At the ‘MINI Takes the States Event’ recently held, the company unearthed what could be a new dawn for EVs. They showed how a one-off Electric MINI deals with having the top down.
MINI has seen a lot of development in its EV sector, as one in three MINIs that rolled off the line in 2021 were fully electric. However, while their petrol range includes the Countryman SUV and estate-sized Clubman, the EV range only includes the MINI Electric hatchback that is the same size as the humble Cooper. No new additions have been made in the three years since the EV range launched in 2019, but the MINI Electric Convertible shown at the MINI Takes the States Event highlights the potential for more to come in the future.
Fitting the all-electric power system of the MINI Electric into the skin of the MINI Hatch Convertible, the singular prototype was revealed to brand fans and owners at the MINI Takes the States event to an awe-inspiring response. The event was a rally for all MINI owners across nine states to meet up and raise money for charity.
The stats for this concept car indicate that no compromise was made in the electric department to add a retractable roof. With a sustained range of 145 miles on a full charge, the bigger battery is softened slightly by the increased weight. We can all appreciate the irony of a car without its roof weighing 140kg more than its fixed-roof edition, but the added weight means that its 0-62mph time takes 7.7 seconds – half a second slower than the standard Hatch. The 93mph top speed is the same, however, and the textile material roof can be opened in just 18 seconds, feasibly on the move too at anywhere under 18mph. We can only assume that the experience of driving the car with the roof down and with no engine noise must be worth the slight dip in performance.
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Unfortunately, those looking to get one for themselves are fresh out of luck, as BMW does not plan to make it a production vehicle yet. They said that the MINI Electric Convertible is currently a way of merely “testing the waters of open-air, emission-free driving”. On the other hand, they also said that there is nothing logistical holding them back from putting it into production tomorrow, so if the demand is there, we may see it sooner than you think.
There is news on the standard MINI Electric, though, with the next generation of the model set to arrive in 2023. This has not calmed the swell of rumours that there will be three new MINI models arriving next year.
If you aren’t able to wait that long to get yourself a MINI, cars2buy has an array of MINI lease deals for you to choose from. That way, you can get a brand new MINI Electric for a couple of years without being saddled with the financial burden of paying off a new car. It really is the best of both worlds, and at cars2buy, we have thousands of electric MINI deals from a wealth of trusted lease partners.