No, we’re now no longer speaking approximately the Mini Cooper SE primarily based totally on the brand new Mini Hatch that determine enterprise BMW unveiled withinside the 2000s. We’re regarding the Mk I to Mk VII Mini Cooper on sale from 1959, the authentic traditional Mini. In its contemporary press release, BMW has released the Mini Recharged venture aimed toward current Mini proprietors who need to transform their vintage, fueloline-powered mini automobiles to an all-electric powered model.
“What the venture group is growing preserves the man or woman of the traditional Mini and allows its lovers to experience an all-electric powered performance,” stated Bernd Körber, Head of the MINI Brand. The logo changed into already dabbling in electrification with its one-off electric powered Mini unveiled in 2018. The automobile drew superb reactions on the New York Auto Show, so the group at Mini Plant Oxford labored to broaden a blueprint for its contemporary restomod.
The plan is simple because it sounds. Unbolt the antique fueloline engine and transmission, and update it with an electric powered drivetrain which include a unmarried electric powered motor and a high-voltage battery pack. We to begin with idea BMW noted the 181-horsepower electric powered motor withinside the new Cooper SE. Still, the Mini Recharged has a much less high-strung ninety kW energy unit producing round 121 horsepower – now no longer terrible for a mini automobile.
The motor attracts energy from a still-unspecified battery pack, able to accepting as much as 6.6 kW of charging and eking out ninety nine miles (one hundred sixty km) of range. “With Mini Recharged, we’re connecting the beyond with the destiny of the logo,” introduced Körber. Other modifications consist of a brand new imperative device panel with unique shows for the range, car speed, transmission gear, and pressure temperature.
With its new EV powertrain, Mini Recharged can boost up from 0 to 60 mph in 9 seconds, approximately seconds slower than the present day Cooper SE. But what the latter doesn’t have is the enduring styling DNA of Mini clothier Alec Issigonis. Unless you’ve been residing below a rock, the whole lot unfashionable is again in style, and we reckon traditional Mini proprietors will display up in droves for the Mini Recharge conversion.
The exceptional news? The whole Recharge procedure is totally reversible. BMW guarantees that every authentic engine can be cautiously marked and saved for destiny retrofitting. Oh, and the conversion from fueloline to electric powered doesn’t require a brand new car registration (neighborhood kingdom legal guidelines might also additionally apply). Pricing stays unannounced, however we count on the conversion to price round £25,000 or roughly $33,693.