It’s no secret that an electric MINI is on the way. The electric Brit has been teased and spied a few times by now. However, some new spy photos have surfaced, showing off the upcoming MINI Cooper S E completely undisguised. (We don’t own the spy photos but they can be seen here)
In these new photos from Autocar, we get to see the upcoming electric MINI without an inch of camouflage. What’s interesting is that it looks about as close to the MINI E Concept as we could hope for. While it’s obviously not exactly like the quite radical concept car, it’s as close to it as a production car is going to get.
Thankfully, one of the Concept’s design elements that did stay is the wheel design. Personally, I really liked the Concept’s wheels when I first saw them and I’m glad they stayed on the production car because they’re quite cool looking.
Powering the MINI Cooper S E will be the 181 hp electric motor from the BMW i3 S. It also gets a similar battery pack and range has been internally said to be around 200 miles. That’s not too shabby a spec sheet, as it packs about the same amount of power as the regular Cooper S but with an all-electric powertrain. So it should be about as quick but far more efficient.
The MINI Cooper S E is something we’re very excited about. That’s because we think electric powertrains work really well in MINIs. Their instant torque and punchy acceleration make electric motors perfect for MINI-duty. Plus, MINIs are already excellent city cars, so removing any emissions while also adding better low-down torque will only make them even better.
MINI will launch the electric Cooper S E to coincide with its 60th anniversary. We can’t wait to drive it.
[Source: Autocar]
