Mini Adds Scissor Door Option

BMW AG is offering a scissor-door option for three-door versions of its Mini brand small cars.

The €2,000 ($2,200) option initially is available only on the original three-door Mini coupe, convertible and Paceman variant. The remote-control feature will spread this autumn to 2017 versions of the five-door Mini and its four-door Clubman and Countryman wagons.

Mini says the doors, which hinge at the front and swing vertically, reduce parking space width 30% to provide easier access to the passenger compartment in restrictive parking situations. An option button on the door handle also can be used to activate the doors. Mini plans to add a smartphone app to do the same.

The doors also are equipped with a “pyrotechnic emergency exit” system that will blast them loose in milliseconds if the car ends up on its roof in a crash, according to Mini.