But there is good news...
But there is good news for diehard MINI traditionalists - the new grille is getting bigger and will echo more closely the look of the original Mini, introduced 45 years ago.
Five giant billboards...
Five giant billboards which feature a cardboard version of the 4x4 leaping out have been attacked and the 3D model stolen. A company spokesman said: "We know people want to get their hands on the car, but this is ridiculous. We have 25-30 of these posters around the UK, yet it"s the ones in Birmingham that keep being pinched. Somebody is going to a lot of trouble, because you would need ladders, spanners and more than one person to carry it."
According to the spokesman, the poster campaign has cost the company tens of thousands of pounds. "We won"t get much return for that money in Birmingham," he told us. "All most people will see on the billboard is rugged terrain - and a gap where the car should be."
The Solihull manufacturer is so fed up with the thefts that it has brought forward plans for its next poster campaign in the West Midlands city. These latest adverts will simply show a photograph of the vehicle.