi-MINI, now a full-on six-door estate.

From the looks of it, the new car is more than just an F55 5 Door hatch with a split tailgate and another few centimetres of rear overhang – every exterior panel looks to be new. The front bumper, grille and side indicators are unique to the Clubman, and there's also what seems to be MINI's first implementation of BMW's Air Curtain and Air Breather vents around the front wheel wells. The car appears to be wider as well.

Moving rearward, the wheelbase appears to be longer than on the 5 Door, enabling the Clubman to come with proper full-sized rear doors, rather than the slightly stunted-looking portals on the former. The rear of the car looks to remain faithful to the earlier concept – with rectangular tail lights set into the barn doors – but the rather aggressive rear diffuser with centre-exit exhausts have given way to simpler items.

The interior is also mostly new – the dashboard now has a capsule-like design housing four rectangular air vents (the 3 and 5 Door models have round side vents), while the climate controls and central toggle switches now feature a thicker wraparound surround. A space-saving electronic parking brake (replacing the manual handbrake on other models) and rear air vents round off the changes over the standard hatch.

No details on powertrains have been released so far, but expect the Clubman to retain the One and One D's 1.2 litre turbo three-cylinder, Cooper and Cooper D's 1.5 litre turbo three-pot and Cooper S and Cooper SD's 2.0 litre turbo four-pot petrol and diesel engines. Six-speed automatic and manual transmissions, too.