In celebration of the launch of the Mini Cooper Clubman in the Chinese market, Mini has chopped the back half off a handful of cars so they can be converted into rickshaws. Mini is no doubt trying to capitalize on the global spotlight placed on Beijing with some kind of sporting festival going on right now, but if they had asked us, we would have done things differently.
If we were going to split a Mini in half and bolt a bicycle to it, we'd rather use the front part of the Mini. Not only is the rear half ugly, but it doesn't have any of the drivetrain. Even if we're just being taxied around, we'd rather be hanging on for dear life to a bicycle seat welded on behind the turbocharged four. [China Car Times]