Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the new MINI Clubvan is now confirmed for production and will hit the showrooms in autumn 2012. The car is described by MINI as  the world’s first premium compact delivery van, great for moving small items around in style. The thing is, you need practicality when you’re moving stuff around, not style. The Clubvan is actually a Clubman with the blocked rear windows.

The car also has no rear seats. It comes with a closed-off load area extending from the rear doors right up to the driver’s and front passenger’s seats. It also features a split rear door and a wide-opening right-side door called the Clubdoor. Another advantage of this car over the Clubman – in terms of practicality – is that because of its blocked-out rear side windows, the MINI Clubvan is classed as a commercial vehicle and therefore taxed at a lower rate.

MINI Clubvan will launch with three different models and engines, including the 72 kW/98 hp MINI One Clubvan, the 90 kW/122 MINI Cooper Clubvan and the 82 kW/112 hp MINI Cooper D Clubvan.

Interior features include flat loading floor and side walls trimmed in high-quality carpeting, 12-volt sockets in the cargo area, and six attachment loops recessed into the floor at the edge of the load area. The rear compartment’s load space is 860 litres with maximum payload capacity of 500 kilograms.