MINI is gearing up (yeah, we know EVs don't have gears as such...) for the launch of the fifth-generation MINI and the fourth since BMW took over making MINIs in 2000. This one will be primarily electric (there will be a vestigial petrol version, too), and this time, it's coming with a choice of electric powertrains.
Up to 217hp
You'll be able to pick either a MINI Cooper E, which will come with a 135kW (183hp) electric motor (driving the front wheels, natch) or a Cooper S E, which will have a more serious 16kW (217hp). MINI hasn't confirmed torque levels yet,
The Cooper E gets a 40.7kWh battery, while the Cooper S E gets a 54.2kWh unit, mounted low down on the car's floor. MINI isn't quoting a precise range yet, as neither car has been put through the official WLTP test. Still, the carmaker says it aims for "a predicted range of between 300 and 400 kilometres, thereby noticeably extending the radius for excursions within the urban setting and beyond." Those are considerable improvements on the paltry 225km range of the current MINI Cooper S E.
EV will be three-door only
Currently, MINI is only officially showing us these heavily-disguised pre-production prototypes of the incoming three-door hatchback. Still, plenty of 'spy' photos out there (we've all seen those, right?) show a cleaner, simpler styling language for this new generation.
Underneath, the electric MINI will use a new EV platform developed jointly by BMW and China's Great Wall Motors, and the cars will be built in China. The MINI will also continue to be built in its current home in Oxford, in the UK, where the petrol-powered versions - which will use a development of the current 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine - will be built alongside the EV models.
There - probably - won't be a five-door electric MINI hatchback. It's expected that MINI will try to shift five-door buyers towards the more crossover-y Aceman model, which will sit between the MINI hatch and the larger, more luxurious new Countryman. The five-door MINI hatch will be petrol-only, but an electric version hasn't been ruled out. There will definitely be an EV convertible model, carrying on from where the wincingly expensive limited run of the current MINI E convertible leaves off. You can expect a more powerful John Cooper Works EV model as well.
More practical than before
This three-door EV model is a little shorter - by 50mm - than the outgoing version, but it should be more practical inside thanks to a longer wheelbase, but don't go expecting limo-like rear space as the expensive multi-link rear axle - such a key ingredient in MINI's sharp handling over the years - is retained (maybe they should have gone with rubber cones to save space?).
The new MINI EV will be - officially - revealed in full shortly and will be on sale before the end of this year.