IN DETAIL
THE INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMING OUR DRIVING WORLD
The last Mini EV was flawed. But now Mini has tapped into the expertise at Great Wall to ensure the tech matches the style.
Today’s Mini Electric is one of the most riotous small electric cars on sale, but has been hampered by a comically short range and cramped interior. This time, to get it right from the start, the latest Mini Cooper Electric is born out of a joint venture with Chinese manufacturing giant Great Wall Motor (GWM). No fudging here.
The Cooper Electric, codenamed J01, shares its EV hardware with GWM while combustion-engined Minis will continue until the latter part of this decade using a refreshed version of the current platform, with styling similar to the new EV. It’s a mirror image of how BMW is now offering fossil fuel or electric versions of most model ranges. The result is a Mini Cooper Electric capable of up to 249 miles in the case of the bigger-capacity 54kWh model, compared to just 145 in its predecessor.
Styling cleverly evolves the timeless Mini silhouette for the electric age, the profile softened and simplified like a well-used bar of soap. It’ll again be offered as a three- or five-door hatch or cabrio. Next year, you can also expect a JCW hot hatch, and there will be a shorter Aceman version for those who think the Mini has got a bit too maxi over the years.
Traditionalists may wince when they learn the electric Mini will be built in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu as part of BMW’s Spotlight Automotive joint venture with GWM. But GWM’s battery and drivetrain tech – the A0 components set related to the platform underpinning GWM’s Ora Funky Cat – bring significant range and charging increases. Mini claims 75 miles can be added in just 10 minutes at a rapid charger.
USING THE BATTERY AND DRIVETRAIN TECH UNDERPINNING THE ORA FUNKY CAT HELPS RANGE AND CHARGING
Speed of a different sort is demanded of any Mini Cooper and the Electric won’t disappoint. CAR’s sources suggest the 0-62mph sprint will be dispatched in just 5.8 seconds and the handling is designed to keep the go-kart feeling alive. We’ll know when we drive it next spring.
‘All future Minis will adopt the new look,’ head of design Oliver Heilmer tells CAR. ‘Alec Issigonis is in our DNA: he did things as simply as possible and the brand had a charismatic aura to it. It was classless.’ A reductive design inside and out means no toxic chrome, no plastic cladding around the wheelarches and no leather upholstery.
Tellingly, the Union Flag rear headlamp graphic will be offered in some markets, but not all. The software provides a choice of three rear light signatures available through the same p
