MINI is about to embark on a major electric car upgrade, with fully-electric versions of the all-new MINI three-door hatch, the bigger, more luxurious Countryman, and a production version of the five-door Aceman concept all about to launch shortly.
New electric era
For this new electric era, MINI is also evolving how it styles its cars, and Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design, has been giving us a walk-around of some of the new details of these cars ahead of the reveals of the full shapes and styling.
The new design language is called 'Charismatic Simplicity', a slightly silly name all car makers apply to this kind of thing. It means that the visual complexity of the current MINI range is on the way out, and a simpler, cleaner style is on the way in.
"With our new Charismatic Simplicity design language, we are completely rethinking the iconic MINI. Our purist, progressive approach combines the simplicity of functional elements with the emotionality that MINI is renowned for," said Heilmer. "We are convinced that the conscious reduction to a few, but expressive elements enable innovations that would have been unthinkable before."
Round OLED screen
The key to that change is a big, round digital screen using the latest OLED lighting technology. It's clearly a homage to the original 'dinner plate' Mini speedometer, but it's incredibly thin, almost delicate looking, and yet packed with technology. At 24cm across, it's also massive, so there's plenty of space when your fingers are looking for virtual buttons. It will feature integrated climate and infotainment controls, reducing the new MINI's cabin button count.
The steering wheel is also all-new, and the basic versions of the new MINIs will get a two-spoke wheel, just as did the 2000 and 1959 originals. There's an optional three-spoke wheel with a soft fabric covering rather than the usual leather, and all versions get 'Vibrant Silver' metallic accents.
The seats get a new fabric meant to reference classic 'houndstooth' fabrics from tailored suits, and they'll come with integrated armrests too.
New alloy wheels
On the outside, Heilmer says that the new MINI lineup's alloy wheel design will: "no longer focus on the sculptural nature of the spoke structure, but on a graphic design characterised by strong colour contrasts. This creates an illusion of size, which is further emphasised by the outward-pointing spokes. The pared-back, two-dimensional wheel design contributes to improved aerodynamic qualities and increased range with its somewhat compact, two-dimensional design."
These are only a few hints of how the new MINI range will look, but focusing on a simpler, cleaner design - inside and out - certainly sounds like a good thing to us.